There were the first signs of a breakthrough last night in the dispute over beet prices that has led to the closure of Irish Sugar’s plants at Mallow and Carlow.
An increase of £1.18 per tonne was offered to beet growers following meetings involving the Tánaiste, Ms Mary Harney, and the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Joe Walsh, yesterday.
The IFA has given a qualified welcome to Irish Sugar’s offer despite the parties not meeting face-to-face in six hours of talks.
Irish Sugar insists an "expert, independent, adjudication system" in must be put in place to set beet prices in the future.
Farmers protesting outside the Dail today expressed their dissatisfaction with the deal, saying that the offer was conditional on what they see as giving up their negotiating rights.
"The bottom line is they don’t want rubber boots in the boardroom," one farmer commented. IFA president Mr Tom Parlon told RTÉ radio this morning a "minor" increase had been offered and that the Government had proposed an independent process for setting beet prices in the future.
"The difficulty we still have with it, and why we didn’t come to a final conclusion last night, is that it doesn’t take into account the monopoly and the exceptional profits that Greencore [Irish Sugar’s parent company] have and unfortunately we’re still not satisfied that it will not continue to undermine beet prices," Mr Parlon said.
But the IFA president said he believed a solution to the dispute could be found. Greencore announced a 45 per cent rise in profits today.
Farmers have been picketing Irish Sugar’s plants and refusing to supply beet in a dispute over prices that has led to protective notice being served on 650 staff.