Mr. Pat McCormack:

Please do not panic, given that the Chairman and I are from the same constituency I would not like him to think that I had ambitions to become a Deputy.

The challenges that face farmers will certainly keep one occupied. Deputy Joe Flaherty said there has been a six-fold increase in soiled water and there is a necessity to keep it retained. That just highlights the fact that we need substantial grant aid of up to 60% to be made available to all.

Are we saying what was done in the recent past is null and void? The ten to 15 days slurry storage requirement with the sprinkler system or, indeed, any other system was valid at the time. That must remain a compliance-positive story and we cannot in any way be non-compliant because it would be a huge cost. It would also put in question the milk at the shoulder. For the processing plants that is a huge issue.

As regards what Deputy Collins said about the nitrates review and a drop in the size of the national herd, certainly we do not want to see that. In a broader context, our generation must acknowledge climate change but, equally, we must acknowledge any efficiencies in production. When it comes to dairy, beef, lamb and, indeed, cereal production, Ireland is one of the most efficient globally. Quite rightly, and I do not know which member said it, farmers in the MERCOSUR countries must smile when they see how Irish and European farmers are being treated in terms of the potential level of bureaucracy that is being further added with this nitrates review.

Earlier Deputy Fitzmaurice and others mentioned banding. There is huge potential for error with banding. All signs indicate that if one decreased the crude protein percentage in the diet then one will greatly reduce the ambition and the excretory levels that are required or have been mentioned. We believe that farmers endorsed that in 2021. It is a pity that the industry at a wider level did not push it a bit more in 2021 and, indeed, in the previous years.

Obviously the low-emissions slurry spreaders and having a 12-month waiting list is huge. That just shows how out of touch the proposal to move from 170 kg down to 100 kg of a compulsory spread is not a real understanding of the availability of these machines. Again, this is something that needs to be staged and staggered.

Senator Lombard alluded to the cost of storing soiled water. All of these things will increase the cost of production and, ultimately, the primary producer, which is who we are all here to represent. The economic sustainability of that primary producer will be questioned with those various levels of bureaucracy in the years ahead unless we see a substantial food inflationary increase.