Madam, - Isn't it amazing how the Government was able suddenly to come up with €180 million to help out the pig industry and only a few weeks ago we were told that there was no money available for the cervical vaccine for young girls which would have cost €10 million?
It seems pigs are more important than some humans.
Didn't George Orwell forecast this in his book Animal Farm where one of the slogans of the pigs was: "we are all equal, though some are more equal than others"? - Yours, etc,
Madam, - So, the pigs are heading back to slaughter and the latest in a long line of Irish food scares is over. For the time being, at least.
Might this not be a good time then to examine our food export business as a whole, before the next cattle, sheep, chicken or pig crisis breaks?
The debacle that has raged over the last week could be viewed as the perfect storm for Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith to overhaul and rebrand Ireland as an organic food island.
A five-to-10-year roadmap, which aims to have exclusively organic produce leaving our shores within its lifecycle, should immediately be considered at the Department of Health.
Such an ambitious plan would give Ireland Inc a brand that would be unmatched across the globe.
In many quarters, we are still perceived as being a clean, green country and this is the perfect launch pad for an organic food-export industry that, in retrospect, could be seen as having been born out of the pigmeat scare, back in the year 2008.
Here at home, the establishment and proper promotion of organic restaurants would give the country a unique selling point amongst the foodie nations of the world.
The tourism industry would no doubt appreciate this much-needed shot in the arm.
If the Department of Agriculture is hesitant in examining this option, then it's up to Pádraig Walshe and the IFA themselves to take on the responsibility and bypass Government as much as possible in order to find strong markets for their potentially unmatchable organic food exports.
With every crisis comes opportunity. The pigmeat shambles could be used as the perfect opening for renovating our now scandal-ridden food export industry. - Yours, etc,
Madam, - Forget Nostradamus, forget Malachy, only Myles na gCopaleen foresaw today's cashless, jobless and rasherless Ireland in those immortal lines :
"When food is scarce and your larder bare,
And no rashers grease your pan. . .
A pint of plain is your only man." - Yours, etc,
Madam, - The ubiquitous agri-food puns must stop. We don't want to see the press also recalled for public health reasons. - Yours, etc,
Madam, - I look forward to the withdrawal of all tobacco products from our shelves, pending exhaustive proof of no public health safety issue. - Yours, etc,