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| IFA Beef Protest |
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| Written by Cian MacSweeny | |
| Tuesday, 29 July 2008 | |
 Mr. Doran demanded that the Tanaiste use the veto and said it would be too little, too late to withhold it until after Geneva. The IFA National Livestock Committee Chairman said that by then the damage will have been done. Michael Doran said that Europe is now offering Brazil 1.8 million tonnes of beef imports, which would decimate the Irish livestock industry. The IFA Chairman also brought up what happened to the Irish sugar beet growing industry as a reminder of what past EU concessions have done. Mr. Doran said, “A WTO deal based on the current proposed cuts for beef would decimate the Irish beef and livestock sector. It would demolish our 1 million head suckler cow herd, and force 50,000 livestock farmers out of business. It would destroy the important beef processing sector and result in the loss of our hard-earned quality beef markets in the UK and across Europe.” The IFA National Livestock Committee Chairman said that livestock farmers could not understand why the Tanaiste Mary Coughlan and the Irish Government would want to pass on beef markets for over 500,000 tonnes of Irish beef exports to the Brazilians and other South Americans.      |
