Bríd Smith attacks rural independents and defends Antasga
Bríd Smith addressed a Dáil debate about proposed changes affecting Antasga and environmental objections, opposing the bill and accusing rural independents of siding with big farming and agri-food interests. She warned the government’s planning and development bill and allied amendments would curb democratic objections and favour large developers and intensive agriculture.
Opposition to the bill and support for rural communities
Bríd Smith said People Before Profit would not support the bill while stressing sympathy for small rural family farmers, fishers and decimated communities. She argued the measure does not protect ordinary rural people but instead undermines environmental protections.
Criticism of rural independents and industry influence
She accused rural independents of acting as "sheep in wolf's clothing" and of promoting the interests of big farmers, big business and the agri-food industry. Smith said rural independents have been the loudest voices in advocating projects such as the Shannon LNG terminal and suggested similar support might extend to data centres.
Concerns about the planning and development bill
Smith criticised the guillotining of the planning and development bill and said the government would use it to strip democratic rights from communities. She warned the bill would designate liquefied natural gas terminals as strategic infrastructure and create bureaucratic barriers that make it harder for NGOs and grassroots residents to object, while organisations like Antasga could be among the few left able to mount legal challenges.
Evidence of intense farming lobbying and calls for reform
Smith cited a DeSmog investigation on intensive farm lobbying that, she said, is preventing Ireland from addressing air and water pollution and meeting climate targets. She referenced the Climate Change Advisory Committee, nitrates derogation debates including proposals to cap herd sizes and an exit scheme, and invoked a Primetime Investigates report on calf exports to underline the need for stronger environmental and animal welfare measures. She also quoted Elaine McGough of Antasga describing intensive agriculture's lobbying as a "well-oiled machine" pushing a false sustainability narrative.
Public protest and climate movement presence
Smith told colleagues that at 12 o'clock the climate movement would be at the gates of the Dáil, signalling organised public opposition to the bill and to pro-development measures perceived as anti-environmental.
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Goer maagat, Cahirleach and People Before Profit will not be supporting this bill either, although let it be said that all sympathy and support for small rural family farmers and fishers and communities who have been decimated, we absolutely have. I just want to say I was listening on the way in here to the debate and the expression that Bates Banneher occurred to me when I was listening to in particular Deputy Carol Nolan quoting the late great Tony Benn who is a pro-choice socialist who absolutely stood on the side of people and I looked up the definition of that Bates Banneher and says wonderfully inconsistent and absurd and it really did fit it. So maybe we should change the expression from a town in our own constituency to that Bates Deputy Carol Nolan because that was wonderfully inconsistent and absurd in the way that she used the socialist Tony Benn to make an argument which he didn't make, which he would never have said how do we take down NGOs and people who advocate for the environment. The argument he was making is how do we take down elected politicians who break the promises that they got elected for by the people. Anyway, just to go to the point of the matter, I don't think it's a coincidence that this debate is happening when the guillotining of the planning and development bill later tonight will happen by government. The rural independents are once again acting as sheep in wolf's clothing and they're doing the work of the government by seeking to undermine environmental protections and promote the interests not of small individual rural people but of big business, big farmers and the agri-food industry. The government will do it later on tonight by stripping what limited democratic rights exist out of the planning process through their planning and development bill. They don't want ordinary people and working-class communities to be able to object to pro-big business and developer-led planning no matter how destructive those plans are for our environment and our communities. Including the Greens, the government tonight will seek to designate liquefied natural gas terminals as strategic infrastructure to stop local people and environmental actives from ejection to them. The rural independents no doubt will support the government on that as they have been the loudest voice in this chamber in advocating for the Shannon LNG project to go ahead. No doubt there are many in this chamber who would like to do the same for data centres as well. But if the government succeeds in ramming through their bill tonight, which looks like they will, then Antasga, ironically, will be one of the few organisations left that will legally be able to object to anti-environmental pro-big business development. Because the planning bill makes it much harder for NGOs and communities to object by forcing them to jump through bureaucratic hoops, by having to be a legally registered organisation with a constitution and so on. This would be a barrier to activist groups and less organised grassroots residents groups. Mattie McGrath and the rest of the rural group want to get rid of Antasga's role because they want an untrammeled right to profit for big farmers, big business in this country and to hell with everyone else. Over the years Antasga has played an important role in protecting Irish heritage and the environment, and often it has been the one to speak truth to power and to hold the government and big business to their environmental commitments. Like, for example, holding the government to its commitment on the Climate Change Advisory Committee, because it failed to follow the science and resulted in weak recommendations on reducing agricultural commitments. Like, for example, insisting that the nitrates derogation on domestic action to reduce methane emissions, both of which would reduce the size of the national herd through reduction in an exit scheme and capping herd sizes at 200 cows. And by God is something like this needed if anybody has any heart and watched the Primetime Investigates programme last night into the treatment of calves and life hoof exports of calves. So it is because of challenges like this to the huge power of big farmers and to the agri-food industry in this country, and I do not believe it is a concern for small farmers and rural community that the interest groups that Antasga actually protect that the rural independents are putting forward this bill. A major investigation recently by an organisation called DeSmog, published on the power of intensive farm lobbying in this country, and it says that it is preventing Ireland, the intensive farm lobbying is preventing Ireland from addressing its poorer air and water quality and meeting its climate targets. Intensive farming and the lobby appears to be in the driving seat. Major dairy processors in particular have been ramping up lobbying efforts around Ireland's derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive, designed to tackle farming pollution. Meanwhile, many small farmers feel locked in to an unsustainable food system that they cannot profit from. I will finish by quoting Elaine McGough, the head of advocacy at Antasga. She told the investigation that the intensive agriculture sector in Ireland is incredibly infective at lobbying and at using their platform to push a false message of sustainability from a number of different angles. This is clearly a well-oiled machine, one whose primary purpose is to sell a false narrative that we continue business as usual and not pay the environmental price. I believe that is why the rural independence and the far-right anti-environment, anti-immigrant, anti-women forces that are amplified by the rural independence, they hate Antasga so much and want to sabotage it. I have no doubt they will be supporting the move to bring LNGs into the country tonight. But I just want all here in the House to know that at 12 o'clock the climate movement will be at the gates of the Dáil here today to demand that the Green Party in particular, but all of us, do the right thing and vote against the planning bill being guillotine tonight and against the contents of it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. luck. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you. Merci. I think it was a good one moment to see that if you talk about your first service and what I actually chose you in?
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