Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. Mr. McNamara has taken the helm, and I wish him the best of luck. I also wish good luck to Mr. Feeney in leading the ACA.

Senators Lombard and Daly, Deputy Cahill and I went out to Europe. To say that we got a frosty reception was an understatement. With every Commissioner we met, all we heard about was the environment. It was not about cattle or sheep. This was a problem everywhere we went. The reality, as the Commissioners told us clearly, was that they were going to negotiate the new CAP and, as per usual, they said nearly every problem was for the member states to deal with. Our witnesses are going to Europe as well. Are they getting the same feedback?

If something is going to happen to farmers in three, four or five years’ time, the one thing we need to do is be honest. There has been fudging over the past six months. In fairness, the Minister said it straight out on day 1, but politics came into play and there were promises of this, that and the other. Twitter was flying, even Senator Lombard’s.