Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

Farmers in the mountainous areas of the west, especially sheep farmers in Connemara and other areas, have been told they will be unable to make a living for much longer as a result of the implementation of the directive. It is unfair that these directives are implemented much more strictly here than in other European Union member states. There is something wrong in a Department if an individual superintendent or regional inspector can penalise one area. Thankfully, this unfair approach is not uniform throughout the country. The Government must take responsibility for this problem.

Penalties are also applied unjustly in the areas of heritage and the environment. Their implementation suggests individual officials are pursuing a vendetta. I hope this problem will be corrected because the core opposition to the treaty in certain areas stems not from the arguments promoted by those campaigning against it but from the failure of departmental officials to implement the directive as intended.

It is important to recognise the benefits of EU membership. Income from Europe has transformed agriculture, for example, and Ireland has been a net beneficiary of €60 billion in EU funding, having contributed approximately €19 billion to EU coffers. This helps to explain the advances secured in agriculture since we joined the EEC in 1973.

Ireland is a major food producing country. We have made tremendous improvements in farm production and output and added value to our products. While significant increases in income from agricultural exports contributed to the Celtic tiger, food costs in Ireland are the highest in Europe. Why are those who should have benefited most from increased productivity and higher prices, namely farmers, not sharing the benefits? It is no longer attractive for many young people to remain in farming, despite European incentives, and many older people working in agriculture realise they will not be able to pass on their land to be farmed in the traditional way. It is wrong to blame European directives for this problem. On numerous occasions, the Government has unfairly blamed Europe for its own inability to fairly apply many of its policies.

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