Support for Hynes after RTÉ exposé

WEST Cork farmer Peter Hynes says he has had a very positive reaction since appearing on the RTÉ exposé which highlighted incidents of abuse in Ireland’s dairying industry.

Mr Hynes and his wife Paula appeared on the RTÉ Investigates programme which sparked a Department of Agriculture investigation. 

Mr Hynes said that despite the disturbing content, he has received support from inside and outside the industry. ‘I think the public reaction has been very positive generally,’ said Mr Hynes, from Aherla. ‘People have come up to us and they can see that farmers don’t accept what was going on and don’t condone it. They can see that most farmers do an exceptional job.’

The programme was watched by 457,000 viewers with thousands more watching on the RTÉ Player. ‘I think if it wasn’t for Ryan Tubridy and what was happening with RTÉ, there would have been even more interest,’ he said.

Meanwhile, ICMSA president Pat McCormack has called for a total revamp of the dairy beef scheme and an acceptance on the part of Minister Charlie McConalogue that the scheme be ‘refunded, re-energised, and redesigned’ if it is to play a potentially decisive part in developing a profitable and sustainable trade for bull calves. Dairy beef now accounts for over 60% of Irish beef production. 

Mr McCormack said he hoped that the Minister would be more willing to look at ICMSA’s redesign for the scheme, given the role it could play in light of the criticism – ‘much of it justified’ – that had come the sector’s way following the RTÉ programme. Mr McCormack said that the principles underpinning a proposed ‘pivot’ towards dairy-calf-to-beef were, if anything, becoming more compelling. ‘We think it’s even more valid now from many perspectives including climate change.’