Sir, - The small farmers and fishermen of Ireland are daily becoming greater casualties of the European Union's agricultural and fishery policies which are eliminating the weak, to accommodate more powerful and wealthy sectors at local, national and European level. The consequence of these policies is the decline in farm and fishing families in rural and coastline communities in this country.
Trees are replacing farmers in several regions of Munster and Connaught. Major consortiums are buying up farmland for timber, eliminating farm families in already thinly populated regions. Big dairy farmers are buying up small and medium sized dairy holdings, eliminating any hope which farm families on small holding would have of improving their livelihoods.
Our fishermen have suffered the greatest betrayal of all sectors in this country. Their rights, and the rights of the Irish nation, to a natural resource that perpetually replenishes fish stocks in our territorial waters, were virtually given away by Ireland's EEC negotiator, Dr Patrick Hillary, in 1971.
Today, the power we handed to Brussels in respect of our fish stocks has allowed the Eurocrats of the Commission to open up our waters for full exploitation by the massive fishing fleets of other Euro member states, whose catch power, funding and other supports, greatly exceed ours. The time has come to demand fair play for our fishing families and small farm families. Ireland does not share in the mineral wealth of Spain and France. Why should these countries have open access to our important natural resource fish?
Euro dole for small farm families and fishermen's families is, in effect, a euthanasia pill. It prematurely ends their meaningful role and existence as economically active participants in their local communities. No one with common sense and concern about Ireland and future generations can stand idly by and watch these communities being economically eliminated. - Yours, etc.,
Old Road,
Cashel, Co. Tipperary.