Madam, - We were somewhat taken aback by the thinly veiled personalised attack on the Minister for Agriculture by Mark Hennessy (July 14th). It is regrettable that a right of reply by Joe Walsh to an opinion piece published by the former Labour party leader is open to reinterpretation in a rather vindictive and vitriolic manner by your political correspondent.
To leave on the record the suggestion by Mr Quinn that agriculture and the agri-food industry is in decline would have been a disservice to a dynamic and sophisticated sector contributing over 25 per cent to net foreign earnings by successfully penetrating the high-value consumer markets of the EU. Likewise, it was incumbent on our Minister for Agriculture and Food to set out the real facts about the Common Agricultural Policy and how it is evolving to meet the demands of the modern world.
The Fianna Fáil Agriculture Committee would expect nothing less from Joe Walsh, who has always shown himself to be diligent in pursuing, in a calm but determined manner, the best interests of the agriculture and food industry.
Now that Mr McCreevy has been nominated as Ireland's EU Commissioner, we should of course seek an important and influential portfolio. In this context and being realistic, it is difficult to overlook agriculture. Expenditure on the Common Agricultural Policy, amounting to €43 billion annually, accounts for almost half of the EU budget. The agriculture portfolio will be even more important and have an even greater influence in the coming years as a result of the recent enlargement of the Union. It is an economic portfolio which Ireland should strive for even in the face of competition from other member-states. - Yours, etc.,
JOHNNY BRADY, TD,
Chairman,
OLLIE WILKINSON,
Secretary,
Fianna Fáil Agriculture and
Food Committee,
Dáil Éireann,
Dublin 2.