THE Irish Farmers' Association's economic policies are not only bizarre but also do major damage to the organisation's credibility, a leading trade unionist told a seminar in Dublin last night.
Mr Jimmy Somers, vice president of SIPTU, the State's largest union, said the IFA's antagonism towards the public sector seemed to be grafted into its economic policies, which were "Thatcherite".
He said small farmers, who are used by the farm organisations as a kind of Trojan horse when looking for compensation or subsidies from Brussels or Dublin, would suffer as much as anyone if there were to be retrenchment in areas of public expenditure.
Mr Somers, who was addressing the Agriculture Science Society, in University College, Dublin, said given that the IFA represents the most heavily subsidised sector of the economy, it should be the last organisation to seek public service cuts.
"Perhaps the cuts policy might serve the interests of the large ranchers who are not overly dependent upon social services like health, education and social welfare," he said.
Mr Somers said the leadership of farm organisations had a genuine problem. As elected leaders, they have to "play to the gallery" on occasions when tact and diplomacy would serve long term interests better.
Tough talk, he said, cuts little ice with decision makers and there is the danger that public opinion may be alienated by too dogmatic an approach.
"In many instances, knowing when to say nothing is just as vital a skill as knowing when to launch verbal Exocets. You need contrast so that your audience can distinguish the priority issues you feel serious about from those less important," he said.
The behaviour of some farm leaders in recent times did little to dispel the widespread belief in trade union circles that they can see no further than the end of their noses.
He said farm leaders had shown little enthusiasm for a coordinated approach to the BSE problem.