Election of a new Beef Plan Movement national committee will take place at the group’s first AGM, which is planned for Saturday 8 February 2020.

Seven national officers will be elected on the day – a chair and vice-chair, treasurer, PRO and assistant PRO, secretary and assistant secretary, Dermot O’Brien, the Beef Plan Movement’s spokesperson told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Those officers will come from an expected pool of over 180 eligible county committee members, who are yet to be elected. County committees will be elected on 15 January, O’Brien said, although co-chair Hugh Doyle said the process could take a number of days.

Each of 26 counties will elect a seven-person committee, consisting of chair and vice-chair, treasurer, PRO and assistant PRO, secretary and assistant secretary. This will give a pool of 182 people.

Any of these 182 can then nominate themselves as running for election to the national committee. Their nomination must be seconded and must be made known to the current national committee within 14 days of being elected to their county position.

Eligible

O’Brien said that all paid-up members will be eligible to vote for their preferred candidates for the national committee on 8 February and the voting process will be overseen by an independent adjudicator.

Hugh Doyle, current co-chair of the Beef Plan Movement, told the Irish Farmers Journal that there are “around 10,500 paid-up members”, but a large number of members of Whatsapp groups are not paid-up members and will not be eligible to vote in the election as a result.

Farmers who paid €10 each and filled out membership forms at mart meetings and online during the last 12 to 14 months will be considered eligible voters, he confirmed.

Accounts

The Beef Plan directors drafted and last week agreed its rules of governance and it is understood that a full set of accounts is being prepared in advance of the AGM.