Farmers in Co Mayo will take to the streets of Ballina tomorrow morning in a dispute between them and the North Western Regional Fisheries Board.
The farmers, members of the IFA, have accused the board of engaging in a persistent campaign against farming at national and EU level. The board had written to the EU Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and other Government Departments questioning the funding of some of the agricultural schemes and had sought the names of farmers in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme.
IFA president, Mr John Dillon, described this as "outrageous" because it implied the board was seeking to target its enforcement role against a certain group of farmers. Mr Brendan O'Mahoney, who is on the board of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board and is also IFA Connacht vice-president, accused the fisheries board of high handed behaviour. "The board has engaged in a persistent campaign against farming at both national and EU level, questioning funding for agriculture and the REPS scheme," he said.
He added that the board had demanded disclosure of the names of farmers in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme. However, these representations did not have board approval and were being made without the knowledge of farmer representatives on the board.
He said this approach was unacceptable and flew in the face of stakeholder participation and partnership, which should be the cornerstone of the board's work for fisheries development in the north-west.