Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is no problem because I understand Mr. Murrin is only entering his position. I would have thought the matter would have been considered. The EU is considering how to eliminate paperwork for small farmers as much as possible, so you would imagine there would be an exemption for farmers with up to 20 suckler calves to keep the small family farm on the road. That is one matter I ask the delegates to consider. They might revert to me on the other matter.

I am interested in hearing about Mr. Murrin's experience with smaller operators because he has considerable experience in this regard. We have heard that many of the smaller meat exporters do their own thing. A great deal of paperwork is required to get on Bord Bia stands. The operators are just not in a position to do everything that needs to be done.

I have engaged with Bord Bia over the past couple of years. The buzzword in Ireland at the moment is "sustainability" and the buzzword for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is "anaerobic digestion", even though not much funding has been put into the latter. If you are Bord Bia quality-assured, you cannot use digestate on your farm, whereas you can in every other European country. Could Mr. Murrin look into this as an incoming chairman? The situation is ironic because I thought all member states were in the same Europe.