The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Lobbying Organisation The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Date published 20 Sep, 2024

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Agriculture

Period 1 May, 2024 to 31 Aug, 2024

Specific Details Below Cost Purchasing

Intended results To call on Government to recognise the need for additional legislative powers for the Agri Food Regulator and the need for additional measures in the EU Unfair Trading Practices Directive (UTP's) to strengthen the position of farmers in the agri-food chain. To highlight that the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made recent comments that farmers should be given increased protection from buyers and dominant food buyers should not be permitted to purchase agri food products below the cost of production. To welcome the recent announcement of the establishment in July of a new EU Agri-food Chain Observatory that aims to bring increased transparency on prices, structure of costs and distribution of margins in the supply chain across all EU member states. To urge the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine to do more immediately with our national legislation to protect the livelihoods of farmers. To highlight that Ireland is one of the only EU members states which did not add additional legislation to the EU UTP's Directive to help stamp out practices which are putting farmers out of business, such as below cost buying from farmers and below cost selling by retailers. To highlight that the dominance of big food buyers including large retailers operating in Ireland today have a dominant position over farmers in the food supply chain and the current legislation does not go far enough to level the playing pitch for farmers. To highlight that the establishment of An Rialálaí Agraibhia (The Agri-Food Regulator) last December was a positive first step in addressing the imbalance of power in the food supply chain in Ireland, but this office must be given significant powers to tackle the big food buyers and strengthen the position of farmers. To outline that with the ongoing review of the EU UTP legislation that is due in late 2025 there is an opportunity to make all food buyers pay at least the cost of production to farmers. To emphasise that covering the cost of production is clearly not enough. Farmers, like everyone else, have to live and they need to have a margin to have a sustainable family farm food production model in Ireland. This is step in the right direction, but it must be built on into the future. To highlight that the EU Directive on unfair trading practices entered into force on 1 May 2019 and required Member States to transpose it into national law which Ireland did in 2021. The Unfair Trading Practices (UTP) Directive bans 16 practices that can have harmful effects on the weakest actors in the chain, notably farmers and smaller suppliers.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Francie Gorman IFA President, Bill O'Keeffe IFA Farm Business Chair, Robert Malone IFA Senior Policy Executive

Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?) No

Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign? No

Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client? No

Lobbying activity

The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.

Email (1)

Informal communication (2-5)

Designated public officials lobbied

The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them. As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.

Charlie McConalogue Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)

Aodhan O'Riordain MEP (European Parliament)

Barry Andrews MEP (European Parliament)

Billy Kelleher MEP (European Parliament)

Ciaran Mullooly MEP (European Parliament)

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú MEP (European Parliament)

Kathleen Funchion MEP (European Parliament)

Luke Ming Flanagan MEP (European Parliament)

Lynn Boylan MEP (European Parliament)

Maria Walsh MEP (European Parliament)

Michael McNamara MEP (European Parliament)

Nina Carberry MEP (European Parliament)

Regina Doherty MEP (European Parliament)

Sean Kelly MEP (European Parliament)

Jackie Cahill TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Collins TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Fitzmaurice TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Ring TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Joe Flaherty TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Paul Kehoe TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Claire Kerrane TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Brian Leddin TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Johnny Mythen TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Tim Lombard Senator (Seanad)

Victor Boyhan Senator (Seanad)

Paul Daly Senator (Seanad)

Denis O'Donovan Senator (Seanad)

Barry Cowen MEP (European Parliament)