Mr. Pat McCormack:

To deal first with the question asked by Deputy Fitzmaurice, we certainly believe that if land is being farmed, it should be eligible, regardless of soil type. A derogation of any form, whether it is nitrates or in any other way, creates uncertainty and bureaucracy. Over time, we have seen with the nitrates derogation that the bar rises. That may also answer the question asked by Deputy Naughten.

As regards the point raised by Deputy Browne on the EU supply chain malfunctioning, we represent primary producers who are receiving a price that they received 30 or 35 years ago. All other sectors along the food supply chain increase or maintain their margin while the margin of the primary producer is eroded.

The Deputy alluded to the Belview plant. We met the Taoiseach last week on that particular issue, as well as the Minister for Agriculture and the Marine. It has put the industry and, in particular, that process and entity, at a crossroads. It is a juncture at which it had not expected to find itself. The consequences could be widespread in the country and, equally, could be drastic across rural Ireland. Since the abolition of quotas, we have seen a vibrancy, which was not present in rural Ireland for a significant period, with young people and those from other sectors transferring to dairy farming. That could all be brought to an end very easily. It needs to be watched very closely in the coming period.