The National Council of the Irish Farmers' Association has decided to defer to September 1st a vote on implementing the most far-reaching structural reform of the organisation since its foundation nearly 50 years ago.
The reform is proposed in a report drawn up by the former secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Mr Michael Dowling.The report recommends a dramatic reduction in the number of national executive members, a change in the voting system used to elect officers and a more streamlined commodity committee system.
IFA president Mr John Dillon said yesterday he supported the Dowling proposals because they were more democratic than the present system and would result in 68 per cent of the national executive being elected rather than the current 50 per cent. He also supported the proposal that the volunteers who worked for the IFA should be properly reimbursed for their expenses and in the case of senior officers, that labour be hired to replace them on farms.
Mr Dowling said yesterday the review had taken place against a background of rapid economic and social change in farming as the overall number of farmers continued to decline.
In recent years, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of full-time farmers, with more farmers and their spouses working outside the home.
The time pressure on farm families is greater than ever, with the traditional assisting relative no longer existing, the report states.
"The number of young people entering farming has fallen, especially those taking up farming as a full-time career," it adds.
The recommendation which is likely to bring about most change in the organisation is the weighting of votes at branch level. Currently, no matter how large a branch is, it can only generate one vote in elections.
Mr Dowling recommends that the National Executive Council of the IFA be trimmed back from the current 95 members to a more manageable 50 members, and that council procedures are streamlined and tightened up.
He says there seemed to be no defined role for the national vice- president, and proposed the abolition of that post. However, the role of the four regional vice-presidents would be strengthened.
Mr Dowling also suggests that the national president and senior officers should be elected for four years rather than for two years, with an option for a second term of four years.
Mr Dowling also says that while Macra na Feirme is still a training ground for young farmers, "its role has reduced, and Macra's contribution as a feeder of young farmers into the IFA has declined".