Aisling Meehan

There was, you know, someone said there was no spokesperson there, we'll say, for them, for the government to engage with.

Who are spokespeople?

They're the elected representatives that didn't go down to the blockades, that didn't speak to the people at the blockades.

Yeah.

You know, they didn't even go down and listen to them.

Like a lot of the time they say, we just want to talk.

We just want to be listened to.

And they weren't listened to.

And like a lot of the people that ended up, we'll say, leading these.

And like, as I said, it was, it just, it grew overnight because it was a sense of people finally saying, I'm being, I feel I have a voice now where they didn't have a voice before.

But the farmer, Francie Gorman came out and like while he didn't support the protesters, because we'll say they weren't behind that banner, but he did, he was supporting the call for help in terms, and it's a shorter measure.

The other thing is like the European Commission came out, we'll say they proposed temporary measures such as grant subsidies, tax breaks and loans.

to mitigate the impact of the Iran war on agriculture and fisheries.

And then they're talking it's going to cover a portion of 50% of extra fuel and fertilizer costs.

It's going to be brought in at the end of April.

Equally, I read something in the paper there this morning.

As was the IFE.

No, no, it doesn't at all, because I suppose on the ground I see female farmers.

I suppose, what, 25% of our elected TDs are females.

So they were on the ground.