Mick Clifford

Yeah, it's obviously a pushback, as they say, I think, Dervil.

Now, you know, I certainly wouldn't go along with all of what he said.

However, I get the impression that what's behind his comments is this notion that was repeatedly stated during the fuel protests, which described the protesters as workers.

And there was an inference in that that somehow

The other two million weren't.

Yeah, every other kind of worker, whether it be people cleaning offices or the primal business of care for the elderly or whatever, teachers, guards, that this was a worker of a lesser sort.

And I think that definitely came across in the way it was projected at the time.

And Leo Varadkar here, I suppose, to some extent, is pushing back against that.

He also mentions, and I think there's certainly a case for this, that farmers' influence in the political process is...

outweighs their relevance today.

And I think Mercosur, all we have to do is look at that and see the messing that went on around that to suggest there's some truth in that.

None of this is to take from the fact there are real problems in rural Ireland that are unique to rural Ireland.

There are problems in farming that are unique to farming.

But we're living now in a political firmament, I think, where those who shout loudest and those who have the greatest political power are the ones that are heard most and that feeds into that kind of a thing.

Oh, no question.

And I mean, you know, there's no question there are serious issues in rural Ireland.

I've been writing about them myself.

First of all, farming does not represent rural Ireland.

Farming is a section of rural Ireland.

Secondly, what do we talk about when we talk about rural Ireland?