The Irish fresh produce industry has been shocked and saddened by the sudden resignation of horticulture minister Trevor Sargent.
Sargent, 50, a minister for just under three years, stepped down on Tuesday following the revelation that he had intervened with the Gardai in an attempt to prevent a constituent being prosecuted. In a resignation statement to parliament, he admitted he had made “a serious error of judgement”.
Sargent, a former leader of the Green Party, was admired, even by his political opponents, for the enthusiasm he brought to what he called “my ideal job in government”. A committed environmentalist, whose life-long hobby was a
well-stocked vegetable garden, he was especially suited to the horticulture portfolio.
For more than a decade, Sargent has represented north county Dublin, frequently reminding parliamentary colleagues that “40 per cent of the field vegetables produced in this country are grown in my constituency”. On occasion, he even offered fellow politicians tips on how best to prepare vegetables for the dinner table.
He took his ministerial duties very seriously, promoting healthy eating in schools, encouraging the growth of farmers’ markets as an alternative to the monopoly of the multiples, and pressing for a better price deal for growers. At one point, he warned that without a 25 per cent increase in prices, the industry could collapse within three years.
As a politician, Sargent had been part of a protest campaign that forced the German giant, BASF, to abandon GM potato trials in County Meath. As minister, he remained resolutely opposed to such crops, claiming that Ireland should be marketed as “a green, clean, food-producing island”. Increasing organic production was another passion, backed by a restored grants system and a promotions board.
To growers, he was both a friend and a champion. When they objected to a proposed municipal dump in north county Dublin, warning it could pollute water supplies and threaten crops, he testified with them at a planning inquiry, in a rare show of support.
His government colleague, agriculture minister Brendan Smith, paid tribute to the “great energy and commitment” he brought to the job and to his “significant contribution” to Irish horticulture.
