Edition Bobbett2. Speeches and statements by Elizabeth F. Bobbett

1939 Tullamore, Meeting of the Irish Farmers’ Federation

Source: Midland Tribune, 24.06.1939

Miss Bobbett, who was greeted with applause, expressed regret that some of the male members of the Executive were not present to address the meeting, because they looked upon Tullamore as one of the premier towns, as a great business town, and a great market town. The chief object of the Farmers’ Federation was to organise the farmers and benefit the agricultural industry generally. Every other section of the people organised in order to improve their conditions, and she was glad to say that already twenty-one counties had been organised under the Federation, which was a registered trade union and non-political. All farmers and farm labourers, irrespective of their political views, were asked to join. The Federation took special steps to guard against politics entering into it, so much so that a TD or Senator was debarred from filling any official position in the movement, though such people were welcome to join as branch members. That showed that the Federation was absolutely outside politics.

One of their demands was adequate compensation for economic war losses. She knew that if the farmers were in a good position and able to enjoy life on the farm they would not waste their time coming to listen to her, and their very presence was proof that they were not getting on too well. She had been organising the farmers for the last five years, and it was because of the voluntary work done up to the present, and because they had stuck to their guns and persevered against all opposition, they had made a success of the Federation. Five years ago the work of organisation began and the work of breaking down the spirit of political bitterness that rankled amongst farmers. They had succeeded in that to a great extent, and if it had done nothing else but do away with that bitterness, the Federation had justified itself. It was time the farmers looked after their own business, not leaving it to politicians to look after it for them.

One important plank in the programme of the Federation of a Council of Agriculture representing every branch of the industry. When the twenty-six counties were organised each would elect its own representatives on the National Executive. They would then be in a position to put their claims before the Minister for Agriculture. It was hardly good enough that civil servants in Dublin should be in a position to tell the farmers what they were to grow. The immediate aim was to obtain speedy relief for the farmers, who were pretty well down and out. Some, who had other resources, were able to carry on, but there were farmers who had not a beast left and they must be compensated for their losses, because the hardship and suffering of the economic war were borne only by one section of the community – the farmers. They were very good natured people, and there were two things wrong with the farmer: one was lack of confidence in himself and his neighbours, and the other was that he was too honest.

When Deputies wanted increased salaries and pensions they did not pause to consider where the money was to come from. Mr Erskine Childers, after the settlement with England, said Eamon de Valera had saved 88 millions as a result of that agreement. That money belonged to the farmers of Ireland and if they could get a share of it immediately it would help, as partial compensation, to put the farmers into production and improve their holdings. The Minister for Finance, speaking at a bankers’ dinner, called on the farmers to increase production and improve exports. They could not increase production when they had not got the money to start with. They asked that farmers should be compensated pound per pound of his valuation, with a minimum of £25.

Politicians were always trying to cause division between the small and the big farmers, but they forgot that the small man had to depend on the large farmer to buy his young stock, to plough his bit of ground. In fact one could not live without the other. It was absolutely wrong to say that the Irish Farmers’ Federation stood only for the big farmer.

She went on to say that the Federation demanded complete derating of agricultural land and buildings, not as a form of compensation, but as their just due. They would pay their just share of the taxation for the upkeep of local services. She did not know how Offaly County Council stood in regard to finance, but she was told that in Laoighise in 1914 that £36,000 covered the county services, and this year the cost was £158,000 plus £10,000 for drainage. It was utterly impossible to keep pace with such expenditure. Prices for agricultural produce were only 9 per cent more than they were in 1914. That did not mean that the farmers were 9 per cent better off, as their production costs were doubled and in some cases trebled. In 1914 a farmer could get a set of shoes for his horse for 2s, and now it cost him 6s. A voice: It is 7s here. Miss Bobbett: Well, you are worse off then we are in Wicklow.

Miss Bobbett went on to say that she understood Offaly was a big grain-growing county. She referred to figures quoted by Dr. James Ryan in the Dail relating to the reduction in the output of beet, and the increase in imports of foreign sugar, which was bought so much cheaper in Liverpool than we could purchase it here. Import duty on that sugar was something in the nature of £4,000,000 which could be well paid to the farmer for growing beet and keeping the people on the land. She need not tell the farmers that they were not getting an economic price for beet, and that was reflected in the West where there was very little beet grown this year. She drew attention to the amount of money the farmers had put into the promotion of sugar factories and others. She instanced the Roscrea meat factory which was set up at a tremendous cost and was now closed. The farmers contributed cows to that factory for nothing, and when it was closed the owners got £15,000 compensation. There was another factory set up for making corned beef and cattle were bought for it at 10s to 12s per cwt. That concern also closed with £12,000 compensation. Every section of activity that was interfered with was compensated by the Government, but the farmers, who fought the greatest war of all, were accorded no consideration whatever. Now they were about to put up their claims, and it was up to the farmers to prove whether they were men or mice. If they did not act themselves there was no hope for them. There was nothing for them only the land; if they were to go in for any other job they must talk Irish (laughter), and if they were able to talk Irish and unable to plough it would not be much use to them on the land. If they wanted to save their homes every parish should start a branch of the Federation, and if their demands were not conceded they would down tools. She advised them in that case to sit down for a week or a month or two months, and cease production. Why should they continue producing at a loss? Even the one-day strike in Dublin had had good results; it had left a scarcity of mutton in Dublin for the rest of the week. As a friend in Dublin said to her: “That was a great procession you had, but we missed our lunches.” She was delighted to hear that (laughter). If the farmers showed determination in that sort of strike action their rights would be conceded within a week. When they set about establishing branches in Offaly she hoped they would get the women into it (applause). The Federation asked for a wage subsidy for all farm workers, because they held that owing to the high cost of living the agricultural labourer was not sufficiently well paid. At present these men were leaving the land to work on relief schemes, housing schemes, etc. Farmers wanted to retain the best men on the land, but they should be well paid. To achieve all these objects it was necessary for the farmers to come together and with the twenty-six counties thoroughly organised the Federation would become a power to be reckoned with (applause).