Sir, – Rob Sadlier (Letters, April 20th) accuses the Government of speaking out of both sides of its mouth in a simplistic analysis of food production and Ireland’s role in feeding the world, but I’d suggest-double speak is deeply ingrained in Irish climate change commentary, with farmers disregarded, frustrated, and increasingly marginalised to the point of starting their own political party to represents their interests, as has occurred in the Netherlands.
In explaining the surge in the export of Irish meats and dairy products, the Irish Farmers Journal reports that global production is declining but world demand is increasing driven by consumer choice, and Irish farmers are well placed to meet this demand.
People need to eat and are choosing Irish agricultural products as part of a health, balanced diet. And as Ireland as an island is responsible for 0.01 per cent of global emissions, it matters little in a practical sense what we produce and how, when the US, China and India are drilling the Artic for oil and building coal-fired power generators.
Irish farmers have and are embracing climate mitigation measures and continue to further reduce their carbon footprint in production systems and land use.
New Irish citizens: ‘I hear the racist and xenophobic slurs on the streets. Everything is blamed on immigrants’
Jack Reynor: ‘We were in two minds between eloping or going the whole hog but we got married in Wicklow with about 220 people’
‘I could have gone to California. At this rate, I probably would have raised about half a billion dollars’
Matt Williams: Take a deep breath and see how Sam Prendergast copes with big Fiji test
Due to Government policies and ineptitude forestry planting in Ireland has collapsed.
Meanwhile, air travel in Ireland alone in 2022 has increased nearly 250 per cent on 2021 levels according to recent reports, but I hear no clamouring from urban dwellers to forgo foreign holidays and to close Dublin Airport. – Yours, etc,
TOMÁS FINN,
Cappataggle,
Ballinasloe,
Co Galway.