FF deputy says farmers are 'putting on the poor mouth'

Protesting farmers have been accused by Fianna Fáil Dublin TD Mr Sean Ardagh of wasting Garda resources and making a mockery of the social partnership.

However, his fellow party member, Mr Ned O'Keeffe, TD for Cork North East, has called for the Government to consider putting a rescue package in place for farmers.

Mr Ardagh, a Dáil deputy for Dublin South Central, claimed the farmers were putting on "the poor mouth" and risked losing all support and sympathy from the public with their tractor convoys, which are currently travelling towards Dublin for a planned rally on Friday.

"I don't believe that the farmers are going about this in the right way," Mr Ardagh said this afternoon. "Over the last year they have built up some great goodwill with the urban population, particularly of Dublin. Now that will be shattered I believe if they come along and go about the route that they are taking.

The farmers are "making a mockery of the participative partnership system that has done so well for this country over the last number of years," he said. "By calling off the demonstrations now the farmers could still save the goodwill they built up in urban areas in the wake of the foot-and-mouth crisis."

Mr O'Keeffe, a former Minister of State for Agriculture, said he understood the farmers concerns, noting that agricultural incomes have dropped considerably since partnership agreements were introduced. "They're living hand to mouth," he said.

"I think the urban people are very conscious of the downturn in farming because it's affecting them in their businesses."

He added that although he sympathised with Dubliners facing traffic disruption on Friday, he agreed the capital was the only suitable place for the farmers to hold their protest.

The Labour party's agriculture spokeswoman, Ms Mary Upton, rounded on the Fianna Fáil deputies, accusing them of adding to the urban-rural divide by "squabbling" with each other over the farmers' protests.

"Instead of encouraging their Minister to engage constructively with the farm organisations, they seem more interested in exacerbating the crisis and the divisions between urban and rural Ireland", Labour's Dublin South Central TD said.

"Public squabbling on the airwaves between Fianna Fáil TDs illustrates how little appreciation some of them have about the reasons for this protest and will bring little solace to those seeking to ensure that agriculture remains economically viable into the future", she added.

Mr Joe Higgins, Socialist Party TD for Dublin West, described Mr Ardagh's comments as a "despicable and hypocritical" attempt to "drive a wedge" between urban and rural communities. He said farmers have an "absolute right" to protest in the city.