Madam, - When I see IFA president Padraig Walshe (May 8th) talk about respecting and upholding the treaties of the EU I find myself close to gagging on the imported vegetables in my lunchtime sandwich. His grasp of EU law and politics is close to moronic for someone whose industry relies heavily on subsidies from Brussels, and about €1 billion from the Irish taxpayer.
The IFA's impunity in denigrating the EU water framework directive during its transposition into Irish law saw a vital piece of legislation greatly weakened in the interests of pollutant farmers. The same occurred with the EU nitrates directive.
When the environmental well-being of this country and the public health of its citizens conflict with the short-sighted demands of the IFA there is only one true course in the eyes of the latter.
For Mr Walshe to invoke Mr Mandelson's nationality is small-minded at best, or perhaps xenophobic. Are we not all Europeans? And was not the IFA a willing cheerleader for closer European integration in the past when the monthly cheque was nice and juicy? Now its tune has selfishly changed.
As food prices increase this is an opportune moment to end the "money for nothing" culture of European farming and encourage sustainable, economic, industrious and innovative agricultural practices. More pertinently, the continued dumping of excess EU produce on to world markets, that has such a pernicious and devastating effect on unsubsidised third world farmers, must end. - Yours, etc,
TURLOUGH O'RIORDAN,
York Avenue,
Rathmines,
Dublin 6.