THE IRISH FARMERS’ Association (IFA) staged a protest outside Dublin Castle this morning as an EU meeting on Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reforms was held.

The picket line coincided with the arrival of EU Commissioner for agriculture and rural development Dacian Ciolos. Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney was also in attendance.

Irish farmers say they will lose up to 50 per cent of their CAP payments if proposed changes come to fruition. Coveney has insisted that the changes will not take money from Irish farmers, but rather redistribute it in a fairer manner.

About 2,000 protesters travelled to Cork last weekend for a demonstration outside the minister’s office. Henry Burns, who is a farmer in Laois and National Livestock Chair for the IFA told TheJournal.ie that farmers feel that the minister has let them down and is not representing their interests in Europe. He said a “satisfactory answer” was not received from the minister during a brief meeting on Saturday.