Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The agenda for this morning’s meeting is the new nitrates action programme. The public consultation for this programme is ongoing and the deadline for submissions is Monday, 20 September. That is why we felt it was appropriate to give farming organisations an opportunity to put their views before the committee this morning.

I welcome the following witnesses to the committee: Mr. Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers’ Association, IFA; Mr. Paul O’Brien, environmental chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association; Ms Geraldine O’Sullivan, senior policy executive for the environment and forestry at the Irish Farmers’ Association; Mr. Pat McCormack, president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA; Mr. John Enright, general secretary of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association; Mr. John Keane, national president of Macra na Feirme; Ms Gillian Richardson, agricultural and rural affairs policy officer at Macra na Feirme; Mr. Henry O'Donnell, the Donegal national council representative with the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA; and Mr. Joe Condon, policy adviser at the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association.

All witnesses are joining the meeting remotely via Teams. They are all very welcome. I note that representatives of the Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers’ Association were invited but were unable to attend this morning’s meeting. They have been invited to send in a written submission instead. We have received the witnesses’ opening statements, which have been circulated to members. All opening statements are published on the Oireachtas website and are publicly available.

Before we begin, I have an important notice on parliamentary privilege. Witnesses are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise nor make charges against any person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. Participants in the committee meeting who are in locations outside the parliamentary precincts are asked to note that the constitutional protections afforded to those participating from within the parliamentary precincts do not extend to them. No clear guidance can be given on whether or the extent to which participation is covered by the absolute privilege of a statutory nature.

I will ask the four organisations to give a five-minute opening statement about where they see the main issues with nitrates and the main points they want to see addressed in the ongoing discussion on the nitrates situation. We will then take questions from members. I call Mr. Cullinan.