Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

——and the whole gamut. The first person who will not be making the choice will be me. If we were prescriptive and specified the farming organisations, we would have to provide an additional four, if not five, places on the council. That is how partnership works and that is why I would prefer it if the provision were not made on a legislative basis.

It is my intention to appoint a farmer. I would prefer if I was not tied by having to specify whether the farmer should be full-time or part-time because both are equally entitled to membership if they avail of veterinary services. However, a farmer will be appointed to the council because farmers are the people at the coalface who deal with service provision. They interface with the veterinary practitioners to a greater extent than any of us, unless some of the Senators are still involved with the farming fraternity.

I will not determine whether the farmer appointed will be full-time or part-time and I would prefer not to be forced to increase council membership to facilitate the lobby group in question, the vociferousness of which the Senators are aware. I do not know how we would nominate one person from four or five organisations. A partnership issue would arise, with which I would prefer not to have a problem. Instead of having an organisation, one could pick a farmer irrespective of whether he or she is associated with a particular organisation or none.