In just under six months voters in Ireland will get the opportunity to decide who should be the country’s next MEPs.
Ireland will gain an extra seat in the 2024 European elections which means there will be 14 in total.
The Euro constituencies include Dublin – which has four seats up for grabs, Ireland South which has a total of five seats and Midlands-North-West which also has five seats.
In an interview with Agriland three of the current MEPs who intend to run again – Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher, Green Party MEP, Grace O’Sullivan and Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly – said that agriculture will be a key issue for them as voters go to the polls in June.
Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher said, in particular for him, a key focus will be to ensure that “any legislative changes that come about over the next number of years will take into account the importance of agriculture and rural life”.
Kelleher also believes that it is crucial that there is a “sustainable transfer of farms within generations”.
“If you look at the age pool of file of farms in Ireland and across Europe we don’t simply have enough young people coming into farming – willing to take that on that’s not sustainable for an industry so the big issue from my perspective would be to try and promote this intergenerational transfer of land as young people would see there is opportunity,” he added.
Meanwhile Green Party MEP, Grace O’Sullivan, told Agriland, that it is “really important that we have a trust with farmers”.
“In the end it is the farmers who produce our food, it’s the farmers who with the right farming method will create the habitats, nature, the ecosystems that will actually allow nature to survive and to thrive. We in Ireland have real opportunity and we must work together,” she said.
According to Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly there is a “growing appreciation” in Europe in relation to the “value of agriculture, the need for food security and also to value the excellent food we are growing in Europe”.
Kelly told Agriland that he believes it is important that supports are put in place to assist farmers to reduce emissions, “which they are doing and they’re not getting any credit for”.
He also stressed that a major issue for MEPs should be to ensure that the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is “properly funded”.
“There are a lot of issues in relation to agriculture, in relation to rural areas but I think at European level there is a growing awareness of their importance and hopefully in the next parliament will see more action to help them,” Kelly added.