Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

The Deputy is absolutely correct. It is extremely important that there should be a maximum take-up of REPS 4. I feel particularly strongly about this in light of how closely it is linked to the development of the organic sector. There are many factors involved and I share the Deputy's enthusiasm for them.

What we have arrived at, as a result of banging together a number of heads, is a compromise and this is particularly predicated on the fact that it is an EU regulation. I reject any impression that anyone was involved in deliberately misleading people. REPS 2 and REPS 3 had been in operation and no red flags were raised. There was, as a result, a natural expectation that REPS 4 could continue in a similar vein.

See this speech in context