John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I had a judgment to make in relation to coming before the committee with the regulations that are before us. I could have waited until that process was fully completed, sought a meeting in the committee, which has a busy schedule, and then brought it before the Dáil and the Seanad. I am trying to move things along. I do not believe that everything has to always be done sequentially. This is an independent process that is ongoing in the background at the moment with regard to the environmental considerations as to whether the strategic environmental assessment or appropriate assessment would be required. I want to be in a position to sign these regulations should something come out of that process and to do so straight away, rather than seeking a meeting date with the committee, going through the process in that regard and then going before the Dáil and the Seanad. I do not want to waste any time, because this is really important in the context of retaining our nitrates derogation and enabling farmers to be able to invest in improving water quality on their farms.