Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are three aspects to this. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine gave the green light to this and very quickly - though maybe not suddenly - it has decided to put on the red light and close the industry down or prohibit it. Please correct me if I am wrong about the three aspects I see here. The most important thing is the compensation for the workers who have been there a long time. Second is the compensation for farmers. The third issue relates to the demolition of the mink farm buildings, which are very specific. They cannot be used for pigs, bonhams or whatever. Have any of the witnesses gotten a professional cost analysis of all this that can be put to the Department. I am not going to go into the ethics or propriety of mink farming and so on because that is another day's work. I am close enough to the Iveragh Peninsula and my understanding of it is that the Department, with all due respect, is pulling the plug without any recognition for the employers or the employees and with very little recognition for how the mink farms can be reinstated to their original natural condition. The Department has a responsibility here, and maybe Europe does too.

These are my fundamental thoughts on it. I do not want to delay the meeting but if any of the witnesses could please respond I would appreciate it. That is my thinking. Where are we going from here rather than back and forth? There is a huge disparity between what the Department is prepared to offer and what the mink farmers expect to get.

Mr. Reynolds indicated that he wanted to make a contribution.