New government must not accept ‘Green Handbrake’ on farmers says Kilkenny councillor

Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick has called for a reality check in talks to form the next Government.

The Fianna Fail councillor is concerned that the Green party’s obsession with a 7% reduction in Green House Gasses in Ireland would have a devastating effect on rural areas.

“We must all support constructive and responsible efforts to limit carbon in our environment, but our leaders must recognise that we are a food exporting nation. If a herd reduction is the Green objective, we must say no!” said Cllr Fitzpatrick.

The north Kilkenny councillor went on to say that Ireland can’t solve the problem on our own and measures agreed must take into account that this is a global problem.

“If our cattle herd is reduced to satisfy unreasonable demands, the resulting slack will be taken up by some other country which is most likely less efficient than our grass-based agriculture. That would have a negative environmental impact globally,” he said.

Councillor Fitzpatrick warned that the EU commission has a structured plan under their “farm to fork” changes proposed for the reformed CAP.
“The EU is proposing serious reductions in fertilizers and pesticides plus an increase in organic farming, which will effectively put a brake on agricultural output. Now is not the time to apply a green handbrake on farming and rural Ireland,” he concluded.