Mr. Denis Drennan:

What we signed up to in the review of the derogation did not make sense. As I said, we were not caught by an increase in nitrates in the water. Most of the country was caught by a risk of becoming eutrophic. I can go across the road and there is a risk I will get knocked down but I may not. That is where the problem was. In the meantime then, we have two massive issues that have been highlighted already. What do we need to do to improve this and how we need to sort it? We need extra slurry storage. Planning and TAMS are both clogged up at the minute. We have lost the full 14 months, heading for 15 months, with no shovels in the ground because of the lack of planning and TAMS approval. What is happening in ASSAP areas is absolutely disheartening farmers. We have ASSAP areas where farmers are getting one-to-one advice, the right measures are being put in the right place, water quality is improving in the majority of these areas, yet they were still cut. How can you justify signing up to something that, even though in your local catchment the farmers have all come together, done the right thing and the water quality has improved, yet you are still cut. We have great knowledge in the country from the agricultural catchments programme as regards the issues that are causing the problem and what the best measures are to fix the problem, yet those are not the measures that are being implemented. That is where the frustration is coming in. Even if the right thing is done and the water quality improves, farmers are still cut. How can you stand over that? It is really frustrating.