Tipp support for IFA candidate
Throw a stone in North Tipperary and you’ll hit a Kennedy cousin of Martin Stapleton, who is bidding to become the next President of the Irish Farmers Association. They came together from Farneigh, Ballinahinch, Templederry, Birdhill, Roscrea, Nenagh and Borrisoleigh to cement their support for their family member, who hails through his mother Nora Stapleton, neé Kennedy from Farneigh and whose forebears came from Glastrigan.
Organiser of the clan meeting to support Martin Stapleton is campaign organiser in North Tipperary, James Kennedy, Bawn, Nenagh who reports a very positive response to the campaign due to what he says is “Martin Stapleton’s track record as an excellent communicator, the straight talker that farmers want and a man with a great grasp of the facts and figures who is able to back up every point he makes”.
After marriage, Nora Kennedy moved to Oola, County Limerick on the Tipperary border where her son Martin is now married to Siobhan, a native of Cahir. They have three teenage children and together the family runs a successful dairy farm. Having strived to build up their family farm inherited from previous generations, Martin is adamant that “as a family farmer, wishing to honour the legacy of my parents and theirs before them, the urge to lead IFA comes from wanting all farmers to have the freedom to farm”. He sees unity and cohesion as the IFA’s greatest assets and under his leadership, a formidable, unified organisation will again be a force to be reckoned with in Ireland and Brussels with the aim of delivering tangible results for all farmers.
Seizing the opportunity to reestablish the IFA as a fighting machine for Irish farmers, his campaign centres around strengthening four key pillars underpinning the needs of the 72,000 IFA members who are eligible to elect him - Respect, Unity, Freedom to Farm and Farm Income. Already there is a groundswell of support from farmers throughout the country on those core issues urging him to lead the fight for a better future.
Holding a strong track record of commitment and achievement with IFA, he is the current National Treasurer; former Chair of the National Farm Business Committee and Returning Officer for the organisation.
In a campaign that is taking him to the four corners of Ireland to meet IFA members, he is calling for farmers to unite to build a powerful IFA lobby. He said: “Farmers are under severe pressure and top of their issues is falling commodity prices in all sectors. I am adamant that price supports must be made available to all farmers as a priority.
“We need to address some of the rubbish that is being thrown at farmers in the name of climate change. As custodians of the countryside, we understand the challenges of reducing emissions and we will continue to play our part in protecting water quality and supporting biodiversity.
“However, our livelihoods must be protected. Responsibility for the reduction in emissions must be shared with industry, electricity generation, the construction industry and transport. I will not stand to see hard won economic and social gains for rural families put at risk.”
Recalling joining the IFA over 20 years ago because he believed in its power to protect and promote the interests of all Irish farmers in all sectors, he pledges that as President, he will dedicate himself to making it that force again. He said his campaign and his Presidency will be about delivering the kind of leadership that gets the job done, to ensure farmers’ perspective is not ignored, but heard and respected.
“Farmers’ needs must be acted upon by those making the decisions that affect farmers’ livelihoods,” he added. My promise is ‘No false promises, just honesty and hard work’. Lip service and platitudes when many of our members are experiencing hardship and fear of the future, must stop.”
Pledging to secure the future of farming and the fabric of rural Ireland, he said, ‘that means every farmer behind every farm gate must be represented. Every farmer tending sheep or tilling a field, every pig farmer, every beef farmer, every dairy farmer and every farmer growing crops, potatoes and vegetables must have their voices heard at the negotiation table on the crucial issues affecting their future.’
A seasoned and tough negotiator, Martin Stapleton, as President of IFA, promises to lead the organisation in the delivery of swift and tangible results for farmers. He is meeting farmers everywhere and listening to their concerns and views as the hustings around the country take place throughout October.
“Many farmers feel that they are no longer respected. They tell me the IFA has lost some of its power and influence at the negotiating table. I am now making a pledge to lead IFA and harness its power and to ensure that the respect for farming is restored,” he commented.
VOTING DETAILS
As decided by the IFA National Council in July, voting will follow a hybrid model. Each member will be posted a ballot paper in November which they may post or bring to a branch AGM. This will add to the convenience of members wishing to vote and Martin Stapleton is urging all members to use their vote as active members of a strong farming lobby group. The election count will take place on Tuesday, December 12.