Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With all due respects to the Minister, that is a sort of history of the situation as to where we are now but a great deal more needs to be done. For anyone who is unaware of this case or situation, or is watching these proceedings, when I first heard about it, it reminded me of the movie "Erin Brockovich" or the movie that was based on the company which made Teflon.

This man, who was an excellent farmer, was told time and time again by the State, which includes the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, that he was basically not up to standard as a farmer. He had been saying all along that it was to do with a premises and industry which was in operation right next to his farm in respect of the contamination of his land. It turns out he was correct about that because when the company closed up, everything went back to exactly as it should be on the farm. He was, therefore, correct and was made to feel I am sure, at times, that he was going crazy. He was ridiculed and was totally and utterly let down. That is an understatement. There needs to be an inquiry now with all stakeholders because there needs to be accountability. It is not good enough for people to say they are sorry to Dan Brennan and his family, that they understand there was a burden, and that they understand how difficult it was.

We need accountability. People were telling him for years he was wrong but in fact he was correct. What is going to happen now, what compensation or what is going to come of this?

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