Only weaken our position

that rely on manual labour are already almost totally dependent on non-nationals to keep the wheels turning.

And this is the reality that I’ve had to get comfortable with since the day I started employing people nearly 20 years ago.

Back then, most of my nonnational staff were Latvian, before we morphed into a Slovakian operation, to the point where we are now a definitively Romanian ship.

And while it is true that many don’t speak any English, I find that my staff ’s enthusiasm for the job more than compensates for any shortcomings in the communication department.

In fact, many of my longest serving non-nationals have developed a f luency that enables them to do the vast majority of tasks around the farm with great competency.

I’m under no illusion that they are here because Ireland is such a wonderful place to be.

In the same way that the Inís Mór men desperately missed their families for months on end, the nonnationals that work for me and others are making huge sacrifices for the long term benefit of those back home.

Bear in mind that the €400 or €500 they earn a week here is a good month’s wages back in Romania.

This disparity between the economic opportunities here compared to Romania and probably much of Hungary, Bulgaria and beyond makes me wonder if it necessary to bring in staff from beyond the EU’s borders.

Do we really need to take in people from even poorer regions of the world to do the work that many Irish people will not?

To my mind this would only undermine the opportunities that so many less well-off EU citizens have come to rely on.

Surely in an era when the likes of Trump, Putin and Co would only love to see the European project weaken just another little bit, it’s time for us to pull together with our fellow EU citizens?