Mr. Pat McCormack:

In reply to Deputy Flaherty, it is absolutely critical that a system is put in place that minimises the exposure of the end user. Farmers are normally referred to as the primary producer when discussing things but the term "end user" is used here. The document specifies that there is potential for a fine of €100,000 or for an invasion of one's home. That is extreme, to put it mildly. When Pat McCormack, or anybody else, goes to his local co-op or anywhere else to purchase fertiliser and gives his herd number, the person on the other side should be able to key in that information and find out how much stock he is still allowed to purchase rather than him finding out in six months' time when the fertiliser is all spread that he has spread one 50 kg bag too many of 27-2.5-5 or whatever formulation he is using and that he is now in breach of the various regulations. There are companies out there that provide apps in respect of animal health and medicine remedies usage. Perhaps they will come on board but the ICMSA would like to see the obligation on somebody other than the end user, specifically the retail outlets, retailers and providers of fertiliser.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae raised huge concerns and rightly so. He went back as far as the 1970s. We can come up to 1983 and the introduction of the milk quota and then the abolition of the milk quota in 2015. In that intervening period, we saw a substantial reduction in the number of dairy farmers. That was because margins eroded for the primary producer. The challenge then was to scale up to remain viable. The challenge now is regulations and the potential for those regulations to make us unviable.

There have been challenging years in the past and I have no doubt there will be challenging years in the future as regards grass growth. The Deputy is right; sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. We need a level of tolerance. Rather than entering a fodder crisis and putting our hands up in the air in the months of July or August, there should be a tolerance where we can do something about it at home on this island nation, which is on the periphery of Europe.

In summation, we need common sense. As an organisation, the ICMSA was obviously involved in some of the discussions but the Department seems adamant that the European Commission insists on this as a tool to move forward. Whether it is fertiliser or medicines, however, they need to be available. The responsibility cannot be borne solely by the sole trader, in the vast majority of cases, or the family farm unit. There is enough stress out there on farms without having the bureaucracy of keeping this register or, indeed, the availability of medicines on a timely basis. We need to see common sense prevail and very often, that is sadly lacking.