Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am convinced that a solution can be brought to this crisis by further discussions on many outstanding issues, which I know could take far longer than we might want to consider. There are the issues of 30 months, the control of the offal and many others that these farmers are concerned about. However, to give us any hope of an immediate solution, the Minister needs to put pressure on to raise the base price. If this is done for a period, it could well trigger an end to the protest. Is this possible? We want to bring an end to the protest. Farmers are angered and hurt by comments being made by everybody. We are not going to point any more fingers here. We are just trying to find a solution and a way forward. A serious and fair increase to the base price could trigger an end to this protest.

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