Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe has written to Irish banking CEOs, lobbying against them lending to farmers, the Irish Farmers Journal has learned.

Writing directly to bank CEOs, Cuffe said he is “concerned at reports that large loans are being advanced to young farmers to expand their cattle herds”.

Cuffe said he was concerned about the banks’ lending programmes and warned against financial institutions running the risk of “carbon lock-in” and ending up with “stranded assets” should they continue to invest in carbon-intensive sectors.

Stranded assets, he claimed, would be a waste of taxpayers’ and investors’ money and their burden “would inevitably be borne by state and its citizens”.

When contacted by the Irish Farmers Journal, the Dublin-based MEP and former Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture said he was concerned about the level of lending to the dairy sector, in particular.

“I am conscious of the memory of the property crash of 10 years ago and I want to ensure the same thing does not happen again,” he said.

When asked if his letter was representative of Green Party policy, the MEP said it was a personal initiative of his to write to the bank CEOs and he was waiting on their replies.