Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are welcome. I am not saying I agree with everything that has been said. A lot of farmers will disagree with everything. There are certainly issues and problems here.

Councillor Gerry Finnerty was referenced by two members. I read an article in the Connacht Tribune. This is a very experienced man. He is a farmer and auctioneer, and he knows the scene very well. He said the actions of the ICBF would effectively "finish off" the various cattle breeding societies, which down through the years have done invaluable work in improving the quality of pedigree livestock.

I know Mr. Doran is into farming but I do not know if Dr. Crossan or Mr. Coughlan are. If I were to ask Mr. Doran, who is on the ground, what topic has come up most in the past 15 to 20 years among farmers if he met them at the mart or out socially for a drink and they were talking farming, it is the quality of animals. Farmer after farmer will say that the day of producing scrub cattle or bad cattle is gone. I make that point in this context. We cannot leave experienced people like that on the sideline because that is what has happened here.

I do not want to be disrespectful to Mr. Coughlan but I do not think he answered Deputy Kerrane's question totally honestly. The ICBF did not engage properly with the suckler farmer. I am not saying he gave a dishonest answer but he did not give her a straight answer.

I will ask him a few quick questions. I would like his assessment of the Carrick-on-Shannon meeting. I put my hands up; I was not at it. Could he give me an honest answer based on his own assessment after coming out from that meeting? What did he think of the meeting last week?