There was no knock-out blow in last night's Prime Time Euro debate, but the 8 candidates from Ireland South engaged in a lively exchange on the key issues, writes RTE Political Correspondent Paul Cunningham.
Ireland South stretches from Bantry to Bray, declared co-presenter Miriam O'Callaghan in her introductory remarks, underlying the vast size of this European Parliament constituency.
Instead, the candidates methodically set out their stalls on how to deal with the increase in claims. The main focus was on whether the candidates supported reducing the size of the national herd and if they'd fight to retain the derogation from the Nitrates Directive. He argued that it was possible to maintain the existing agricultural output while reducing environmental impacts and protect 160,000 jobs.
John Mullins interjected to say farmers didn't want handouts, but Ms Bogue countered that the government allowed farmers to be at the mercy of big processors. He claimed EU policies meant that Irish small and medium sized farm families had been thrown to the wind. Fianna Fáil MEP Billy Kelleher said he wouldn't vote to re-elect Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President and had condemned her visit to Israel.
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