“I can remember quite distinctly the discussion with my parents about going into electoral politics. They knew it was coming, but I don’t think they expected — or indeed I expected — it to come as soon as it did.”

Despite being dubbed the ‘baby of the Dáil’, O’Connor, now 24, has been involved in politics at a high level for much of his life.

“I was in Leinster House for about three years before I stood for any election,” he explains, having worked alongside some of Fianna Fáil’s most influential characters, including the now Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Jim O’Callaghan, as well as former Fine Gael Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

While valuing those experiences hugely, he says it was the farming community of East Cork that played the biggest role in him being elected. He grew up in the heart of dairy country between Youghal and Midleton, near the village of Killeagh.

“My family have always been steeped in farming, we’re the fourth generation  on our farm,” he says.

“We have a mixed dairy farm with a small number of bloodstock, as well breeding and racing thoroughbreds for National Hunt.”

Dairying has always been “the main show in town”, and O’Connor’s mother is also connected to the industry, having worked in Dairygold for over 30 years.

“Both of my parents have been very involved in all aspects of food and of agriculture — a very unique upbringing compared to a lot of my colleagues nowadays,” he said.

Party colleague Jackie Cahill had until recently claimed he was the only TD in the Dáil fit to milk a cow, but O’Connor quips: “He has to share the stage now.”

“I honestly do enjoy helping out at home, particularly at the weekend. I find it therapeutic, actually.

“Working with cows is a great way to clear the head, because in politics, there are a million and one things coming at you every day… I find it can be very much consuming of everything that you do in your life.

“It’s certainly nice to be able to go home on the weekend and help out. I do really enjoy it.”

The youngest of three, O’Connor points out that his brother and sister are also active on the farm.

“There’s a very strong commitment from all of us to help at home,” he says. “We’ve gone on to do different things, but it’s not something we’ve forgotten.”

O’Connor believes this Dáil, more than any other, is lacking in people from an agricultural background.

“It’s a very urban Dáil. A lot of the TDs are either from large towns or cities. Even in my own constituency, three of the four TDs, in what is an extremely agriculturally productive constituency, are urban-based.

“That is something that I personally do worry about. We are seeing a more fractious political arena,” he says, adding that the demands of political life nowadays is not conducive to many people in careers relating to agriculture.

O’Connor says the changes to the political environment are something the farming community needs to be more aware of.

“I certainly feel there is a very anti-rural Ireland agenda, in some factions of the media and in politics,” he says. “That’s something I worry about and something that I think needs to be tackled head on.”

When it comes to agricultural or environmental policy, he believes there is a degree of “ignorance” across the political divide.

“TDs in urban areas to a large degree look at agriculture not as a benefit, but as a problem around environmental issues,” he says.

“I feel there needs to be far greater education on these issues by members of the Oireachtas before they go in and speak in Dáil Eireann so they have a full understanding of the effect of what they’re saying.”

He believes there are opportunities for farmers to play a positive role in climate action through the CAP reforms, sustainability actions, energy and diversification of farming operations.

O’Connor did back the Climate Action Bill when it came before the Dáil recently, despite opposition from farm organisations and some rural TDs. He says that while some TDs “talk a good game”, the reality is that Ireland faces fines, penalties and humiliation on an international level if action is not taken.

“I’m saying that as the youngest member of the Oireachtas. We can’t walk away from the facts of the situation that we’re in,” he says.

“We have seen some extraordinary weather events that have had very negative consequences on the agricultural community as a whole over the last over the last 10 years, from big freezes to droughts and fodder crises.

“They are becoming more and more, more frequent, unfortunately.”

Diversifying farm income is a key part of the solution, he says. Having worked in the energy sector for a number of years, he believes there are huge opportunities for farmers in wind and solar power generation.

“We need to put in place measures that will allow farmers to increase the level of diversified income that’s coming into their own bank accounts,” he says.

The changed make up of the Dáil is the biggest challenge facing farmers, O’Connor says. He believes farm organisations should be routinely briefing members of the Oireachtas, with a particular emphasis on TDs in urban areas.

“The issue the farming lobby has now is the make-up of the Dáil has changed,” he says. “The days of a block of Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael TDs having control over the government’s agenda is looking unlikely into the future.

“If there was an election in the morning, looking at the polls, we could have government of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats and Labour.

“You would have to ask, with a government looking like that, what will the impact be on agriculture in this country?”

‘Soften blow of CAP reforms by giving providing redress schemes for farmers who want to retire’

The impact of planned reforms to the CAP will be keenly felt in his area, and indeed on his home farm, James O’Connor says.

He concedes that it was “next to impossible’ for Fianna Fáil to represent all farmers on the issue of convergence.

“My personal belief, and wWhat I want to see Fianna Fáil going out and doing is allowing those farmers that are going to be worst affected by changes in CAP to have the respect and dignity and the options before them to retire if they want from farming,” he says.

“And that they will be given the full support similar to what would have happened in fisheries a number of decades ago, in terms of having redress schemes there for the worst affected areas of agriculture.

“These are policies that I want to see the Department of Agriculture pursuing, to soften the blows as they come in terms of CAP reforms.”

Highly critical of Sinn Féin’s push for 100pc convergence of farm payments, O’Connor says medium-sized farms in his area would take a significant financial hit.

“In operations like ours at home, like hundreds of other dairy farmers in Cork East and in places like Waterford to Tipperary across the across the Golden Vale where the heartland of dairy production is in this country, they are going to be significantly hit by convergence.

“And then to see Sinn Féin coming in calling for 100pc, I just thought it was gobsmacking.

“I think it’s just reckless, and it shows a lack of understanding that Sinn Féin has for the economic importance of the agricultural industry in this country.”

He accused Sinn Féin of “not caring about farmers” and not having rural Ireland’s “best interests” at heart.

“If you look at their individual policies, it’s certainly my firm view that for dairy farming as a sector and for tillage, Sinn Fein is very bad news,” he says.

O’Connor says that until recently, he didn’t have a strong view on Fianna Fáil’s participation in a future government with Sinn Féin.

However, “with the benefit of time and hindsight looking at the last number of months, I don’t think I’m a TD that could ever do business with Sinn Féin in government,” he says..

“They would have to do some remarkable changes to their political positions before I’d be amenable to any future agreement.”

‘We have a very, very significant problem with young voters’

His young age and relative inexperience have not stopped James O’Connor from being heavily critical of his own party in recent months.

In a recent parliamentary party meeting, he reportedly said Fianna Fáil was becoming “irrelevant and toxic” to young people, while earlier this year, he said the party was “out of touch” and needed to have a “good hard look” at its trajectory.

With the party lagging behind Sinn Féin and Fine Gael in the polls, O’Connor says Fianna Fáil has a lot of work to do to regain ground.

“We have a long, long way to go before we get back to where we were a little over two years ago, which was in the high 20s,” he says.

“You can see quite clearly from polling that we have a very, very significant problem with support levels among voters the age of 30, 40, 45 in our society.

“So tackling the housing crisis is the most important issue Fianna Fáil needs to make progress on. We have those departments in our remit.

“So Fianna Fáil has no option but to deliver.”

He adds that the party’s support levels could become “quite messy” over the next 12 months, unless the party is seen to deliver in government.