In the Dáil this week, questions were raised by Co. Kerry TD, Danny Healy-Rae about the government policy towards agriculture and farmers.
Deputy Healy-Rae stated: “Why does the government hate Irish farmers?” following the passing of the Nature Restoration Law by a vote of the plenary session of the European Parliament on Tuesday, February 27.
The Council of the EU has still to formally decide whether to adopt the law.
He responded to the outcome of the vote this week, by saying “it will kill off the agriculture industry”.
Healy-Rae said: “A total of 20% of our land and seas are to be excluded from farming or fishing, yet the Chinese are boasting they will have an extra one million cows in production this year.”
He also claimed that “the South Americans are building up their herds”.
Asking those in the Dáil “why does the government hate Irish farmers so much?” Healy-Rae said that Irish agriculture has been “the backbone” of the country “since the foundation of the state and far beyond that”.
Response
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Martin Heydon responded and said they would not do “a disservice to farmers, who are doing a great deal in respect of nature restoration”.
Replying directly to Deputy Healy-Rae, Minister Heydon asked: “What farmer does the deputy know who does not want to see better biodiversity, improved water quality and lower emissions in his or her area?
“Farmers are working towards all of that as well as producing top-quality food. There is no need for scaremongering around the Nature Restoration Law,” he said.
Minister Heydon assured Deputy Healy-Rae that the law that was voted on and passed this week “has changed dramatically since the original draft” and that “farmers’ concerns were taken on board and safeguards are in place”.
“The measures will only be voluntary, and the farmers who take them on will be rewarded financially for doing so,” Minister Heydon added.