Mr. Thomas Ryan:

I will not mince words. Our CEO, Jim Bergin, has said the loss of the derogation would be catastrophic. It would be catastrophic in the context of Tirlán as a co-op supporting 9,200 jobs, where two thirds of our suppliers farm above the 170 kg N/ha, and we support economic activity of €5.5 billion across the 16 counties we source and the farm families that supply milk. That is the starkness of the reality facing us.

When we talk to our farmers at regional meetings and our recent AGM, the one word that kept coming up, going back to Mr. Mulvihill, is certainty. They look for certainty on two fronts. One is from the regulatory landscape. When Teagasc appeared before the committee in March, it stated that 39 new measures relating to nitrates had been introduced in the past four years. That is 39 new measures on farms we have to get our head around and implement. If they are not complied with, there is a risk of cross-compliance and a loss of the basic payment.

The other one, which Mr. Mulvihill already touched on, is the timeframe and the time span that we actually have our derogation for. We engage every day with farm families who want to do the right thing, and are doing it. When they are expected and required to make capital investments, however, in terms of funding it with the bank and financing it through their own capital, a time horizon of two years is simply not enough, as happened with the interim review. There is an argument to be made in respect of four years. There is a need for regulatory certainty and certainty on the time frame.

The participation of farmers, whether through Tirlán or more widely, in water quality improvement is not something new. I go back to Bord Bia's Origin Green sustainable dairy assurance scheme, SDAS, which is now with us more than ten years, and the sustainable beef and lamb assurance scheme, SBLAS. Water quality protection and enhancement is an integral part of that. This involves soil testing, measuring water quality and so many other measures. We layer on top of that the 30 agricultural sustainability support and advisory programme, ASSAP, water quality advisers from the co-ops who are working every day with farm families. In the case of Tirlán, we have six permanent and three new resources coming in and working exclusively on the water quality question. It is similar for Mr. Cronin's organisation. As Mr. Sheahan said, water quality protection and enhancement is part of our sustainability action payment programme. There is €16 million a year dedicated to supporting our farm families to enhance the sustainability of their farm businesses. We know it is still not enough, and that is where the Slaney project has come to the fore. In effect, the Slaney project is a multi-agency collaboration. It is Tirlán acting as an enabling partner with the local authority waters programme, LAWPRO, representatives of which appeared before the committee along with Teagasc, coming around the table and asking what the science is and where the greatest challenge is.

I make the point to Deputy Mythen that we decided to situate it on the River Slaney quite simply because it is one of the catchments of concern identified by the EPA. The River Slaney is one of the catchments identified in its mapping as presenting a significant challenge. We sat down with LAWPRO and Teagasc and asked which of the Slaney subcatchments are most challenged. We have landed on six. In that context, we have brought in three new resources and are bringing in a further two who are now working hand in glove with our farm family suppliers in effectively developing an exemplar project. It is exemplar because it is community-wide. Yes, dairy farmers and farmers in the community are carrying out our role but, in addition, LAWPRO will bring the community around with regard to what needs to be done with septic tanks. Teagasc is reaching out to and supporting non-dairy farmers in the tillage sector. This whole-of-community approach, with the objective of stabilising and improving water quality, is a blueprint.

We will be challenging ourselves to replicate it right across our supply catchment. We are very emboldened, despite the fact it has been raining since last July and despite the fact there are so many challenges on farms. When we go out and introduce our farm support services as part of this Slaney project, we are meeting open doors because farmers are saying they know there is change and they are asking to be given certainty and to be told what they have to do, that they will be up for it. They are also saying, however, that they need the resourcing and the funding. The question of slurry storage requirements that Senator Lombard referred to is a big challenge at farm level. Another challenge is nutrient use efficiency. If I have a figure to work off at farm level, on the basis of knowing my figure, how do I adapt it and change it to reduce the impact and risk of runoff?

From our perspective at Tirlán, we are meeting a very engaged supplier base who want to make the changes but are looking for the certainty so that they have a sense of security for the longer term. When I look at factors such as the reduction in fertiliser use from 408,000 tonnes in 2018 to 300,000, show me another sector that can say it is already delivering measures within the climate action plan. It is already happening right in front of us. The narrative that farming families are not up for the challenge is very different from the proof points that exist. There are challenges ahead of us and no one is standing back from that, but we are resourcing it, we have a clear strategy in place, and together we are looking at whether we can get the finances in place to deliver a positive outcome.