Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)

I would like to be associated with the votes of congratulations to former Deputy Catherine Connolly on her winning the presidential election, and in offering commiserations to my colleague and neighbour, Heather Humphreys. I wish her well in the next chapter of her life. My condolences on the passing of Sr. Stan.I also support what Senator O'Loughlin said earlier about the hunger strikers. That really needs to be addressed and I hope it is sorted out in the next 24 hours or so.

Over 2,000 people gathered in Fermoy yesterday because they are deeply concerned about the future of the nitrates derogation. The Minister spoke at the meeting and said he would "fight to get the best possible deal" for farmers. I really hope this is true because many of the attendees were disappointed that the Minister did not offer a stronger commitment. The reality is that farmers have done everything that has been asked of them. They have invested heavily in low-emission slurry spreading, slurry storage and new technology, all to protect the environment and to improve water quality. They are constantly hit with new policies coming from Europe and these policies threaten rural Ireland. They have been told they cannot stack bales and that they cannot cut turf. That is the level of micromanagement that is coming from Europe and, all the while, we have the sheer hypocrisy of the EU pushing ahead with the Mercosur deal. We will be importing beef from countries engaged in mass deforestation while punishing Ireland's grass-fed sustainable farming model. How does that make sense?

Ireland is different from other EU countries. Cows are grass-fed and our land and climate mean we can produce food more efficiently and sustainably than most of Europe. Yet, farmers are blamed for increasing nitrates in our rivers without any real investigation into other causes like faulty wastewater treatment plants, urban run-off or industrial pollution. The reality is that it is easier to scapegoat farmers than address these other polluters. I have written to the Minister to ask for a firm commitment to retain the nitrates derogation and communicate to our counterparts in Europe that this is non-negotiable for Ireland.