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ICOS Announces New European Affairs Executive in Brussels
Publication Date: 27/8/2010
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| The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, ICOS has appointed Conor Mulvihill as its European Affairs Executive based in the ICOS Brussels Office. Mulvihill replaces Carol McGinley who is taking up a role in with the UK Financial Services Authority in London following over 5 years with ICOS in Brussels. |
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ICOS Honour Major Figure of Irish Co-operative Movement
Publication Date: 1/6/2010
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| Robert A. Anderson, a leading figure of the Irish co-operative movement, former President of the Irish Agricultural Organisation Society (IAOS) and head of the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (IAWS), was today honoured by ICOS at a special ceremony in Mount Jerome Cemetery in Dublin.
ICOS President Pat McLoughlin unveiled a special memorial stone for Robert Anderson to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth.
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Dairy Industry Leaders Agree to Assess Options
Publication Date: 9/3/2010
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| Dairy industry leaders, including the chairman and chief executives of all dairy processing co-operatives and the Irish Dairy Board, have agreed to commission an independent review of dairy industry requirements for the future, ICOS has confirmed. |
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Centralised Milk Testing Not to Proceed
Publication Date: 9/3/2010
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| The proposed establishment of a centralised milk testing laboratory will not go ahead as sufficient economies of scale have not been identified in the interests of participating co-operatives and their milk producers, ICOS confirmed today. |
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ICOS Reports Constructive Outcome from Dairy Industry Meetings
Publication Date: 8/12/2009
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| A recent series of top level dairy industry meetings, hosted specially by ICOS and attended by the Chairmen, CEOs and senior executives of all milk processors in Ireland, have achieved a constructive outcome to date, according to ICOS Vice President Bertie O’Leary. |
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Protect Suckler Welfare Scheme – ICOS urges Minister
Publication Date: 27/11/2009
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| ICOS, the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, has called on Minister Brendan Smith to protect and maintain the national Suckler Cow Welfare Scheme and Disadvantaged Area Payments in the forthcoming budget. |
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Plunkett - Founder of Irish Co-operative Movement honoured
Publication Date: 2/11/2009
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| Ireland's co-operative movement today honoured Sir Horace Plunkett, one of its founding fathers, at the publication of a new book by Maurice Colbert on Plunkett's life and immense influence on the development of Ireland’s Agricultural sector. |
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Statement by ICOS on the Lisbon Treaty Referendum
Publication Date: 24/9/2009
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| Thursday, 24th September 2009 - The President of ICOS (the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society), Pat McLoughlin has written to the heads of all co-operative businesses and organisations in Ireland urging all co-op members to turn out in force for a resounding yes vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty Referendum next week.
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ICOS calls for Lisbon YES vote
Publication Date: 11/9/2009
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| Representative body for all Irish agricultural co-operatives says ‘Yes’ vote is vital to maximise future influence and participation in Europe.
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IRELAND SET TO SUFFER MOST FROM PROPOSED REVISION OF EU ANIMAL TRANSPORT LEGISLATION
Publication Date: 12/5/2009
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| The European Association of Livestock Marts (AEMB) Conference, organised by ICOS, is taking place this Thursday, 14th May in Cillín Hill, Kilkenny. The two-day conference will be attended by over 130 delegates from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Scotland, England and France.
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ICOS BOARD RESTRUCTURING COMPLETED
Publication Date: 8/5/2009
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| The President of ICOS, Pat McLoughlin, welcomed the completion of the restructuring of the governance structure in ICOS with the election of five new Board members and the re-election of two existing Board members. The final changes to the new governance structure approved by members in December 2007 were completed yesterday (Thursday, 7th May 09) with the conducting of elections in a number of different electoral groupings. |
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ICOS POINTS TO DAIRY RESTRUCTURING LESSONS
Publication Date: 1/5/2009
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| ICOS have been proactively engaging with industry members on the necessary structure changes to the dairy sector. Today, Friday 1st May, ICOS held a dairy strategy seminar and invited international speakers from Denmark to present. Attendees included the CEOs, Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of dairy Co-operatives. Guest speakers were the Deputy CEO from Arla Foods, Mr Andreas Lundby and Mr Bent Juul Sorensen, board member of Arla Foods and Chairman of the Danish Dairy Board. |
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CENTRALISED MILK TESTING STATEMENT
Publication Date: 7/4/2009
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| ICOS President Pat McLoughlin speaking in Limerick after a meeting with the co-op chairman and chief executives has strongly welcomed an agreement by seven co-ops to establish a centralised Milk Testing Laboratory. The Co-ops, including Dairygold, Lakeland, Connacht Gold, Arrabawn, Tipperary, North Cork and Boherbue, have agreed to pool their milk testing operation in to one central laboratory, which will test milk from approximately 8,000 farmers for payment, herd recording and herd health and management parameters. |
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ICOS PRESIDENT WARNS OF TOUGH DECISIONS AHEAD FOR DAIRY CO-OPERATIVES
Publication Date: 1/4/2009
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| Speaking on the eve of his departure to Denmark, ICOS President Mr Pat McLoughlin warned of the immediate need for continuing progress and discussions at board and management level of dairy Co-Operatives to examine and restructure the sector ahead of 2015. |
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ICOS VIEWS THE STEPS BY COMMISSION ON BUTTER INTERVENTION AS POSITIVE, BUT IS DISAPPOINTED AT EXPORT REFUND LEVELS
Publication Date: 19/3/2009
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| ICOS views as positive the retention within one percent of fixed price the buying-in price for butter under intervention. It is a welcome step that the Commission is maximising the intervention tool available to them to help create a certain balance in the market. Nevertheless, ICOS was very disappointed that export refund levels for SMP and butter were not increased and that only forty four percent of butter bids were accepted. All market management tools need to be maximised given the current grave market situation. Thus export refund levels need to be increased. Milk is trading at or below intervention levels, thus the current real price for milk with the current refund levels is still in the mid to high teens. |
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ICOS ORGANISES VISIT TO IRELAND FOR HEAD OF EU COMMISSION DAIRY SECTION
Publication Date: 11/3/2009
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| This week ICOS organised the visit to Ireland for the Head of the Dairy Section in DG Agri in the EU Commission, Mr. Thorkild Rasmussen. A series of meetings are being held on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th March with ICOS and dairy industry representatives. |
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ICOS CONTINUES TO DRIVE CHANGE IN THE IRISH DAIRY INDUSTRY
Publication Date: 3/3/2009
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| ICOS has invited Thorkild Rasmussen (Head of the Milk Policy Division in DG Agriculture in the EU Commission) to Ireland next week. He will be here for a series of meetings, with ICOS and industry representatives on 11th and 12th March. |
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QUALITY IS KEY FOR MILK MACHINE TECHNICIANS
Publication Date: 3/3/2009
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| Under the umbrella of ICOS Skillnet, the Irish Milk Quality Co-Operative Society (IMQCS) hosted a networking seminar on Tuesday, 3rd March in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel, Laois. Entitled 'Milking Machine Standards, Milk Quality and the Milking Machine Technician' the seminar had guest speaker Mr Kees de Koning from Holland who outlined the benefits of having a structured system providing a seal of quality assurance for milking machines.
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ICOS DIRECTOR GENERAL OUTLINES DAIRY SECTORS NEED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE DECISIVE ACTION
Publication Date: 18/2/2009
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| Presenting to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, (Wednesday, 18th February) John Tyrrell, Director General of ICOS, the umbrella body for the co-operative movement, highlighted the immediate need for the dairy sector co-operative groups to take decisive action to face the challenges facing the industry. |
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ICOS Welcomes Reintroduction of Dairy Export Refunds
Publication Date: 22/1/2009
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| Following last week’s statement from the European Commission of its intention to reintroduce Dairy Export Refunds, ICOS welcomes the Commission’s acceptance today of Export Refunds bids for butter, cheese and skimmed milk powder. |
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ICOS Director General warns farmers that there are no simple solutions
Publication Date: 7/1/2009
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| ICOS Director General John Tyrrell warned farmers that there will be no simple solutions to the difficulties facing the dairy sector. “The dairy industry has taken significant steps to improve efficiency in the recent past, and huge amounts of cost have been taken out” he said. |
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ICOS calls for Pay Freeze in Towards 2016
Publication Date: 4/12/2008
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| The severe slowdown in economic activity and poor outlook for 2009 should put a big question mark over the recent Agreement on pay in Towards 2016. ICOS President Patrick McLoughlin said “it is not realistic to ignore the impact of the severe downturn in economic activity and the banking crisis, which are affecting all businesses. This has worsened since the Agreement was reached in September.” |
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ICOS update on Health Check
Publication Date: 1/12/2008
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| Mr George Kearns said today that the milk quota aspects of the recently agreed Health Check needed clarification for individual producers. The main elements, said Mr Kearns, were butterfat adjustment to milk deliveries, the rate of superlevy and the 1% per annum quota increases. |
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ICOS 'MILK IRELAND' MODEL WELL RECEIVED
Publication Date: 26/11/2008
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| ICOS, the Co-operative governing body, is currently spearheading discussions with representatives from Ireland's dairy Co-operatives. The Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of 17 co-operatives attended a meeting recently (Friday, 21st November 2008), which involved the entire milk processing capacity in Ireland and included the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Irish Dairy Board. At this meeting, the initial of a series of member meetings, ICOS was encouraged by the positive response to the ICOS “Milk Ireland” Model. |
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Health Check Agreement – Steps in the Right Direction
Publication Date: 20/11/2008
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| ICOS President Pat McLoughlin acknowledged the final agreement between Agricultural Ministers in Brussels on the Health Check proposals. A clear decision had been made earlier this year by the Council that milk quotas are definitely ending in 2015. Mr. McLoughlin said, 'The quota increases agreed this morning are important right steps for the industry to prepare for the ending of quotas in six years time. It provides an important signal to producers and industry that quotas will be phased out and will become ineffective even before 2015'. |
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ICOS Seeks Key Decisions on Health Check Proposals
Publication Date: 18/11/2008
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| Speaking from Brussels, ICOS Director General, John Tyrrell reiterates ICOS’ main priorities in the pending Health Check proposals to be finalised later this week at the Agriculture Council.
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