Opinion by Declan Colley: Irish politics was changing. Then came the fight over cattle emissions.
come from the agricultural sector, and there is no way to carry out such a big reduction without culling hundreds of thousands of cows.than people, and the Irish Farmers’ Association looms as large in Ireland politics as the National Rifle Association does in the United States.
Thus disgruntled farmers are an unsettling proposition for a political establishment already undergoing historic change. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael hold power in Dublin in coalition with the Green Party. It’s the first time that Ireland’s two dominant parties have shared power — a reflection of bitter civil war history — while the Greens are part of aThe government, though, is challenged by an equally historic development — the rising strength of Sinn Fein.
Long associated with the republican fight for unification and the Irish Republican Army, Sinn Fein for the first time won a plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022, when it also became the chief opposition in Dail Eireann — the parliament in the Irish republic. The once-fringe party has attracted support from younger voters rethinking old political norms out of frustration with a deep housing crisis and problems with the national health system.So back to those cows.
In truth, the politics of all this doesn’t have to be so hard. Irish farmers are not akin to the deniers who frustrate climate progress in the United States. John Walsh, a farmer with a 60-acre dairying operation on the Mizen Head Peninsula here in West Cork, is one of those who found the climate goals pretty fair.
“The dairy sector cannot really complain right now,” Walsh said. “Milk prices are strong, despite the recent cost-of-living increases we’ve seen here, particularly the hikes we’ve seen in energy, fuel and fertilizer costs. Production costs have rocketed by 30 percent in the last year alone, but milk prices are up 44 percent, so we’re ahead of the game still.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion | Why Vaccine Skepticism Is Growing on the RightFrom WSJopinion: Public-health authorities have fueled distrust by overselling the benefits of vaccines, pushing them on children who are at low risk and mandating shots while playing down potential side effects, writes AllysiaFinley
Read more »
Why Texas football's Arch Manning will start before Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava | OpinionWill either Arch Manning or Nico Iamaleava start as freshmen? That’s no sure thing, in part because of who is in front of each on the depth chart.
Read more »
University of Texas at Austin students will hold referendum on 'Eyes of Texas'A report concludes the intent of the song was “not overtly racist” but acknowledged that “it is similarly clear that the cultural milieu that produced it was.”
Read more »
Opinion | The inside story of how the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloonOpinion by David Ignatius: A Pentagon official with firsthand knowledge of the event provides details about Saturday’s mission, but plenty of secrets, and mysteries, remain.
Read more »