Sir, - Neily Lehane (October 31st) accuses me of a "lack of understanding and compassion" and of being "unaware of the plight of hundreds of our small farmers". Nothing could be further from the truth.
I have every sympathy for needy farmers, especially now that Irish agriculture is undergoing a severe crisis. I don't dispute that the Russian economic collapse, coming on top of this year's bad weather, has led to severe difficulties for Irish agriculture. While not denying these facts, my call to the farmers was to reconsider the nature of the protest.
It is incorrect to imply, as last week's protest implicitly did, that all farmers are in the same boat. The EU has contributed enormous amounts to the modernisation of Irish agriculture over the past 25 years. Many have done extremely well over this period, as Ms Lehane acknowledges when she says that "whole sections of our community, both urban and rural, enjoy unprecedented wealth".
But many other farmers have not. The CAP has done nothing to stem the fall in the number of people working on the land. In 1981, there were over 220,000 farmers in Ireland; last year, there were 150,000 - a drop of one-third. Instead it has pushed up food prices to the detriment of low-income families, both urban and rural. Furthermore, intensive cultivation has led to excess produce being dumped on Third World markets and damage to the fragile environment.
The Labour Party has called for the development of a long-term strategy for agriculture with input from farmers' groups, retailers, consumers, Third World and environment groups.
Of course, what the IFA doesn't emphasise is that the CAP has benefited large farmers at the expense of small holders. The association should now be leading the public debate on the implications of Agenda 2000 for the future of sustainable agriculture in Ireland.
We'd also like to hear from the beef barons about why they have failed to pass on the benefit of reduced prices to the long-suffering consumers, the majority in Dublin and most of them PAYE taxpayers.
I don't seek to widen the urban-rural divide, but I make no apology for representing the interests of my Dublin constituents. In an effort to increase understanding and goodwill between the two sides, I organised a seminar last year entitled "Can the Consumer and the Farmer Be Friends?" with speakers from all sides of the debate.
Urban and rural communities share many common interests; as Neily Lehane says, "hundreds of families both urban and rural are suffering severe poverty." There are many vested interests who would like to see these communities at loggerheads. I am not among them.
Finally, I note that not one farmers' leader has yet answered the question I posed concerning last week's protest: how does inflicting hardship on Dublin's workers, shoppers, commuters and businesses alleviate the plight of needy farmers? - Yours, etc., Bernie Malone, MEP,
Vice-President, Socialist Group, European Parliament Offices, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.