IFA leader in London to meet British counterparts ahead of Brexit vote

IFA president Joe Healy has travelled to London to meet UK farm leaders ahead of the crucial vote on Brexit in the House of Commons this evening.

“While the vote is a matter for the UK parliament, farmers in Ireland and the UK are clear that a no deal outcome would be catastrophic for farmers on the two islands and hugely damaging to the interests of consumers,” he said.

Mr Healy said the Irish and UK food supply chains were deeply integrated.

He said that IFA had grave concerns regarding the dangers of a no deal’outcome that would cause massive disruption to the normal trade flows between the two countries, on which farmers greatly depended for their livelihoods.

“I know our colleagues are bringing the maximum pressure they can to bear on the political system to work for a solution that maintains frictionless trade,” he said.

Irish farming had just as much to lose as farmers in the UK if we find ourselves in a no-deal’ scenario. Given the scale of what Ireland exports to the UK market – 37 per cent of our food products – it would be a seismic shock to our system if Ireland doesn't have full access between EU and the UK, while maintaining the value of the UK food market. It’s often overlooked that we import €4bn of agri-food products from the UK, he said.

“I believe EU and UK farm leaders have a shared interest in ensuring that the UK, which is an important market for all European farmers, does not pursue policies which will further drive down food prices. Importing food and food ingredients from countries with lower production costs and lower standards will undermine the value of the UK food market for EU and UK farmers,” he said.

 “We must send a strong message that a cheap food policy is a race to the bottom which will ultimately lead to the destruction of EU and UK farming and lower quality food for the consumer,” said Mr Healy