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Farmers disrupting beef taskfroce meeting 'totally unacceptable'

Farmers disrupting beef taskfroce meeting 'totally unacceptable'
Farmers blocking Cormac Healy from Meat Industry Ireland as they were protesting outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin. Photo: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Minister for Agriculture says the actions of farmers who disrupted this weeks beef taskforce meeting were "totally unacceptable."

Clashes outside the Department of Agriculture on Monday saw protesters stop Meat Industry Ireland representatives from entering.

Many of them want legal threats against farmers dropped.

Cormac Healy - from Meat Industry Ireland - insists they have been dropped.

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Meanwhile, a decision on reconvening the talks is expected in the near future.

Michael Creed said the outstanding issues facing farmers will only be resolved through discussions.

"The kind of behaviour that we saw - intimidation, belligerence - outside the front door of the Department and the manner in which people going about their daily business were intimidated and attacked is not acceptable behaviour in any normal democratic society," said the Minister.

"We did negotiate. We did put together a beef market taskforce and it should be allowed to get up and running and do its work."

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