By next week either Simon Coveney or Leo Varadkar will take over the leadership of the country from Enda Kenny. Last week, Simon Coveney outlined his vision for the country while Leo Varadkar on talks about his leadership credentials.

While both men have affirmed their commitment to farmers, this will have to be borne out in their policies and actions. The challenge of protecting our sector from the consequences of Brexit is the most pressing and obvious, but the ongoing challenge of protecting low- and middle-income farmers is real.

More supports need to be made available to help the self-employed and farmers who bore the brunt of the pain during the economic recovery. The agri sector underpinned the economy during the bad times and a more streamlined taxation system should be a fundamental policy of the new Taoiseach now that the recovery takes hold in certain parts of the country.

This will ensure the recovery is not two-tiered.

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'Work must pay' - Coveney