Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Most of the queries have probably been asked and answered at this stage and if they have, the witnesses could give a bit of information and I can look back.

The opening statements provided to us were detailed and really helpful but across all of them it seems as though we are in a space where the actions farmers are taking, sometimes at a cost to themselves, are apparently almost pointless, which is concerning. The other part of it is that what is there is actually doing damage to farmland birds. In both cases we are dealing with something that exists to keep the derogation for farmers who want to retain that derogation, which is something that all of us - particularly on this committee - feel strongly about. We cannot be in a space where farmers are taking actions, many of them at a cost to themselves, that literally are useless. If we want to retain the derogation, then as has been proposed, the catchment areas need to be on a case-by-case basis because no two areas and no two farms are the same. A lot of what the witnesses have said makes perfect sense and it is something that we will seek to progress. I have a couple of questions for Birdwatch Ireland on what has been done and the severe impact it will have over the next six or seven years on farmland.

It seems very stark. Where did this come from in the first place as the measure to take? There was no realisation, or maybe there was, of the consequences that would be there. It just seems like a crazy proposal to put in place, given its consequences and outworkings and the impact it will have, when we are trying to protect the species and the birds we have.