Campaign Gist: Greenhouse Grass
The theme of the day was farming, as the big parties unveiled their Cow Tools. This is the Campaign Gist.
With the climate crisis literally killing people on every continent, and the COP26 conference being told today that 2024 would see the highest ever set of carbon emissions, the main parties were out today coddling farmers.
IFA invited to Make-A-Wish
FF, FG and SF all trouped in to the IFA to promise them, in turn, that Farmers were their Bestest Boys and Girls and that it was the Mean Green Party who had forced climate mitigation targets on them at all.
"Mary Lou McDonald said her party would push for more payments for farmers and criticised the Carbon Tax, calling it "thoughtless and lazy".
The Agriculture sector was responsible for 34% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland this year. This made it the largest source of Ireland's emissions.
Simon Harris said "When parties, including my own, publish our manifestos, a lot of the projects in those manifestos are funding off the back of tax receipts paid by the agri-food sector in Ireland.”
In Q1 of 2024, the CSO says that Agriculture was only the 10th largest source of GDP, contributing a total of 1.28% of the top 10 sources of domestic product. Revenue's figures show Agriculture contributed 0.75% (three quarters of one percent) of all tax revenue in 2023.
"Fianna Fáil committed to retaining the derogation on the Nitrates Directive, if it is returned to government."
The EPA reported in August 2024 that nitrogen concentrations in Irish waters had not improved between 2020-2023. It said "Agriculture has been identified by the EPA as the most prevalent significant pressure on water quality, impacting over 1,000 waterbodies or approximately 60% of all waterbodies that are ‘At Risk’".
The head of the IFA, in response, complained that farming didn't get enough supports from the State.
Enumerating Unhatched Chickens
We're still in the early phase of this election, where parties are trotting out their rehearsed lines and planned events. Having all the campaign plans written down in a neat grid can fool a large party into thinking they can control the outcome with good prep.
This is, as even the most cursory glance at the last 30 years of Irish elections demonstrates, a complete fantasy. Just ask Fine Gael how well rugby club whooping and banter looks when taken out of the party context and put in front of the general public. And that's if you generously consider "Michael O'Leary says something provocative to get attention" is an unforeseeable event when you invite him to your party shindig.
Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats voiced this feeling that the big parties thought the deal was sealed before a vote was cast.
History suggests the only constant in a General Election campaign is surprise.
