Quit now to restore farmer confidence in DAERA, UUP's Carmichael tells Minister

Mr Robert Carmichael, the East Londonderry Ulster Unionist Party Association Chairman, has issued a blunt ‘quit now’ message to the Executive Farming Minister in the wake of June’s Tyrone cattle cull scandal, stressing that resignation was the only solution to restore the agricultural community’s confidence in the Stormont department. 

   Mr Carmichael issued his call as a delegation of representatives from the East Londonderry UUP association joined hundreds of farmers from across the Province at a protest rally at Parliament Buildings as a special session of the Stormont committee dealing with agriculture, environment and rural affairs was called to discuss the cattle cull. 

   Mr Carmichael added: “The bitter reality of this horrific incident in Tyrone in which more than 50 cows were culled by the Farming Minister’s department, is that the farming community’s confidence in the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has all but evaporated and urgent public action is needed to restore that much-needed confidence. 

   “While the Minister has announced an inquiry into the circumstances of the cow cull, that action is too little, too late to restore the farming community’s faith in DAERA. That was made clear by the number of farmers who made the journey to Stormont to voice their heart-felt concerns. 

   “The hard reality which the Farming Minister must face is that he has lost the support of the vast majority of the agricultural community and he can only take one positive step to restore confidence in both DAERA and the post of Farming Minister - he must resign as soon as possible. 

   “The message from the East Londonderry UUP association to the minister is abundantly clear - quit now! The equally hard reality is that relations between DAERA and the farming community have been deteriorating under the current minister’s watch. 

   “The tipping point where those relations deteriorated completely was the Tyrone cattle cull. It is not a case these relations are at rock bottom - the bitter medicine which DAERA must swallow is that they are non-existent.

   “To restore that much-needed confidence, the farming community need to see radical public action and only the minister’s resignation will suffice,” said Mr Carmichael on behalf of the UUP association.