There is no one fighting for Irish farming anymore, Independent Ireland co-founder and Cork south west TD Michael Collins has said.

Collins also claimed that the performance of the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue “has been dismal to say the very least”.

“Minister McConalogue hasn’t a strong voice when it comes to agriculture, the nitrates turned out to be nothing short of a debacle. The direction came from Europe, yes, but the minister wasn’t out there fighting, there’s no-one fighting for Irish farming anymore.

“Farmers say to me ‘why is this government treating us like environmental terrorists, when we’re not – we’re spending tens of thousands of euros to make changes on our farms, we’re doing everything by the book, and we’re getting kicked in the teeth.

“We’ve gone from 250 to 220 [kg of organic nitrogen per hectare] but we’ll go to 170 if this minister stays at the helm,” he said.

Elections

In a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Farmers Journal, Collins said the clock is ticking toward the next elections, the train has left the station.

“We’ve been putting together policies, which is hugely important for anyone to sit around the table with us, to see if we’re the right fit for them. “We’ve been speaking to deputies, mainly independent TDs, but others as well.

“We have close to 100 candidates for the upcoming local elections, existing and potential candidates. There will soon be announcements of extra forces, both within the Dáil and outside it.”

“There is an awful lot of interest, but we’ve got to get this right now,” added his co-founder, Limerick TD Richard O’Donoghue, “because once we launch, people will be scrutinising us and our policies.

“We’ve got interest from a lot of people who want to run as an independent, but who want a party structure. We can provide that platform, we are Independent Ireland, we’re both urban and rural.

“At heart, we have the vision to rebuild Ireland, rebuild it as a whole, not just pockets. There’s massive investment going into some pockets, but other communities, towns and villages are being starved of investment.

“It’s equal opportunity we need, everyone in Ireland deserves that,” O’Donoghue told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Independent Ireland is an unusual structure for an Irish political party. It’s effectively a coalition of independents, with an agreed shared vision and core values, but with the freedom to differ.

“Across Europe, this is the style of politics that’s out there,” said Collins. “That isn’t in Irish politics, we have very strong party whips, people are very disillusioned by that system.

“Obviously, if we go into government, and that is our intention, we will have a whip on the programme for government and on a budget,” he continued.

“That has to happen, otherwise government doesn’t function. If we’re not in government, it’s a different matter.

Programme

“If we’re going to be part of government, we’ll definitely abide by the programme for government, but if there’s new legislation brought on board, we’re going to scrutinise that, make sure there are amendments. It isn’t just a matter of being yes-boys.”

“When you come to Independent Ireland, you agree the principles before you sign up,” added O’Donoghue.

“The policies we have, you know what you’re buying into. If we enter into a programme for government, if that programme changes, you have an entitlement to debate and amend.”

“I was part of the government formation talks in 2016 and 2020,” said Collins, “both times, government parties had no interest.

“We didn’t have a policy, we didn’t have a mission statement, and they used that as an excuse to say they couldn’t do business with us.

“Independent Ireland will have those, and will be a strong party once we get TDs elected, so when we sit around the table, we can force our policies – not the government’s agenda.

“Look at the Green Party in the present government, wagging the tail of the Irish Government, to the detriment of the people of rural Ireland,” he said.

“I came into politics to make a difference,” said O’Donoghue. “We currently have a cabinet that is completely city-based, and does not reflect all of Ireland,” he claimed, despite there being numerous rural TDs at the cabinet table.

“The cities are as important as the rural counties, but the reverse is also true. We can roar and shout from the sidelines, but if we want to make change, you have to be in a position to go into government, if you can agree an agenda.”

What do Independent Ireland think of the Government and the minister’s performance on agriculture?

“Not a lot, to be honest,” said O’Donoghue. “We’re looking around the country and we see farms closing down because it’s no longer sustainable for the next generation to take it on.”

Opportunity

“Farming was where each generation worked hard to give the next generation the opportunity to excel, future-proofing it. We now can’t get past the next generation, because the regulations are changing every couple of years.

“Go back a decade, [former Minister for Agriculture] Simon Coveney was painting milk as white gold, encouraging farmers to expand or go into dairy farming. That’s the equivalent of telling a hotel owner to build an extra hundred rooms and I’ll fill them for you, and now I’m saying you can only use 50 of those rooms.

“Farmers are actually the only ones in this country that have a proper roadmap on how they will meet their obligations on carbon and nitrates,” added O’Donoghue.