European elections will be among the ‘most significant’ in recent years, says Mairead McGuinness

European elections in 2024 will be among the “most significant” in recent years with tensions over climate action playing out during the campaign, European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness has said.

Speaking at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, Ms McGuinness said she was not surprised there was some resistance in farming communities over climate action.

“These elections in 2024 will be one of the most significant because we’re in a very global setting with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of fragmentation in politics, within Europe and outside.”

When it comes to the climate transition, she told the gathering: “I’m not surprised that there is resistance now, because talking is easier than acting,” she said. “I do think we all need to ask ourselves, have we done enough to explain not just what climate change is, but the impacts of what we are planning around the green transition,” she said, saying that there should be time taken to listen and reflect and “answer those who fear at the moment”.

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“The worst thing you can have is part of any society that is fearful and that will react in a way that avoids them actually taking action that they might otherwise,” she said. “Underneath the surface, I think there are lots of tensions, and they will be reflected in elections across Europe and indeed in European Parliament elections.”

Speaking to reporters after her address, she said that times of deep change are potential fault lines. “There is a risk that if farmers aren’t part of it, that if this isn’t inclusive enough, that we won’t get the change, we won’t have sustainable agriculture, we won’t deal with the emissions issue and we know we have legally binding targets to do that.”

However, she said that in her discussions with farmers on the ground, she met many who had bought into the climate transition and were taking action already. “I hope that we can get to that place so that there is broad understanding of why sustainability matters not just for today but for the long-term success and future of Irish agriculture”.

Asked if climate action would in effect necessitate a cull in the national herd, she said the demographic structure of farming would result in a natural reduction. “The age structure of Irish farming should be of huge concern to us because we have too few young [farmers] and we have an ageing population. Many of these are beef farmers, many will not be able to continue farming with the same number of stock as they have today.” Following poor weather over the summer, Ms McGuinness, who is from a farming background, said that the farming community is “very despondent”.

Ms McGuinness said again that she would be willing to serve a second term as commissioner but that it would be a call for the Coalition. “It is a Government decision, and I respect whoever makes that decision and whoever gets the post, but at least I’ve been very clear that I’m willing to serve.”

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Asked about the recent technical fault at Bank of Ireland that allowed customers to withdraw more money than was in their account, Ms McGuinness, who is commissioner for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union, said it was in the first instance a matter for the Central Bank but it should “tune us all in to the reality that we are all dependent on technology, but we presume it will always function in the right way – that’s not a given unless we continue to invest”.

Speaking on the same panel, Prof Brigid Laffan, emeritus professor at the European Institute in Florence, said that climate change was the “wicked collective action problem of all times”. She said she was concerned that in Ireland “we are fair weather members of the EU”, and predicted that there would be a referendum on European treaty change within the next decade that will “bring with it its own political challenges”.