Farmers are fed up being demonised, An Taoiseach Simon Harris has said.

Speaking at Tullamore Show on Sunday, he said that as he has been travelling around agricultural shows this summer, he has heard that farmers are “fed up with this idea that it’s them or the climate and of course it is both."

“In Government, we know that and I’m determined to stand by farmers and the agri-food community in that transition,” he said.

An Taoiseach said that Tullamore Show is a great celebration of rural life and rural community.

Celebration

“But it’s not just that, it’s a celebration and demonstration of the importance of farming and the agri-food sector to the Irish economy.

“I’m kind of sick to the back teeth, that sometimes when you get back to Dublin and the likes, that farming is often discussed as a discretionary extra, as a nice to have.

“Or you get these ridiculous strawman arguments are you on the side of the planet or on the side of the farmers. Are you on the side of fixing the climate emergency or are you on the side of backing the family farm?

“Government needs to be able to do more than one thing at the same time. We need to obviously save our planet, which is on fire, but we also need to continue to back family farms and back farmers with the transition and make sure we continue to produce good-quality food, which is the pride of our country right across the globe,” he said.