Philip Lynch, CEO of One 51 talks business, politics and life at the IGA Dairy Conference.

Philip Lynch, took centre stage at the Pfizer sponsored Irish Grassland Association Annual Dairy conference in Cork. Commenting on the current economic doom and gloom Philip called on the farming lobby to revolt against the waste that was becoming part and parcel of modern Ireland. “The farming lobby is strong and should march on topics like unnecessary public spending. Why are state agencies running non core businesses? Our ports, gas, ESB, buses and trains etc should be all outsourced. The boards of these companies are redundant and have no control, they are no more than sand bags put in place from a previous management structure.”

He used Eircom as a case in point. He said, “Ireland has had a very bad experience with Eircom. They started off with €3bn of debt and now they have €4bn debt. It’s like a 90 HP tractor pulling a 7 furrow reversible plough they are weighed down to the last. They just can’t compete.”

What should be done now? Philip said now was the time for an all party solution. “We need all our politicians to come together to find the right solution. We are not going to make progress if Enda Kenny is snapping at Brian Cowen and vice versa.” He also said that business leaders should come together and draft up a plan and put recommendations on the table for the government.
On the banking crisis he said, “If some of the banks had more farmers on the board then some of the issues that are cropping up now would definitely not have happened. I really mean that. You wouldn’t put much over on farmers.”

He called for more competition in the dairy sector suggesting ring fencing and effective cartels are a huge drawback to the industry. He said, “dairy farmers are producing a fixed amount of product – a commodity – and you need someone snapping at your ankles and heels to drive you on.”



For more information on the IGA Dairy Conference 2009 contact the Irish Grassland Association