Mr. Edward Carr:

I thank the Senator for his question. There is no doubt about it. No more than at farm level, the viability of the whole sector is at risk, from the family farm right through to the co-operative. We must remember that the co-operative movement is built on the back of farmers. We are the shareholders, we own these businesses, we own these farms and we were the ones who invested in these farms big time for generations. We did not talk about it since the abolition of quotas. For generations, farmers built these co-ops through their own investment. They put their hands in their pockets to put them in every rural parish, every rural village and every county all over the country. They built these little organisations. Some have grown into global businesses, which we are very proud of. Of course they are at stake with the future of the derogation and where it stands today.

We have all faced challenges all along the way. There is no better people than the farming community when there is a challenge put to them. That is why we are laying down the challenge today to the Government and the EU that we are prepared to change. We cannot continue. Every good industry changes over time and we cannot continue. We are prepared to make that change at farm level and co-operative level. We will do anything that is asked of us to protect our future, the viability of our family farms and the viability of the co-operative movement. Everybody needs to work together; we cannot do it on our own.

We know that changes have to be made for the environment and for water quality, and they have been made. That is where we have a big qualm. Farmers have made massive changes. Even since the abolition of quotas, we have all grown our business and we all enjoyed that journey. However, at the same time, we made massive changes over the past three or four years that have to be given time to work through. There is no point in pulling the rug from under an industry in the middle of that change. We have been asked to change and we have changed. Give that change time to work through the system. I have no doubt that if water quality does not improve in the next few years, it will not be because of dairy or any other type of farming rather there will be other issues at play. I will hand over to Mr. Farrell, if he wishes to add to this.