Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise; I was trying to connect from my office for half an hour with no success. I apologise for being late. I thank the Commission representation's staff, including Ms Nolan and others, for their work. It is invisible but really important. I put that on the record. Many of the issues have already been dealt with. I will not go back over the same ground but I have a few comments and one or two questions.

When Deputy Calleary spoke about Poland he said that, in his view, the Commission needs to be stronger. I sat listening to debate in the European Parliament for many years. Those on the extreme left were saying that we were not doing nearly enough and those on the extreme right were defending certain states. It is a double-edged sword because, as soon as the Commission acts decisively, it is seen as the European elites acting. It is a really difficult issue. Perhaps the Commission is, to some extent, waiting for a change of government in certain member states because that often changes the dialogue. Despite people's frustration and deeply held beliefs that the Commission should act and that it is not good enough that it is not doing so - and we can all say that - there is another aspect to it. I can see why the Commission acts in the way it does.

I have one small question. I do not want to throw an incendiary device in here but there was a ruling from a German court some time back which showed certain similarities to the ruling of the Polish courts. I do not know the details but this is an example of why we sometimes have to stand back.

In the state of the Union address, the Commission President spoke about social fairness and a European care strategy. Ms Nolan has already answered a question on the ALMA programme. I would like to hear anything she has to say on that care strategy.

We have spoken about the protocol at length. All I can say is that the EU has demonstrated extreme patience and that I hope it continues to do so. My personal view is that there are those who simply want to try to force the European Commission to introduce some kind of land border on the island of Ireland. For many, that is the outcome they want to see. In that context, the stance and the patience of the Commission has been really important. I expect that will continue.

There has been some discussion on the European Green Deal, just transition and how people feel it is not working for them. I heard Ms Nolan mention the CAP and I believe we have a real problem here. The CAP is meant to support the production of quality, traceable food. It must comply with a whole ever-increasing raft of European legislation on everything from veterinary matters to soil, the environment and animal welfare. That is fine but, with the new CAP, 25% of Pillar 1 money is dedicated to eco-schemes. Farmers have to do more to get that part of the money. The issue here is that year on year and CAP on CAP, the requirements on primary producers are constantly increasing.

Yet they have to sell in world markets, certainly in the European market. We now have the issue of carbon tax, a greater cost to access Pillar 1 money and the threat to the national herd. For farmers today, it is okay to hear about the social climate fund but what is that? How does it impact farmers and what they do? We have a massive job to do on this issue. Last Thursday night, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, was in Carrigallen in south Leitrim. I sat for three hours in a mart and listened to what farmers were saying. There is a sense that they are seen as the problem and there is no proper dialogue on how they can be part of the solution. There is talk of further requirements, cutting the herd and carbon tax. I understand there has to be change but if people feel outside of that, as they do, then we have a huge job to do there. Farmers in general tend to be quite pro-EU in their views and I would not like to see that changing.