New IFA President Appointed

Kilkenny man John Bryan is to officially take the mantle of 13th president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) at the organisation’s AGM in Dublin today.

The 51-year-old former garda will replace Padraig Walshe after defeating his two rivals for the post, Derek Deane and Richard Kennedy, in one of the highest turn outs in an IFA election last month.

Mr Bryan, from Cappagh, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny, started farming in 1980, and with his wife Rena and their two children, Cathy and James, now farms 230 acres, 170 of which he owns and 60 of which he rents.

Eddie Downey from Slane, Co Meath, chairman of Meath IFA and former farm business chairman was elected as deputy to Mr Bryan for the next four years after defeating Sean O’Leary of Cork, who was the outgoing Munster vice president of IFA.

Last week at a meeting of the IFA National Sheep Committee in Dublin, James Murphy from Inistioge Co. Kilkenny was elected to the position of IFA National Sheep Committee Chairman.

As the representative of the country’s 30,000 sheep farmers, James Murphy said his number one priority would be increasing the incomes of sheep farmers.

He said strong viable lamb prices from the factories, the announcement and payout of the €18m unused CAP funds for sheep farmers, the rejection of Compulsory Electronic Identification of sheep and a new and properly funded REPS scheme will be the immediate priorities for the new IFA Sheep Chairman.

James Murphy said he will ensure the interests of sheep farmers are kept at the top of the Agricultural Agenda. He said the challenges facing the sheep sector are immense and he was very determined and committed to securing a viable future for sheep farmers.

(DW/GK)