So is that part of the equation, particularly given the Russian situation and some of our supply chains being cut off there?

That's the big picture, Will.

You're quite right.

That's the big picture for Europe.

We're in a mess when it comes to energy.

It is an absolute mess.

Half of Europe is struggling still with fossil fuels and the cost is going up.

And again, I appreciate there's some guesswork in what an associate member is, but would there be free movement with Canada if this went ahead?

And I mean, I think it can only be great for us in an agriculture and seafood perspective.

Keir Malooly, do you agree? Yeah, I mean, largely, firstly, your question, the overtures, there were overtures going on.

The Canadians have been, because obviously events with Mr. Trump and those negotiations, so we've known for a while that Carney has been looking to Europe for a partnership.

As Maria said, the trade deal is there.

CETA is there for some time.

I looked at some of the stats out this afternoon.

We're quite happy with the progress.

Kieran Mullooly, do you get a sense, you're amongst your people out there, what are you hearing on the ground in terms of what people are expecting and what they might do if the supports don't come in again as we go well into the winter?

So you never really won anything, did you?

Well, let me correct you, Greg.

Let me explain to you how important.

This is a ban.

We're not talking about something that stops for a day or two.

We're talking two to five to ten years before Brazilian beef is coming back.

For starters, in this year alone, 2.4 million has been paid to Brazilian farmers for meat consumed in this country.

You come from a country that I would argue is perhaps one of the most liberal in this space in the EU.

And are these skilled positions capable of supporting families locally, or are they relatively low-paid jobs?

jobs?Well, this is the question I, I asked him when, when, when we met first.

And we talked about, uh, there are jobs basically for the type of people who used to get jobs in Bord na Móna as apprentices many, many, many more, many years, many years ago.

Uh, he's talking about people involved, maybe fitters, mechanics, uh, people who, who...

Every, I remember it well myself.

Every winter, uh, I was a, went to a tech myself.

Every winter, we'd have block release apprentices coming in from all over Ireland and the Midlands.

But who actually has the power to say yes to this project?

Why are you convening the public meeting in relation to this story?

Well, we have a problem, and a fairly big problem, David.

Anyone who's involved in the wainling business or indeed the calf trade in Leigh, Shoffley and Westmead will have heard in the last 10 days that Brittany furries have pulled their service.

This was a very important service to farmers here because Brittany had the capacity to carry nine livestock trucks which could carry about 250 calves on any given day and bring them off to markets, important markets in France and Netherlands and indeed in Poland in recent years.

And there's no other ship in this country that can accommodate that capacity on top of what they have at the moment.

It's a very important trade to us.

It's worth between up to about 400 million euro per year, our trade abroad.

If that's the case, is there not a way of coming up with a practical solution that Brittany Ferries could continue doing it?

Ciarán, you go ahead, please, with your first question.

Yeah, I mean, I want to ask Jürgen up straight if he knows what antimicrobial resistance is in terms of medical situation.

It's basically a medical condition which occurs after the overuse of antibiotics.

It's something that affects you and me.

Forget about the animals for the moment.

It's you and me, your kids, your family.

And if in an emergency situation, you go into hospital, you require antibiotics.

So why can you not help with providing

He is doing a podcast about, But I doubt very much he's earning anything the colour of his RTE salary through a podcast.

Well, see, this has been my problem from day one, even when I worked in the organisation.

You know, I was paid, by the way, started at 40,000, finished just over 80 after 25 years in the place.

But the average pay in that organisation, in our newsroom in Dublin, was back closer to 50,000 euro, under 50,000 euro.

And that's where the problem started.

Many of those people working longer hours, very talented people, Not so-called talent, this terrible phrase, the talent, not seen as the talent in the place.

Without their talents and skills, the place wouldn't have stayed open during COVID, during an awful lot of other stuff.

So if there is a litmus test of confidence in RTE, does that suggest that the public... still hasn't had that confidence restored.

What's going to happen here? This can't continue.

Well, I mean, there's a basic problem, I mean, in terms of the way the organization has been run.

And I want to kind of state at the very outset that my heart goes out to the people, the ordinary workers, the minority people.

The staff are down at the bottom of the newsroom who've never got a smell of getting 50,000 and 900,000 euro, 200,000 euro from the place at any stage, who are doing their job week in, week out, and get it in the neck a lot too.

But there is a basic problem with management and has been in the organization.

It's historical, Niall.

And I'll give you one example of it.

2FM, and for

So does she really have farmers' interests at heart, would you say?

Well, I think the difficulty is not just the cap program, but it's the policy of trade deals, which Russell Von Dunnan has also pursued in Europe.

You will know I'm bitterly opposed to the Mercosur trade deal, not of where it is now, because I think we're getting control on their standards, but where it could go in terms of replacing Irish farmers and French farmers and Finnish farmers, for that matter, in the markets going down the line.

So it's a combination, really, of what I believe is an excessive rush to sign up trade deals alongside the cap package at the moment.

But let's be straight about this.

If it goes ahead, there are significant implications.

If you look at the actual cut that's proposed at the moment in terms of what it would do, it would reduce effectively the livestock herd in Europe.

but when we talk about food security uh mep maloli do you think it's fair to say that european consumers might need to be prepared to pay more in order to ensure food security local produce and so on

And Ciarán, in Parliament, in Strasbourg, you shared the stories of families who say they were deeply affected by public health restrictions back during those COVID years.

That's right, Adrian.

Good morning, and good morning to you and your listeners on LMFM.

That's right, I was contacted by Cire Champions, which is, as I say, an advocacy group.

They basically represent relatives of families and people who lost their loved ones during that terrible time in our history back in the COVID pandemic.

And they've come together, I suppose, firstly, to give their reaction to what's been going on in terms of the Irish government inquiry.

As you know, and your listeners will know, there's an independent, non-statutory evaluation going on.

But the second part of that question is, what can the European Union do, and your speech to Parliament, how can that possibly influence a decision by the Irish government to have a full inquiry? Good question.

Do you think enough is being done around the area of biodiversity in the next CAP as things stand?

My position has been clear on this.

I'd like to see the environmental funds ring-fenced.

I think that's critical going forward.

But I'd also like to see an assurance that this fund won't affect the single-farm payment.

At the end of the day, people have to remember the cap was initially designed for food security in Europe, not for environmental funds.

I'm not against the environmental funds, but we have to go back to the basics of working with this.

What other opportunities over the course of the lifespan of the presidential term does Ireland have to be cognisant of and ultimately take advantage of?

Can you tell us, were you aware or did you believe RTE was permanently abolishing that role?

Well, firstly, David, I'm glad I had the chance to answer the question.

I didn't get a chance in the Shannon last week.

The truthful situation is that I applied in February of 2021 to get any redundancy.

I've been an RTE for over 25 years.

I think I said it before on Will's programme that I wanted to get out, firstly, after the COVID pandemic, pandemic it was a tough time to be working but i've been there for 25 years and i was looking at different things so put in my name it was explained to me straight away the rules of this situation rte were trying to save money and that would include cutting jobs permanently and otherwise that's the way it was explained to me at the very beginning and so when i applied i said you know what's how do i get into this scheme and they said well we will examine your position and we'll decide so from that point forward rte carried out their own examination i suppose of of the numbers they were having working for them and otherwise.

Straight answer to your question, I didn't know what RT were going to do.

I suppose this morning, Ciarán, to put a line under it, you're saying that each redundancy was assessed on a case-by-case basis and that's ultimately where the state broadcaster landed regarding your role and your departure.

Ciarán, are the government and people like yourself, are you missing the broader picture? Are you missing the national interest here?

Good morning, Colm.

Firstly, I'd like to welcome the Taoiseach's...

No, Shane.

Firstly, I'd like to welcome the Taoiseach's decision and his sense.

And I'm only issue really first and foremostly, and that's the issue of public health.

We have established in the European Parliament... and in the European Commission over the course of the last 18 months, the presence of very, very serious and very dangerous illegal animal growth promoters in Brazilian beef.

Ciarán Mullaly, is that not a way around this?