Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses from both organisations for appearing before us. All the questions have been asked. We listened to the witnesses and took in a lot of what they said. They put their case very strongly. Food security and its importance to Europe is being discussed. The IFA presentation stated that Ireland’s cereal area declined by 16,000 ha and now constitutes less than 6% of Ireland’s agricultural land. This is a serious statistic. What it is telling us is very worrying. Large farmers are making millions but the average farm has 30 ha or 50 ha. Have the witnesses got figures about the 30 ha farms. I have met some of these farmers here and they have told me they are giving up. They do not want their youngsters to take over because of the uncertainty here and that is not fair. What is going to happen in 2025? What if something happens to the derogation? How can you plan something if you do not know what is going to happen? It is a major issue.

I agree with Senator Paul Daly that it is not a silver bullet but anaerobic digestion is part of the solution. We must understand that new technologies and new things will appear. A huge plant was opened in Monaghan two or three weeks. It is amazing stuff worth €20 million. It can work so we should not put it in the basket. It needs to be there and needs a lot of help.

The battle is with the EU Commissioner. Ireland differs from other countries because we rely so heavily on agriculture. There is €17.3 billion in the dairy sector alone and €6.3 billion in exports of dairy products. As we all know, you cannot make more land, so land is very scarce. We are a small island so our derogation should show that. We are going to have to stand up for ourselves more in Europe. The situation is serious. It is very worrying for me to read the presentations. A small farmer is going to be crushed, so something must be done.

Do farmers get the proper data for the catchment areas? Is the EPA responsible for that? Who is responsible for providing the data? The witnesses said a farmer could be 20 km, 30 km, 40 km or 50 km away but could be condemned as much as a farmer who is committing the offence, which is wrong.