It is now clear that as a result of the climate crisis, we are entering an era of more extreme weather in every sense. Summers are growing relentlessly hotter followed by winters of torrential rain. Earlier this year, we saw first hand the devastating damage from floods across Carlow and Kilkenny. In response to the extreme weather, the EU moved to provide emergency support for farmers who suffered significant damage from adverse climate conditions - €56 million in aid in total. Portugal, due to crop damage from heavy rainfall, is to receive €30 million, Romania and Cyprus are set to receive almost €20 million, and the list goes on. Which country is not on that list? Ireland. Not a single cent of this funding will make its way to our farmers. Last week, I met a man who lost his entire crop of potatoes due to floods. He suffered losses of well over €500,000. He is crippled with debt and struggling in every sense of the word. It was heartbreaking to hear about the ordeal he has been through. To try to make sense of it, and to secure some supports from the State, farmers like this man provide food security but since the flooding, he has been unable to farm, denying us significant yields from prime land. When farmers like him who feed the nation fall on hard times through no fault of their own, the Government fails to stand with them. Worse still, the Government has failed even to apply for EU funding that could have changed this man's life. It begs the question: how many other funding opportunities for our farmers has this Government simply not bothered to pursue? Earlier this year the European Commission announced that Brazilian beef would be removed from the EU food safe list due to high public health risk. Yet rather than act decisively in the interests of public health, the Commission gave Brazil until September to get its house in order. It is now clear it has not done that and is never going to do that. Instead, it has chosen to export beef to Ireland and the EU at volumes we have never seen before. Throughout 2025, 172,000 tonnes Brazilian beef were imported into Ireland. In the first three months of 2026, that figure has already reached 229,000 tonnes, flooding Irish shops and restaurants with a product that is being banned because it risks public health. What was the logic in allowing this beef to continue to be imported into the country up to September? Was it simply a case of profit over public health? If this beef causes health problems, the potential damage to individuals and the State is absolutely enormous.

Sentiment score: -0.18