A spell of better weather wasn’t the only thing raising temperatures this week for farmers as pressure continues to mount – and not just from fuel and fertilizer prices.
Remarks by the former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Around the Irish farmers and countryside he saw many people seeing the color red.
The former Taoiseach was speaking on The path to power Podcast with Matt Cooper He said farmers “still see themselves as the people who bring money and jobs to Ireland, when in fact they bring costs to Ireland a lot of the time”.
“People in rural Ireland are quick to tell people in urban Ireland that ‘we are the real workers, we are the ones who pay all the bills, we are the ones who feed the country’.
He added: “I think we probably need to be a bit more frank in urban Ireland and say: Actually, that’s not the case, we’re the ones paying all the bills and you’re the ones receiving a lot of subsidies and a lot of tax benefits that other people don’t get.”
The comments sparked strong feelings among farmers and rural communities and led to Varadkar issuing an apology of sorts.
Agriland I met the farmers at Ballymahon Mart in Co. Longford to hear how they really felt about the Taoiseach’s previous comments.
One farmer said he was “very disappointed” by Varadkar’s comments.
He commented: “It is disappointing that he is trying to pit rural Ireland against urban Ireland.”
The farmer wondered why Varadkar did not express this view when he was prime minister, a position he held before his resignation in 2024.
When it comes to subsidies, most of the farmers who chatted Agriland He highlighted how important this support is, especially for small farmers.
One shopkeeper said: “The truth of the matter is that it is unfortunate that there is now no return to farming because more people will be able to settle in rural Ireland and stay on the farm.
“Unless agriculture is supported in some way, it has no chance.”
Urban versus rural areas in Ireland
The Taoiseach’s previous comments have also once again brought to light the rural versus urban debate.
Another farmer at the market said Varadkar was “rather wrong” in what he said.
However, he does not believe there is a disconnect, believing that rural and urban communities benefit each other, not the other way around.
“You can’t have one without the other,” he said when asked if there was a rural-urban divide in Ireland.
One farmer also said that if there is an outage, it is at the government level.
“There is no understanding and no sympathy for rural communities on the part of the government.
The farmer added: “It was sad to see the way they portrayed the protests and spoke disparagingly to people.”
Danny Healy Ray
Moving from former government officials to current government officials, the departure of Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae from the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food was also a major point of discussion in the sector this week.
talking to AgrilandOne market leader felt the decision was justified.
“How can he expect to stay there when he doesn’t vote for them?”
However, not everyone in attendance at Thursday’s livestock auction was on board.
“It wasn’t fair to Danny,” another farmer said.
“Danny speaks his mind – but it’s not okay to speak your mind anymore.”
One farmer described the Healy-Rays as “very smart politicians”, but stopped short of going into further detail.
New TB rules
Over the past two weeks, market-goers have also been able to take in the new rules for livestock movement, which were introduced as part of the government’s action plan to combat tuberculosis.
reaction to New TB rules Many farmers appear to be mixed, with some still unsure how the changes will affect them.
“It’s hard to know,” one farmer said of his experience with the new movement rules.
“They’re not getting better, they’re getting worse.”
Another farmer also highlighted the uncertainty among his peers regarding the changes, saying market leaders “don’t really know what’s going on with it”.
For some, these changes haven’t yet made an impact, many dry-cattle farmers say Agriland That the new TB rules do not apply to their herd when selling cattle.
One farmer explained: “We tested two weeks ago, so we won’t be worried for another while.”
weather
Although the administration sent leaflets to farmers about these new TB rules, many market-goers said they did not have time to read them.
With the weather improving in recent weeks, farmers are busy making the most of sunny spells after one of the wettest spells in a year.
One farmer said: “The amount of rain we received this year was enormous.
“April grass has come and gone, and most of the stock is still in barns, so it’s a month you won’t be able to get back as the year goes on.”
However, some farmers are the luckiest, they said Agriland They began turning the livestock out to pasture.
“Everything is better with good weather,” one farmer commented.
“It’s been a long time, but he’s here now.”
