Northern Ireland Protocol: UFU 'very surprised' that Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne unaware of difficulties caused to NI farmers

UFU President David Brown said that while not all NI farmers are affected, the Protocol is causing "havoc" for those trying to bring seeds, plants, livestock and insecticides in from GB. He added that the supply of medicines for farm animals and pets are due to be severely disrupted from January.

Mr Brown was speaking to the News Letter after Irish Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne appeared to tell BBC Good Morning Ulster that NI farmers had no problems with the protocol.

Mr Byrne told the BBC that EU negotiator Maros Sefcovic visited NI repeatedly in 2021 and found that "generally speaking business wanted the protocol but also identified significant issues with it".

He added: "We know that the protocol is absolutely existential to agriculture in Northern Ireland but there are difficulties in some other sectors of the economy."

But Mr Brown was taken aback by the failure of Mr Byrne to highlight problems the protocol is causing NI farmers.

"If Minister Byrne has not been aware of it, that is very surprising because ultimately Simon Coveney and a variety of others have had these issues brought to their attention by the UFU," he told the News Letter.

He added: "He is completely mistaken. We know that the Protocol is essential for the trade [between NI and the EU] but there are difficulties in agricultural sectors with the Protocol. And if Minister Byrne didn't fully appreciate that, I can assure you Maros Sevcovic does, because he has been in numerous meetings where the UFU has had opportunities to raise these issues."

Mr Brown said that since January 2020 there are prohibitive restrictions on bringing livestock from GB to NI. This has impacted sheep farmers grazing animals in Scotland over the winter and has all but ended the sale of pedigree bulls from NI to GB, he said.

Scottish seed potatoes play a vital role in NI horticulture but have now been "completely stopped from coming to Northern Ireland and that is a huge, huge challenge".

One major seed house in GB has now stopped selling any seeds to NI as a result of new regulations, resulting in "much more limited availability of varieties of seeds to plant".

And new EU rules also prohibited the use of a certain insecticide for NI crops, but the alternative used in the Republic is not approved for use in the UK.

He also noted that the grace period on veterinary medicine restrictions ends in December with no solution in sight, posing huge problems for keeping farm animals and pets safe and healthy.

Not all NI farmers are affected by the issues, he said. "But if a farmer is on my shoulder shouting in my ear because he can't get it or can't achieve it anymore, it is causing havoc for his business."

The UFU is calling for "a negotiated settlement" on the Protocol, he said. It is vital to NI farmers to have access to the EU markets' he said, because although 80% of NI produce goes to GB, the bulk of the remaining 20% goes into the EU.