Mr. John Bryan:

In respect of the levy, ours is the only democratic farming organisation. Some of the groups associating themselves with Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív were self-appointed. We hold a secret ballot in which our 90,0000 members vote. We elect our county chairmen at public meetings. Our Kerry chairman was elected the other night in an election in which 200 people voted. Therefore, ours is a very democratic association. Our membership is quite happy to contribute through a levy to support our operations both in Brussels and here, be they retailers, meat factories or dairy processors. That is what we do as a lobbying organisation. At times we must mount massive campaigns.

Again, I cannot underestimate the effort we have put in in the past three and a half years in Europe. At conferences I have spoken with Angela Merkel and Stéphane Le Foll. We have a huge operation, but it runs on goodwill which does not come free. One must work at it and with other farming organisations to secure delivery for Irish farmers. I presume members are well aware that the situation in Brussels is much more delicate. There has been a substantial increase in the number of countries that want to see the budget cut. In the past one always knew that Great Britain would want to see it cut, but now Sweden, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and even Germany want to see a cut. Many of them are putting downward pressure on the MFF and the CAP; therefore, it was essential that we carried out a level of work to maintain funding. I am sure Ms Farrell has sent the committee a copy of our report on the livestock and sheep sector in which the importance of premiums is very clear. A substantial cut in premiums would result in a huge drop in production and the number of jobs. From the farmers' perspective, a small levy paid on animals slaughtered, milk processed or cattle going through marts would represent good value for money.