Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In summary, one of the points that was not discussed today or really raised was the meeting I had with the Commissioner but it was raised much over the past few weeks in the wider context. I emphasise the ongoing engagement I have had with the Commission and the Commissioner in respect of this challenge. I had my team visit over recent months to prepare the way regarding the potential challenge we would have at the end of June and then worked closely with farm representative organisations as well to gather submissions to put together the best possible proposal and submission we could in August to the Commission seeking a renewal of that derogation.

As people can tell from the meeting we have had today and from the discussion over the past week or two, providing clarity quickly is really important. That is why I sought to meet the Commissioner early. In fairness to the Commissioner, he met me the very first week after the August break in the European Parliament. I was attending a European Council meeting at the time in Córdoba with the agriculture Commissioner and other agriculture Ministers, and we had an online Zoom meeting to seek to move this forward because we needed clarity for farmers. If it was to be possible to reopen the derogation process and to go through a statutory process to do that, it would take time and we needed to commence that promptly if that was the case, or if that was not to be possible, it was equally important that we had time to allow farmers to prepare. That is why it was really important I met him.

Based on feedback from the committee, and from its own meeting with the Commissioner, which was useful in getting an assessment and feeding in our national position, it was clear whether it was online or in person was not an issue because the Commission and I meet every month in person. We meet much more regularly than that on Zoom because it is the same Commissioner who deals with fisheries as this issue.

We engage on an ongoing basis. Clarity is really important here. The backdrop was that going back to the negotiation at the start of last year, this could have been a much worse situation. We were in a difficult negotiating position and got the best possible outcome. We all have to work collectively, including me, farmers and all stakeholders, to keep this derogation and improve water quality, continue the significant steps and hard work farmers are undertaking and maintain this important part of our agricultural model into the future. I thank the committee.