Leitrim IFA chairman - 'It's wrong to say that this can happen or would be allowed to happen'

Manorhamilton farmer Liam Gilligan, Chairperson of the Leitrim branch of the IFA, has spoken to the Leitrim Observer about plans to schedule a bus to take locals to a huge anti-Mercosur protest in Athlone this Friday. 

Around 10,000 people are expected at the event, which will include a tractor and vehicle cavalcade around the town. All 14 Irish MEPs have been formally invited.

The event is being organised by the Independent Ireland political party, and supported by national farming bodies, including the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and others and will begin at 11am.

Mr Gilligan told the Leitrim Observer: "We are proposing on running a bus starting in north Leitrim from Kinlough and Manorhamilton, Drumshanbo, Leitrim Village but we are still not sure on which route we will take whether we will be going by Roscommon or Longford. We are waiting on clarity on routes for buses because there will be a fair amount of congestion around the Athlone on Saturday."

READ MORE: Leitrim farmers to attend large-scale Mercusor protest in Athlone

Protesters in cars or on foot are being asked to assemble at the Athlone TUS campus at 11am and walk or take a shuttle bus to the N6 junction 9 at Garrycastle, where they would meet the tractor convoy before then marching back to TUS at lunchtime, where speeches are set to begin in the International Arena.

Mr Gilligan continued: "We are completely in support of the protest and are standing united and we need to be a united front. Our key concerns are that if this deal goes ahead, beef will be allowed to come into Ireland from these other countries at a standard that is totally different to what we are producing here. Two months, Tomas Bourke from the IFA and Adam Woods and Philip Doyle from The Journal went out there undercover - putting themselves in grave danger to be honest - and highlighted what's going on. As recently as yesterday, Brazilian beef has been found in this country with hormones in it. It's not a level playing field and the standards are totally different. They highlighted that you can buy antibiotics and hormones freely; you can go in and buy them off a shelf with no herd or tag numbers or anything else and then you have all of the regulations here and rightly so; it's wrong to say that this can happen or would be allowed to happen."

READ MORE: Last chance to apply for Leitrim Creative Communities funding

The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have confirmed that Ireland will vote against the Mercosur trade agreement tomorrow which Mr Gilligan says in a step in the right direction. "They have been very slow to do so; to say that they will vote against it. There is still hoops that the deal will have to go through before it's allowed to happen. We are a small country but the government is sending a message that they are supporting Irish agriculture; that was vital that that happened. They are saying that they will not accept substandard beef coming into the country so I believe it was vital that they did come and vote against it."

He added: "It will go to the parliament and MEPs etc. are going to have their say on it yet so I think the pressure still needs to be kept on that it is unacceptable."