Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am on the premises of Leinster House. It has been a really encouraging session.

They are not always as encouraging. Sometimes we feel as though we are standing in front of the sea, telling it to stop. It has been encouraging to hear our guests' wisdom, the meitheal and the humility in regard to the planet, regarding the earth as a provider and producer that has to keep going. If the transition were in their hands, we would be very lucky. It is a pity this is not a meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine because their input would be valuable there.

My first question is for Dr. Dunford. Everybody is talking about the Amazon at the moment. If it is the lungs of the world, the Burren, ecologically, is the soul of Ireland. We understate at our peril our respect for the planet and the land. It is great that farmers were centrally involved with the Burren project, collaborating and driving the issues, as opposed to being manipulated and scared by some of the lobbies. The incentivising Dr. Dunford spoke about is critical and we will need more of that throughout the island in the time ahead. It is a no-brainer and could be mainstreamed as quickly as possible. Is there imagination on the part of the powers that be and the lobbies to look again and co-create something such as in the Burren project, as opposed to always protecting the status quo but really protecting nothing at all?

Turning to Mr. Sheehan, I have family in Cork who talk to me about the magic of Bride Valley. If a pocket of ancient Ireland remains, Bride Valley is it. He is a guardian, therefore, of something invaluable. As he said, responsible farmers are caught in a system that looks and sounds great but that, in reality, is not. They get the blame for that poor system. Ireland has so often got on the back of farming to promote our green credentials, and for that, we are in debt to Mr. Sheehan and his colleagues. The system at the moment is all about financial worth, with no thought for the value of life on the land, whether humans, flora, fauna or biodiversity. Some land will have to be allowed just to be, and farmers will have to be allowed just to be on that land. Is there a realisation from the Government, the financial institutions and the farming lobbies to get away from the big buck of industrialised food production that is destroying Ireland's green reputation for the sake of the bigger buck? What do we need to make that leap of faith together?

My final question is for Dr. Moran. All our guests have given us a great sense of the small farmer and the producer of food and custodian of the land. It would light a fire in the imaginations of people who might feel a little hopeless. It is not just about selling milk to China or worrying about the way Chinese babies should be fed. It is also about the politics of food. Does the poor quality of food going to poorer people, with the production getting a small number of people very rich, cost the earth? Is it time for decent, old-fashioned socialism in our approach to how we farm, eat and live?