During Covid, the buzzword everywhere in every country was about food security and making sure that where shortages were showing up in places, we would learn from those mistakes. Ironically enough - in my opinion, it is because of Commission pressure - over the last couple of years it is worrying to see in Holland that regarding 10% of the land where farmers were farming, they had to sign a docket. They were basically turfed out and told they cannot farm in Europe again. They had to sign that docket. It is the same this week. The European Commission is after giving Denmark the go-ahead for a €1 billion fund which will take out 9% to 10% of its lands. In every country throughout Europe, we see the pressures on land in the line of forestry, solar and wind. Also, we see new EU regulations. We have done it in this country, where farmers have set aside 10% for nature. They did not say anything about it, may I add, and they were prepared to do it. The nature restoration law is coming in and the interpretation of it will be known in the next few months. I will not make a hasty statement one way or the other in the line of that. Stats tell us that throughout Europe in the last 15 years we have lost 5.5 million farms. That is 5.5 million families. That is a colossal amount. There is something wrong. It is not that we are against trade deals, but there seems at the same time to be a massive push - be it New Zealand, Australia, Mercosur or CETA - to make sure we hammer these deals fairly quickly. There seems to be an agenda driven by the Commission and Ursula von der Leyen. Steel and other heavy industries have been driven out of Europe. On the figures relating to what we have to achieve in climate, it appears farmers are the next casualties, when you look at the reasons both Denmark and Holland have decided to do what they are doing. We seem to be now more content to bring cooked, vacuum-packed chicken in from China and feed people in Europe with it than to farm the chickens in Europe. We seem to be more content to bring in beef or other products because of the methane out of cattle. I am asking the Tánaiste - and I am also asking the Taoiseach - whether, when European leaders meet, this madness that is going on can be halted. We are taking prime land out of production in Europe and we still think of Covid and self-sufficiency. At the same time, we are going to fly it or boat it. I thought we all lived in the same world, where the cow puts up the same methane and farts the same in some other part of the world as in Europe. Why are we doing this to the farmers of Europe?

Sentiment score: -0.04

I never said I was totally opposed to trade deals. We have to bring in bananas and other things from some other countries. There is no one saying otherwise. The question I am asking is whether it does not sound an alarm to all European leaders. By the way, if you look at the stats for Irish exports, most of them go to Europe and the UK, especially in the line of beef. Think about if policy was right in industry and agriculture. Figures have gone up in industry and people working. We have lost 5.5 million farms in Europe. I will give the Tánaiste an example. I spoke to a farmer from Denmark yesterday. He is an organic farmer. He is a big organic farmer in my book because he had something like over 300 cows. He is doing organic. That is the best type of farming if you want to be the perfect student in the class. However, he is being taken out. We are probably going to replace him with someone who can shove a bit of a hormone or medicine into an animal that is banned in Europe. Does that make sense? This is what I am saying. Where is the focus? Can leaders reset the agenda? Countries are under pressure because they have to hit this target. Once we hit the target, we are the best kids in the class. That is what seems to be the thing. Whatever sacrifice we have to make, if we have to be the salesperson for it, it is sound, provided we do not produce it. That is the worry I have throughout Europe.

Sentiment score: 0.01