Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is like the mouse when the elephant is present. The co-operatives have not come together in the spirit of farmers in this country at a time of war and manned up. There are no winners here. What will the Government do about a contract? I am not a solicitor or barrister but it shocked me that the contract I mentioned earlier was so casual, in that it simply asked people to write down their number and their name, with a price that they would get for three years. This issue will not just lie down. If there was no war but fertiliser prices had increased by €100 per tonne and meal prices had increased by €50 per tonne, we would not be here talking with the witnesses. We would say to take it on the chin and to take the good with the bad. Everything goes out the door, however, when there is a war. There should be a spirit of partnership at co-operatives and among the people that the co-operatives supply. I understand one was invited here. It would be nice to talk to all of them and give them a fair hearing. This needs to be resolved. It is a small amount of money for all the co-operatives, but it is a large amount for individual farmers that could be the making or breaking of them. The co-operatives need to move on this.