OPINION: The Hound is astounded at the sheer audacity and bottle of (outgoing?) Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor and his ability to bury his head in the sand.
In a pre-election interview, the long-time West Coast MP claimed that "The Government is not to blame for on-farm pressures".
O'Connor conveniently ignored all the regulations and red tape introduced under his watch - like low slope rules, freshwater reforms, proposed carbon pricing and biodiversity plans, to name but a few - which have added to costs and huge pressure on the country's farmers.
Instead, he went on to blame Covid and the Russo-Ukrainian war for all the woes farmers are presently facing.
If ever there was an example of why O'Connor and his Labour colleagues are out of answers, ideas and time and should be out of office, this is it!