May 11, 2021 3:12 pm
The co-founders of the Beef Plan Movement, Eamon Corley and Hugh Doyle, hosted a meeting last Thursday (May 6) which they described as an AGM for the organisation.
As part of the almost 18 month-long Beef Plan Movement split, Corley, Doyle and a number of directors of the association have been seeking to have themselves recognised as an official farmer representative organisation.
According to a statement on behalf of the co-founders, elections were held at last week’s meeting to fill positions on seven “national subcommittees”.
The statement also says that Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue had recently communicated with the directors, outlining a “checklist” of issues to be attended to before they would be recognised as an official farmer representative organisation.
Speaking to the
Farming Independent Eoin Donnelly, a leading figure on the side of the association that is organising the AGM, confirmed the move which is also supported by the two Beef Plan Movement representatives that sit on the Beef Market Taskforce, Dermot O’Brien and Enda Fingleton.
Mr Donnelly said: “At the AGM - which will be held on Saturday, May 15 – we will hold a vote regarding a permanent rebrand of ‘Beef Plan Movement’.
“We will be putting it to members to ask them whether they want the name ‘Beef Plan Movement’ to be retired and that we would rebrand accordingly.
Farming Independent:
“My belief is that it is a witch-hunt. I haven’t seen any grounds for an issue or any evidence produced of any wrongdoing. This has hampered the movement and is not doing beef farmers’ cause any good.
“Huge sacrifices have been made by members of the organisation where travel expenses and time off work were not claimed. The vast majority of work was voluntary and the vast majority of money was put to good use.”
Mr Corley said an agreement was reached to allow for an independent audit of the organisation’s 2019 books to take place but he added that “it was never followed up by Mr O’Brien or Mr Fingleton”.