IFA President Padraig Walshe said the Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has no option but to insist that the EU Commission impose an immediate ban on Brazilian beef imports. The IFA President has requested an urgent meeting with the Minister for Agriculture to discuss the staggering contents of the latest FVO report on the failure of Brazil to meet EU standards and food safety controls. Farm leaders and MEPs in the UK have also stepped up their calls for an import ban on Brazilian beef, following the new report on animal health controls by the EU's Food and Veterinary Office.

The Irish Cattle and Sheep farmers Association ( ICSA ) has slammed Minister for Agriculture , Mary Coughlan for closing off funding for the Farm Improvement Scheme ( FIS ). ICSA president Malcolm Thompson told Farming Pages that ceasing funding at this stage to farmers who have yet to complete their building work amounts to a lack of commitment to progress in Irish agriculture. " The Minister made this funding available to farmers in order that progressive farmers could develop their farms. "