Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for attending. As a person who has to comply with the nitrates directive and all the other farming schemes, I know that, in recent years, farmers have been encouraged to provide bat boxes, bird boxes, places for bees, and so on. These are very worthwhile initiatives that any person who is interested in the rural landscape would like to be involved in because it further enhances our environment.

I often ask who are the people best placed to protect our environment and it is the people who own their own little part of the environment, that is, farmers. Farmers never, ever look on their farm as an asset or a possession. They look on it only as is something they were given in order to, hopefully, make a full-time living or part-time living, and then pass it on to the next generation. It is not up for sale. We can study the statistics and see how much of our agricultural land ever sells or changes hands, and it literally does not happen. Even if a farmer does not have children of his or her own, the land passes on to nieces or nephews - perhaps that is the only way we would have a bit of slippage in that they sell as they might not be as attached to it as the more direct family member.

As a rule, agricultural land in Ireland is held for those in the family. Our farmers are the custodians of our land and environment. Following on from that, there are a number of worthwhile schemes. I, too, would be of the opinion that certain rules and regulations are nonsensical. One instance of that is the talk of not cutting hedges at a certain time of the year in order to protect our bird life. That would be true if it involved the cutting the inside of hedges bordering farmland. However, when I hear people say that the reason hedges on the sides of our main roads cannot be cut is to protect birds and birds nesting, that is a nonsense. Is there anywhere I could be brought in Ireland at this minute where on the side of a busy public road, with cars, lorries and buses whizzing by and rubbing off ditches, a bird would be so stupid as to build her nest? It just does not happen. My practical common sense, from having been involved in this type of work, tells me that it just does not happen. Why would a bird build a nest on the side of a road when it could build one among the thousands of acres of land, in a nice quite location down by a river or in a secluded area where it would have proper shelter? Some of what we hear said about this is nonsense and more of what is said is perfectly sensible. Farming by calendar is nonsense because anybody who knows about farming will know that we could have a June, July or August, the summer months, when it could be horribly wet and one might not be able to travel the land while at the height of the winter we might have a cold snap of weather where one could travel to spread slurry. That is why I will never support the idea of farming by calendar. On a practical basis, it does not make sense.

I appreciate what the witnesses have said today. I am worried about what is happening in England. If farmers in England will not be covered by the nitrates and other directives after Brexit, will that impact negatively on our farmers here? It possibly could have the potential to do that. Do the witnesses have a sense that farmers in England would see standards dropping or not being as restrictive on them post-Brexit? Are they seeking to have an advantage when it comes to their agricultural practices because of not being under the umbrella or Europe?

I wish to ask about one statistic. I like statistics but I also like to understand them. I refer to the figure of 1,400 people dying every year as a result of air pollution. Could the witnesses expand on that? Are those people dying as a result of respiratory problems? In order words, could they have had lung problems and their deaths not be related to the environment? Could those deaths be related to hereditary conditions, smoking or other issues? I would like to tie down that statistic. I am not questioning the figure for Europe and, in particular, for Ireland of 1,400, but I would like the witnesses to expand on that in order that I can understand it. Who wishes to respond first? Is it Dr. O'Neill?