Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The figures in the Farming Independentsupplement of the Irish Independentshowing that 200,000 cattle are to be culled by 2025, which is just in a year and a half, points to an incredible threat to the farming sector. It will be at a cost of about €600 million. A full 25% of the beef being imported to the European Union comes from Brazil. How is it environmentally friendly to fell large swaths of the Amazon to produce beef and for us to import that beef to substitute for Irish beef being culled in this State? There is a significant threat hanging over farmers in this country, and we must have a debate to crystallise exactly what the plan of the Government is.

See this speech in context