Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is at it again. He is playing games and trying to twist and spin things. It is beneath his office, I must say. The Minister has a very important job of work, that is, to ensure we have a Common Agricultural Policy that actually protects Irish agriculture for generations to come at a time when the industry is facing many challenges. The place of Oireachtas Members is not at marts and taking up speaking time that was made available to farmers in what was a limited consultation process. The place for Oireachtas Members to do their jobs is in this House, the Seanad and at meetings of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that relate to this topic. The Minister was asked on several occasions to bring the CAP strategic plan before this House for approval. He refused to do so. He would not allow the type of scrutiny, consultation and collaboration that would have ensured he did not get a stinging rebuke from the European Commission. Had he done so, we would now have a CAP we could all be championing. This CAP will be having an impact long after the Minister is gone. It is not about him, his personal views or his play-acting. This is about Irish farming and the future of Irish agriculture. It is time for the Minister to get real. It is time to start engaging with us, as elected Members of this House, in a collaborative way so we can have a CAP we all support, which we all buy into and which will serve Irish farming into the next generation.

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