Farmers sleep in their cabs of their tractors outside the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin this morning

Further to the ongoing farmers’ protest in Dublin.

One of the farmers who has organised the protest, Daniel Long, told Seán O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One this morning that the farmers will break up the protest if the Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed “corrects” the Dáil record in regards to comments he made yesterday.

Mr Creed said that death threats had been made against management at C&D Pet Foods in Edgeworthstown in Co Longford – a company at the centre of injunction proceedings against two men, Fine Gael Cllr Paraic Brady, from Drumlish, Co Longford, and Colm Leonard, from Aughanoran Dring, Co Longford, preventing them and others from trespassing at or blockading the facility.

Mr O’Rourke earlier said that the show had got word from Mr Creed’s department that he has no intention to clarify or correct what he said.

Cllr Brady told Mr O’Rourke said:

“There was a PULSE when it was reported back four weeks ago, five weeks ago, but, to date, no member of management or staff has come forward to An Garda Siochana even on request, regarding they were willing to give a statement to move this forward.”

On Morning Ireland earlier, Fran McNulty reported that according to “Garda sources”, no complaint about death threats had been made by the company.

Yesterday, Mr Creed told the Dáil:

“…this is a matter which the Garda is aware of, senior management in that company have had death threats issued against them, and their partners and families have been intimidated in that local community.

“This is not simply an issue of the Government not wanting to resolve this issue. We are grappling with what are very difficult issues.

“We have seen in other cases what happens when senior executives in companies are threatened. You, Deputy Mattie McGrath, may dismiss the significance of death threats against people. The Government does not.”

Mr Long told Mr O’Rourke that he told the minister this morning that what he said in the Dáil yesterday was not a true statement.

Asked how Mr Creed responded, the farmer said:

“He wasn’t very clear, he was evasive, I suppose would be the fairest way to put it, like. He said that was what was presented to him. He said he had a PULSE number. That’s kind of all he made of it like.”

Mr O’Rourke clarified with Mr Long: “The minister was relying on a record on the PULSE system?” to which Mr Long replied: “yeah”.

UPDATE: C& D has said that it DID report death threats to the gardai.

Listen back here

Dáil transcript: Oireachtas.ie

Earlier: ‘He Met The Farmers But Didn’t Meet The Delegation’

Rollingnews