The second largest farmers organisation in the State, the ICMSA, wants the Government to clarify what a “durable relationship” means ahead of the referendum vote on 8 March.
Representing dairy farmers, ICMSA president Denis Drennan said farmers contacting him about the referendum are expressing concern about the lack of a definition of durable relationships and the Government’s failure to provide such a definition to voters.
He said scenarios could be easily imagined where estates could be undermined or even wiped out through legal contests brought by individuals based on durable relationships.
He said the ICMSA was most concerned with viable and successful farm succession, but the questions were no less valid for any individual with an asset or property.
“It was unfair and unreasonable to ask the electorate to vote blind while this key definition was lacking,” he said, adding that he “could not Imagine farmers giving the proposed changes the support the Government seemed to expect.”
