Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

The Minister did not give me the figures for the average income of the 7,000. That is what I am interested in getting. He suggests that it is some sort of conspiracy theory to say that the economy is run by very wealthy corporations - he used the term "oligarchs" - but it is not; it is the reality. Let us look at who is lobbying to retain the nitrates derogation. Glanbia made €117 million in profit last year and is actively lobbying for it. After meeting with the Taoiseach in May, the CEO of Dairygold said that 60% of its supplier farms are under derogation and that it was “important that we work hand-in-hand with the Government”. Apart from the big farmers, it is the dairy processors and the big agrifood companies that benefit from the derogation because they have invested very significantly in dairy expansion off the back of it and are making record profits. The rest of us are paying the price for that in the water quality in half of our water bodies being deemed poor or moderate. The Minister admits that the vast majority of farmers in this country do not benefit from this derogation. He is engaged in this campaign at the expense of our environment for a tiny minority.

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