Mr. T.J. Flanagan:

Shortly over 100 years ago there were about 1,000 agricultural and dairy co-operatives in Ireland, that were buying milk. There are currently about 20. That is a process of ongoing consolidation over 100 years. Our co-operatives come together and merge. Principally they merge. That is a process that has to happen because it is about achieving scale. While we have large organisations in Ireland now, large dairy co-operatives, there will still be consolidation and mergers along the road. Some of those will get bigger and there will be fewer on the pitch. The current legal provision is that if you want to merge, which is a serious bit of business, you have a special general meeting at which members who are entitled to vote attend, and if you have a quorum, if you get 75% of those present and voting, the merger happens. If you fall short of the 75% but have a simple majority, that is something between 50-point-whatever and 75, you must come back again in a fortnight and get a simple majority again.

That is something that has existed for the 100 years we have been doing mergers. It is something people are comfortable with.