The Department of Agriculture has confirmed that livestock marts must continue using online only platforms for bidding and sales.
The statement followed calls for the Government to reassess level 5 operating procedures for marts after one of the three main online systems used for sales suffered problems on Saturday, leading to delays at 16 centres.
The department said officials had been in touch with each of the system providers and that all three had “reaffirmed their commitment to taking all necessary steps to avoid any reoccurrence of such problems”. The unprecedented numbers of people viewing and bidding on the mart online systems, and the speed at which farmers have adopted the new technology has meant that some have had to build extra resilience into their systems, said the statement.
The problems on Saturday were resolved after two hours and 26 out of the 30 mart sales taking place around the country could complete their sales, it added.
The department noted that online mart sales remained strong, with a “continued steady trade” through the autumn. It said that “every aspect” of mart trading would be kept under review while level 5 restrictions remain in place but noted that the decision to continue using online only platforms was needed to protect those in the agri-sector and wider rural communities from the spread of Covid-19.
The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) warned on Saturday that relying on an “online only system” for mart sales was “too ambitious” and said this weekend’s online glitches had caused “huge issues”.
IFA president Tim Cullinan said the online system had been “bedding down well” but that “clear challenges” had emerged in relation to broadband and the ability of systems to cope with the high volume of cattle and bids during a hectic time of the year.
Mr Cullinan said some buyers were still not fully comfortable with the online system and farmers were worried the market would not function properly without these buyers bidding.
“Everybody is doing their best, but the protocols need to be reviewed to allow a limited number of buyers around the ring,” he said, adding that the Government should review Level 5 operating procedures in marts “as a matter of urgency”.
“The Autumn trade is crucial, and it would be hugely disruptive if trade could not continue or if the market was compromised. We need to allow some level of in-person trading once social distancing and other guidelines are fully and rigorously followed.”
Conditions
Independent TD for Roscommon-Galway Michael Fitzmaurice said conditions outlined by Government for livestock marts during Level 5 restrictions had “proven to be unworkable” and that farmers were “losing faith with the entire system”.
Mr Fitzmaurice said concerns around the state of rural broadband and “the potential for disaster when it comes to 100 per cent online bidding” had been well founded.
“The Minister for Agriculture needs to step up to the mark and fight to allow buyers to remain around the ring once strict regulations are followed,” he said. “Otherwise, the livelihoods of farmers will take a nosedive. A common sense approach needs to be taken to address this matter.”
