Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This issue is a stain on the Minister's Department and on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. They are a relatively small number of farmers but they have rights. They are landowners and their rights are being infringed. Deputy O'Donovan asked a pertinent question in respect of legal opinion. They are locked out of a compensation system that others are getting. That is the important issue.

In the context of a threat response plan, to which Deputy O'Donovan referred, we met officials from the Minister's Department and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine almost 12 months ago. How many meetings of the various parties have taken place in drafting that threat response plan because it is multifaceted? It is a complex issue but the simple net point is that there are farmers who are being discriminated against.

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