IFA Reinforces Importance of Dairy Sector to An Taoiseach

At a meeting this morning, IFA President Tim Cullinan emphasised the importance of the dairy sector for Ireland’s rural economy to An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin.

He also raised concerns about the impact that national planning process was having on the development of the sector. This is in the context of an ongoing peak processing capacity issue faced by Glanbia, as a result of a judicial review taken by An Taisce.

“While no individual case was discussed at the meeting I stressed to the Taoiseach that the planning process is fundamentally broken. The Government must change our planning process to tighten up the basis on which judicial reviews can be taken. The current system is doing untold damage right across the economy,” he said.

In 2020, dairy exports amounted to €5.2bn. For every €1 of dairy product exported, 90c is spent within the Irish economy. In contrast, just 10c per €1 exported by the multinational sector is reinvested into the Irish economy.

“Seventeen thousand dairy farmers in Ireland support  over 40,000 indirect jobs across processing, haulage, sales and services. This employment is in areas throughout the country where employment prospects are limited and purchasing power is lower.”

“The Irish dairy sector is a good news story which has provided opportunities to farm families to develop their business and for young people to enter farming. It cannot be held up by spurious judicial reviews,” he said.