Rural Independent TDs have condemned what they describe as a “secret report” which calls for a 30% cull of the National Cattle Herd – and they are demanding an Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture “publicly denounce” the recommendation.
Deputy Mattie McGrath, the leader of the Rural Independent Group of TDs, described the recent report as a “vicious strike against the heart of rural Ireland”.
“This report, compiled by the Environmental Protection Agency, a government agency, lays bare the devastating impact of the government’s radical green policies on Irish farming. The proposals, which aim to reduce the national herd by 30 percent, will destroy the livelihoods of Irish beef, dairy, and sheep farmers and compromise the very food production that our nation depends on.”
“If these proposals are implemented, rural Ireland will face ‘mass destruction.’ The report calls for a reduction in livestock numbers and a quadrupling of forestry cover, together with re-wetting 90 percent of reclaimed land, will have a devastating impact on our communities, homes, and traditions. The authors of the report seem to have no regard for the people who call rural Ireland home, as their proposals would turn it into a national park.”
“It is evident that the government has lost touch with rural Ireland, as evidenced by the creation of this report, which was funded by taxpayers’ money, and their plans to hammer farmers with emissions reduction targets of 25 percent. The world needs more food, not less, and it is unjust to restrict food production and leave land unused.”
“We demand an unequivocal statement from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture, assuring us that no reductions in cattle, pigs, goats, and sheep will be considered or implemented, and that the report will be immediately disregarded and incinerated.”
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