William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the witnesses. They are not coming with the positive news we would hope to have as regards what was done in the rivers and all of that scientific evidence. I hope the next time around the news might be better. I cannot understand how we, or some people, are talking about the end of the year. We do not have a hope of doing all that work by the end of the year. I presume we will get an extension to the derogation. I presume the Minister and his officials have discussed all that.

As a farmer, I know how important the derogation is to the Irish food industry and the wider community that feeds off the farming community. The derogation allows us farmers to maximise the advantages of our grass-based system, about which we have all spoken over the years. I have written down six questions that I would like the witnesses to answer. I will go through them quickly. Will the Department provide an account of the engagement with the European Commission around the reduction in the derogation limit from 250 kg N/ha to 220 kg N/ha? Will the Department confirm that all possible political and technical avenues have been exhausted to maintain the 250 kg N/ha limit?

What scientific basis did the Commission refer to when requiring Ireland to reduce the derogation limit? Will the Department publish the assessment it has made of the economic impact the derogation cut will have on all farmers in Ireland, according to the main commodity, and on the rural hinterland, particularly in the high-production counties to which the Cathaoirleach alluded a moment ago?

Has the Department proposed alternative compliance tools to the Commission to demonstrate Ireland's environmental progress, such as neutral catchment, precision fertiliser use, which we are doing, and the considerable investment we all made in slurry management? That investment was made on every farm that was involved in any way with cattle throughout the Twenty-six Counties.

In the interests of transparency, will the Department publish all documentation and correspondence it has had with the European Commission in respect of the nitrates derogation? Will the Department outline how often it has engaged with Irish MEPs, the permanent representation in Brussels and the Commission on our behalf during this process? Could more political pressure be applied before we come to an outcome? Those are the questions I present today.