Mr. Paul Dillon:

As I said, there are a number of issues here which are a cause of serious concern for us as well as for other member states. The flexibility to take in additional breeding stock is recognised as a key measure for those organic farmers who want to grow. If we take away that derogation, we are restricting them severely because of the limited availability of breeding stock. Partial conversion is also a serious issue, as is the transfer of control to the European control body. At the moment, control is vested in the certifying control bodies, with the Department carrying out a small number of inspections but the proposal here is to take control away from those bodies. They are serious issues of concern.

It is important to understand, however, that there is a long way to go with this process. It will be quite slow. There has been a lot of change in the Commission and the process has taken a lot longer than was originally envisaged. At the recent meetings, at both official and Council level, several member states have indicated that they are not happy with the proposals as they stand. A lot of work has yet to be done.