A Roscommon TD has taken issue with comments made by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson in relation to eating meat.

The Ballina native, and currently UN Special Envoy on Climate, says if more people ate less meat, it would benefit the environment.

Speaking at a conference in Canada, Mrs Robinson said we have to take responsibility for our carbon footprint, and recommended becoming vegetarian or vegan.

Roscommon-Galway Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice claims Mary Robinson is living in cuckoo land with this proposal.

He says he’s especially surprised that it has come from a woman whose home county-  Mayo- is so reliant on agriculture.

Deputy Fitzmaurice says he wonders what plans Mrs Robinson  would have for the tens of thousands of farmers that would be put out of business, or the tens of thousands of people who would become unemployed as a result of losing their jobs in the meat and food industries.

The Independent TD said any debate about climate change needs to be done in a realistic way.