Mr. Damian McDonald:

One of the challenges of what is happening is that a significant number of people are suffering in silence because it is a big decision for an individual to approach ISME, the IFA or any third party, reveal a problem and seek help. We have a clear plan in terms of how we help people but a major issue is the number of people who are suffering in silence and have not sought help. The IFA has a team structure and an individual can go to somebody in the region or outside the region if one does not want the information to be known publicly or locally. The suffering in silence is a factor for all representative bodies in matters such as this and it makes it harder to get a grip on just how big a problem this is.

We run campaigns daily and weekly on various issues and the reaction we get from our members on this type of issue is huge. We look at the hit rates for stories on our websites and monitor all of these issues. From looking at that, one must conclude there is a significant number of people who are worried about this issue, are on the radar, are in trouble and are not sure where they will end up.

Another concern is that when farmers eventually contact the IFA, it is sometimes too late. Many problems have arisen as a result. Some are afraid to contact us because they fear that if their case becomes high profile, the fund in question will be harder on them. That is a factor as well.

It is hard to get a grip on the extent of the issue but based on the reaction, we are worried that a large number of farmers are in trouble.