IFA big losers in Lisbon defeat

national | eu | news report Tuesday June 17, 2008 16:01 by Willy Joe anarchist

The Irish Farmers Association exposed as a paper tiger

For years when the IFA roared the government jumped TDs ran fast to be on side. At IFA demos the gardai always took a softly softly approach , the IFA after all were an important social partner not to be triffled with.

The IFA have always delivered the farming vote for the establishment especially on Europe. Unfortunately they have always served the interests of bigger farmers and have presided over the destruction of countless rural communities as small and medium farmers were forced to the wall. The result a contracting number of farms in line with EU policy to have 20,000 industrial scale farms in Ireland. The other consequence is that the farmer vote is now marginal when measured against the votes of other sectors of Irish society.

The IFA waved its hands in the air and threatened to vote no they got a veto concession on the WTO talks. But the No vote won and in practically every rural constituency, the IFA vote is a dead duck as a lever on power they overplayed their hand , many a TD and government minister must be secretly please at the decline of this once powerful lobby group.