‘Certain policies will mean end of rural Ireland’ - Hill

“If the policies being pursued by certain sections here are brought to their conclusion, rural Ireland will be gone, dead and gone.”

That was the firm view expressed by Cllr Paddy Hill, speaking on the pressures placed on the farming community to reduce herd sizes and carbon emissions.

At a meeting of the council’s Environment and Climate Action SPC, he said:

“My great fear is in relation to agriculture and rural Ireland – I know that everybody is entitled to their opinion, but the one thing that annoys me is that it seems the opinions of others are being put down people’s throats, for want of a better word. Being dictated to rather than being brought along.”

Cllr Hill was responding to comments by senior engineer, Jonathan Dean, who said that Westmeath had a heavy agricultural carbon footprint, making up 40% of the 1.6 million tonnes of carbon produced in the county every year.

“This is what annoys me – we’re a little island, a dot in the ocean, what about what’s happening in other places? Can the people who are preaching to us here in Ireland not look at what’s happening in China for instance?” said Fianna Fáil man.

“Even our near neighbours (Britain) gave planning permission for the opening of a coal mine recently; coal may not be burnt in Britain but it will be burned somewhere. I don’t live too far away from the border, three quarters of an hour will bring me into Northern Ireland, and I can go in a do what I like in Northern Ireland and I can’t do it across the line here. It doesn’t make any great sense to me.

“What will happen to the small rural stores and co-ops in rural Ireland? Beside me are three small hardware stores, between the three of them, there’s probably 50 people employed, two in my native Westmeath, one in my neighbouring county of Longford.

“They’ll be gone if they don’t have the farming community coming in and purchasing from them. That’s only a small area, probably about six or seven miles of an area.

“They’re asking us now to re-wet land, land that farmers have spent thousands of euro in trying to maintain, to take that out of production, re-wet it, reduce our herd. I just think that if those policies are brought to conclusion, we’ll have rural Ireland back where it was in the ‘20s and ‘30s.

“I think Colmcille did prophesize that rural Ireland would be a place for the gentry to come in and ride their horses around as they did in the past because there’ll be nobody there other than forestry. There won’t be the Paddy Hills or the Tom Farrells or the Johnnie Penroses out on the bog or trying to make a bit of hay or cut silage or anything. They’ll be gone. The little lad will be gone and the big lad will probably remain with a big ranch alright, and he’ll probably be able to allow the gentry to ride their horses around.

“Now, maybe I should be apologising to some people for the stance I’m taking, but I’m really passionate about it. Because I seen enough deprivation in rural Ireland in my time, and you did too chairman [Cllr Tom Farrell], with schools closing down, post offices closing down, shops closing down.

“Go to the centre of any towns and villages in rural Ireland – take a look at Castlepollard, Clonmellon, Delvin, and Finea, all in my own little area, and half of it is closed down. And they want us to close it down more if we pursue the policies that we’re pursuing in relation to agriculture. I just think we need a second look at it, and there’s a much bigger picture that people are not looking at.”

“Agriculture that is so important to rural Ireland, always has been important to rural Ireland, will be gone, dead and gone. I can see it happening, I can see young fellas saying ‘there’s no future here’. I have my own sons, nephews, relations, and they can see no future and when young people see no future – then goodnight!” he concluded.

Cllr Johnnie Penrose agreed and said “agriculture is the mainstay of this country”.

“It’s amazing when you’re watching the news and when you look at what’s happening in Brazil, cutting down the rainforests, increasing their herd by thousands, and [look at] what is going on in this country.

“Paddy, you know, you’re dead right – there will be no one working on the land in this country in 10, 15 years’ time. No one will want to work on it because there will be nothing there.

“I think there are things that can be done better and I know that the farming community are doing their best, the way that they’re managing their carbon, and I say fair play to them.”