Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Deputy's articulation of the concerns, the great work of his constituents and the frustration I know there is on the ground with this change. He talked about rewarding his constituents. The best reward I can get his constituents and the farmers in the Timoleague catchment area is to make sure there is a derogation beyond the end of this year, and that is not by any means guaranteed. In a way, I am a little bit concerned that there is complacency coming in around the country where people think we will have to get it. We know how important it is. This is absolutely critical for our rural economy, not just for the 7,000 derogation farmers. For a tillage farmer or some other farmer besides a derogation farmer, the impact on land availability if the derogation is gone or is reduced further will be really significant. We have a very strong story to tell because our farmers are making great efforts to maintain that derogation. That said, I cannot leave any weak spot in our case. It is my top priority in Europe to get a derogation beyond the end of this year. I have to implement all the measures we committed to in the previous action programmes, and this is a key part of that. It has been designed to have a minimal impact on the Deputy's constituents for this year, but the biggest reward I can get them is a derogation beyond the end of this year.

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