EU prepared to sacrifice beef farms

THEY rushed us into a high-interest-rate financial bail-out, and they are now prepared to sell out most of our farmers. The EU is turning from friend to enemy in the eyes of many in Ireland.

The 55% here who supported the EU/IMF intervention, in a Eurobarometer survey last March, were expressing relief at outside agencies taking over our financial affairs, which our own government had got so disastrously wrong, but they will soon tire of the forced financial austerity which many experts believe will drive Ireland into debt default.

Farmers, however, are wedded to the EU for the income and market support they depend on if they are to remain on the land and provide the raw material for our food and drink exports, which consumers in other EU countries are happy to import to the tune of about €8bn per year.