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Green MEP Ciaran Cuffe’s letter to financial institutions discouraging them from lending to young farmers was inappropriate and ill-informed, according to John Paul Phelan TD.
The Carlow-Kilkenny TD for Fine Gael said the Green Party must answer questions regarding its views on agricultural investment and called its leader Minister for Environment and Climate Action Eamon Ryan to “come forward”.
Phelan made his comments on Cuffe's letters to banks after the story was first published by the Irish Farmers Journal.
Cheap publicity
Phelan said: “It’s well and good for Ciarán Cuffe to get cheap publicity on a subject that won’t adversely affect his own [Dublin] constituents, but what does he know about the reality of being a young farmer in Ireland today?”
He criticised Cuffe for singling out “not only one sector, but one small proportion of the sector by placing all the blame on young farmers”.
Phelan criticised Cuffe’s expectation that farmers should pay for new technologies to reduce carbon emissions without access to financial backing from Ireland’s main banks.
“If we’re serious about a ‘just transition’, we need investment and financing to develop new methods and innovations,” he said.
Confidence
The Kilkenny farmer highlighted that Ireland’s banks have declared their confidence in the agricultural sector, as well as a commitment “to supporting its transition to a greener footprint”.
Speaking on behalf of Fine Gael, he said his party does “not support Ciaran Cuffe’s actions, nor his views on this matter”.
“While the Green Party has said it was not aware of the letters sent by MEP Cuffe, what we really need to know is where it stands on the issue."
Phelan called on Green Party leader Minister Eamon Ryan and his party colleagues to come forward and provide the public with answers to these questions.
“We need clear, unequivocal answers from the Green Party on this issue immediately.”
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