The only dairy farmer in Dáil Eireann, Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill, has warned that rural Ireland “is not simply a park for the Greens to entertain themselves”.
The Fianna Fáil TD and the chair of the Joint Oireachtas Agriculture Committee today (Tuesday, June 6) hit back at claims made by a Green Party TD, Brian Leddin.
Deputy Leddin claimed in the Dáil that “agriculture now accounts for just 1% of gross domestic product, GDP, while it produces 37% of our emissions”.
The Green Party TD for Limerick City also accused the agricultural sector of having a “completely disproportionate influence on this parliament”.
He also claimed that Fine Gael and Sinn Féin were trying to “torpedo the Nature Restoration Law at the European level”.
“This is an utter crime against nature.
“The Nature Restoration Law is the pathway; it is not the cliff edge. The Nature Restoration Law is the regulation from Europe that would seek to get us on the pathway to turning the course of this nature collapse back onto the right path,” Deputy Leddin added.
But the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary said he took “grave exception to this ignorant and misleading comment” by Deputy Leddin.
“The reality is that Irish agri-food exports totalled €18.7 billion in 2022, representing a 21% year-on-year increase.
“I would like to see Deputy Leddin propose how rural Ireland would survive if we removed this industry from it. I would like to hear where Deputy Leddin thinks the food required to feed the world should be produced if not in Ireland,” Deputy Cahill said.
According to the deputy he is “the only dairy farmer” in Dáil Éireann and has often found he is sometimes “a lonely voice”.
“To follow Deputy Leddin’s logic, Ireland can survive without the agri-food industry, because apparently the €18.7 billion worth of exports is only pocket change to him and his agenda, and the voice of the people who produce this food is heard too often in the Dáil, apparently,” Deputy Cahill said.
“Rural Ireland and the rural economy depend massively on the agri-food industry. The facts and figures speak for themselves.
“Rural Ireland is not simply a park for the Greens to entertain themselves, and I will proudly continue to voice my support for this vital industry in the Dáil, whether that agrees with Deputy Leddin’s agenda or not,” Deputy Cahill added.