Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I would like to see a national database that is all-Ireland in nature and for the Minister to make an effort to reach that goal but he has not made an effort so far. It is entirely disingenuous for him to claim that the conditions will be the same for, say, a farmer located halfway between Clones in County Monaghan and Rosslea in County Fermanagh who decides to purchase fertiliser from his or her operator in Clones or the one in Rosslea. The conditions will not be the same, which has been acknowledged by the Minister. He acknowledged in his briefing paper that if this farmer decided to purchase fertiliser in Rosslea then he or she will have to register as a fertiliser economic operator. That farmer does not have to do that if he or she decides to purchase fertiliser south of the Border even though his or her merchant in Rosslea is at a closer location. To me, such a situation creates a North-South divergence that is unhelpful in the current circumstances.