Mr. Shane Herlihy:

I thank the Chair. I just want to mention this matter because the derogation was discussed during the Teagasc Moorepark open day and the fact that fewer and fewer countries are benefiting from the derogation. Denmark was specifically mentioned in that it has agreed to give up its derogation. When one actually looks at the water quality data - again we are just looking at averages - Denmark has a very different circumstance to Ireland when one compares groundwater and river water quality. Water quality is much better in Ireland than it is in Denmark. That needs to be borne in mind when the argument is put forward that Ireland is the only country left looking for a derogation. The fact is that we have very good water quality so we need to be using that argument when we are talking about seeking the protection of the derogation.