Growers in the Irish Republic have a new horticulture minister and, like Trevor Sargent, the man he replaces, he is a member of the Green Party.
Ciaran Cuffe, a 46-year-old father of two, was appointed yesterday in a government reshuffle, replacing Sargent, who was forced to resign after intervening in a court case. Cuffe has represented the middle class constituency of Dun Laoghaire in parliament for eight years, but this is his first ministerial post.
Unlike his predecessor, who is a member for north county Dublin, the heart of the horticulture sector, and is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic member of the grow-your-own brigade, Cuffe is an architect and town planner, whose passions are climate change and cycling. He is also a committed environmentalist, having joined the Green Party while still a teenager.
Announcing his promotion, Green Party leader John Gormley said that, as minister, Cuffe would “build on the positive legacy of Trevor Sargent in ensuring that quality, local production and sustainability are at the centre of our food policy”.
One of the major tasks facing the new man will be safeguarding the future of Irish horticulture, given what growers claim are the uneconomic prices being imposed on them through the buying power of the multiples. His predecessor spoke out on the issue, but to little effect. However, he did push the farmers’ markets initiative in an effort to provide growers with an alternative outlet for their produce.
Under pressure from the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the government has agreed to bring in a code of practice for the retail sector, policed by an independent ombudsman, to ensure fair play for suppliers. Yesterday it appointed a facilitator, David Byrne, a former Irish EU commissioner, to help implement the code, pending legislation that will put it on a statutory footing.
IFA president John Bryan has asked for an early meeting with him to present its demands - that producers get a fair share of the price consumers pay, that charging suppliers to fund promotions, ‘pay for play’ and below-cost selling be outlawed, and that commitments to source Irish produce be subject to regular audits. The IFA also wants producers to be allowed to make complaints against retailers on a confidential basis, so as to remove threats of delisting.
