In my capacity as the president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), I’m penning down this piece in response to the assertions made by Sadhbh O’Neill. She pointed out our association, along with others, as part of a so-called ‘unholy alliance,’ whose aim is to strengthen the ‘illusion’ of Ireland’s work to preserve our nitrates derogation.
O’Neill’s introduction seems to intentionally connect the fight for maintaining Ireland’s nitrates derogation to the matters concerning the beef tribunal. This, I believe, is a contrived attempt at depicting the current situation as some sort of sequel. Let me clarify that neither the ICMSA nor the farming community was ever involved with the tribunal. Making use of the beef tribunal as a backdrop for her narrative allows O’Neill to suggest her personal perspective about the Irish agricultural scene to the readers. Her implications are crystal clear: she insinuates that despite changing circumstances, the continual dishonesty and corruption remain. This, however, isn’t objective reporting or analysis, it’s nothing but baseless defamation and insinuation.
With the farmers now painted in negative light, O’Neill proceeds to the expose that “the complex relationships amongst industry, farm bodies, state agencies, political parties, and academic intellect have been meticulously charted by the investigation team DeSmog, and an extensive ‘influence map’ has been brought to light.”
“I admit that I’m unfamiliar with the term “influence map” as used by Ms. O’Neill. From what I gather, it refers to an intersecting scenario where a farmer (myself, in this case), a member of ICMSA and a President of the same, also serves on a state or other board. The suggestion seems to be a suggestion of an octopus-like spread of power extending via unprincipled agricultural leaders (perhaps again, referring to me) who can collude with others to orchestrate state policies, favouring the maintenance of Ireland’s nitrates derogation which in turn leads to the degradation of our rivers and water sources. Apparently, this is achieved by manipulatively swaying elected officials to provide advantages for our fellow farmers, with the only opposition coming from a handful of principled and perceptive visionaries, including Ms. O’Neill and her group.
However, where is the proof? The dairy farmers associated with ICMSA have experienced a sharp fall in their earnings by 69 percent in the previous year alone. This isn’t a typing error; as per the figures revealed in the Teagasc National Farm Survey published in August, income from dairy farming dropped by 69 percent in 2023.
From these facts, it was deduced that an average Irish dairy farmer, putting in a regular 60-hour work week, was earning below the minimum wage even before accounting for any debt repayments.”
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) respects the right of Sadhbh O’Neill and DeSmog to express their perspectives freely, and does not dismiss their proposition of an “influence map”. They interpret what others see as a collaborative effort by state entities and agri-food firms seeking farmers’ insights, as a dubious coalition aiming to inflict harm upon our water bodies. However, does it not matter that the farmers working under derogation are among the most strictly scrutinised in the country? Furthermore, isn’t it noteworthy that several derogated farms are adjacent to untouched streams? The ICMSA stands firm in the belief that maintaining our derogations whilst enhancing water quality is both feasible and logical – preliminary steps are underway.
The fact that the nearly 75-year-old ICMSA has never offered financial backing to or openly supported any political party is a point of pride for us. As Sadhbh O’Neill ponders this, the ICMSA would like to suggest a potentially more enlightening “influence map”, highlighting the often overlooked intersections among environmental NGOs, campaigners, media personalities, commentators, commercial environmental consultancies, appointments to one or multiple state-backed quangos, and eventual political party candidacies. Would such a project pique DeSmog’s interest? – DENIS DRENNAN, ICMSA President, Limerick.