Farmers are continuing their protest near the Dáil tonight - and say they're going nowhere until they meet the Agriculture Minister.
Dozens of tractors have been parked at the corner of St Stephen's Green at Kildare Street in Dublin since early this afternoon.
It's been causing chaos for traffic in the city, and there's no sign of the protest ending yet.
They broke through a Garda blockade to block off traffic in the city this afternoon.
Over 100 tractors made their way from Merrion Square towards Leinster House.
They have stopped at the Shelbourne Hotel where they say they will remain until the Minister for Agriculture listens to their concerns.
Tractors have broken through a Garda barricade at Merrion Square and protesting farmers are now driving them towards the Dail pic.twitter.com/xKX4SEptIN
— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen_Murphy5) November 26, 2019
The farmers, who are independent of any grouping, are trying to highlight the difficulties facing many small farmers in Ireland.
They have accused the Government of “doing nothing" to help them.
16-year-old Katie Cooney from County Cavan said her family needs a lot more support to survive.
“The truth is that I should not be here,” she said. “I should be in school; I am only 16-years-old.”
“My family survive off our farm and it is so hard because we don’t get enough money for it.
“The Government are really doing nothing to help us. We are the only industry in Ireland that is actually going to always be needed. But we be here much longer if things don’t improve.”
Tractors have broken through a Garda barricade at Merrion Square and protesting farmers are now driving them towards the Dail pic.twitter.com/xKX4SEptIN
— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen_Murphy5) November 26, 2019
The protesters are demanding better prices for their produce and an investigation into imported foods being labelled as Irish.
The group is calling guarantees from all TDs that can “sustain family farming and the economic existence of people outside Dublin.”
They have set out eight demands in total:
Here’s the letter outlining the demands from the group of farmers protesting today pic.twitter.com/R97VgnPaB9
— Stephen Murphy (@Stephen_Murphy5) November 26, 2019
Reporting from Stephen Murphy in Dublin City Centre
