John Bruton, former Taoiseach: “They [the British] need to examine what they mean by sovereignty, because their definition of sovereignty is something that might have applied sometime for about 10 years after 1870 when they controlled the seas. They haven’t controlled the seas since 1900.”

John Bryan, former IFA president: “Full-time farmers are becoming an endangered species in Europe. They’re being vilified in the media.”

Anne Randles, corporate affairs director at Ornua: “Solutions are going to have to be found locally” to global food security issues.

Franz Fischler, former European commissioner for agriculture: “We should base our decisions more on analysis, more on science and not only on who is the loudest.”

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue: “Over the next 20 years, over the next generation, the food security challenge is going to be related to climate change.”

Christian Holzleitner, head of unit for DG Climate Action at the European Commission: “The Commission wants to come out, by the end of this year, with a framework for the certification of carbon removals.”

Brigid Laffan, Emeritus Professor at the European Institute: “I heard a senior Irish economist describe China as the Soviet Union with money. If that’s correct, if we’re seeing a different China… if they do anything on Taiwan… I think for Ireland we have to be agile, adaptable and smart. Small states have to be smart.”

European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness: “We need women in the room. We need more voices than the ones that speak loudest.”

Tim Cullinan, IFA president: “We’re being asked in Europe to do more at the moment to produce food to counteract what’s happening in a war situation, and we are willing to do that. But initially when this war broke out, there was a view in Europe that we need to relook at the Farm to Fork, look at the speed this was evolving at and maybe slow this down in the short term.”