Mick Clifford

Some people think that effectively everybody, the area outside of Dublin, maybe a few cities is rural Ireland.

That's completely erroneous as well.

But...

What occurred during the protests, and yes, it was a final tipping point, the strata broke the camel's back, but you were talking to the greatest extent about business people.

And they absolutely had issues.

But the fact that because they were able to come out and literally blockade the country...

And money was thrown at them.

And part of the reason they did that was because that's the kind of way the government has been governing since it came in.

Wherever there's a problem arises, the response is to throw money at it one way or the other, irrespective of whether that's the best way to spend money or whether that's the best constituency to give money to.

And that happened here.

And John Fitzgerald, I think he made a reference.

He said the government would act like Robin Hood, taking from the rich, giving to the poor in here.

The protesters were the Sheriff of Nottingham and they won.

And I think it's a fairly decent analysis.

He made a point in particular and he pointed out small farmers as well as people trying to heat their homes this winter.

Where is that money going to come from when you respond to the protests with half a billion?

Are the farm, are the farm organisations not representative of not all, but a large bulk of farmers?

One other quick thing in terms of rural Ireland, another thing that's missing, and not totally, but to the extent that it is in other countries, but because there's a depletion of local media.

you have a vacuum there that is being filled by social media and that can very often rely on emotion, misinformation and what have you.

And once that spreads, it gets up anger, it gets up resentment, the whole thing.