This article is from page 4 of the 2014-02-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
CLARE farming is on the verge of a civil war, with farmers from the north and west of the county examining the possibility of picketing Clare Marts in Ennis later this week.
A group from the Ennistymon branch of the IFA met last night (Monday, February 10), to discuss a possible picket and boycott of the Ennis Mart. This follows plans announced to sell Ennistymon Mart to supermarket chain Aldi, which prompted more than 450 people to attend a protest meeting in Ennistymon last week.
Ennistymon IFA say they feel “incredibly let down” by members of the board of the Clare Marts, which includes many prominent IFA members. It is not yet clear if a sale has been agreed between Clare Marts and Aldi, with neither organisation willing to comment on the subject.
“We are being totally ignored and left in the dark, and that is adding to the frustration that we are feeling. There are a number of IFA members on the board of Clare Marts – a number of prominent members. We feel that they are selling out farmers in North Clare,” said Pat O’Donoghue from Ennistymon IFA.
“This company [Aldi] were selling sprouts for 9 cent just a month ago. How can something like that be proIrish farming? We feel incredibly let down on what they [the board of Clare Marts] are doing.
“The word had gone out before the meeting that the mart had already been sold and we thought that that might put people off from attending. But in the end we had more than 450 people there from right across the local community.
“We are looking for a meeting with them but we get no answer. We are having a gathering ourselves tonight [Monday, February 10] and the top of the agenda the possibility of picketing the mart.”
Speaking to The Clare People yesterday, Jackie Fitzpatrick of Super- valu in Ennistymon said that, while she recognised the need for competition, jobs would be lost locally if Aldi moves into Ennistymon.
Fitzpatricks currently employ 70 local people, paying out € 1.4 million in wages annually, last year, and spend more than € 400,000 with local suppliers.
“Obliviously I accept the need for competition but if a retail outlet like Aldi were to open a store in Ennistymon there would be consequences for local business. I would anticipate job losses both in my business and in other local business. ” The Clare People contacted Clare Marts yesterday who said they had nothing to say on the proposed sale.