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Wednesday brought the lack of action for beef farmers to a new low when An Taoiseach and his colleagues blamed the weather for the unsustainable costs and little or no profits for their quality Irish beef, Midlands-Northwest MEP candidate Brendan Smith has said.
The former Minister for Agriculture hit out at An Taoiseach saying that his blaming the weather for the plight of farmers at Wednesday's IFA protest in Cork is not good enough.
“Sorry Taoiseach, blaming the weather is not good enough. We need the EU to stand up to the mark and offer proper supports for beef farmers.
“In doing so, Government and EU contributes to maintaining high-quality beef for the internal European market, as well as other international markets,” he said.
Brexit
Smith also said that as a border county public representative, communities will not countenance the return of borders in Ireland.
“I have seen the damage such borders brought to the border county farmers and their families in the past.
"Since the Good Friday Agreement, farmers on both sides of the border have benefited from co-operation.
“Brexit must not close off markets or the ongoing development of our all-Ireland economy.
“My role as MEP will be to bring the plight of beef farmers to the attention of the parliament and the Commission and demand that action is taken before we lose this important sector of our overall agri-food industry,” he said.
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