The nitrates derogation reduction becomes a reality from 31 December, changing from 250 kg N/ha to 220 kg N/ha. This means we will have to slaughter 40,000 heavily-in-calf cows this coming year because there is no other market for them, and 160,000 in the next four years. Farmers will have reduced incomes, and smaller farmers will become unviable. Tim Herlihy, from Inches in Rathmore, has 58 cows now. He worked hard to bring his herd up to this figure. He has told me that his adviser has told him that he will have to reduce this number to 48. This is because he cannot rent or buy any more land, as it is too expensive.

This is the first time in history the farmers of Ireland have been compelled to cull their cows. If we do reduce production, it does not follow that consumers will reduce their consumption, unless the Government can organise a hunger strike worldwide. The consumers, though, will have to get their food somewhere else, and it does not matter to the Government whether it is from Brazil, Argentina or New Zealand. The Government does not mind as long as it can get the figures here down. But we are all under the same sky, so surely if we are talking about the climate and carbon emissions, then it should also matter if the other crowd are also increasing and creating more emissions.

Has the Government ever heard of such a thing as sequestration? The Government is telling the farmers of Ireland that it cannot measure the sequestration of carbon until 2027, or later. At the same time, however, the Government is hell-bent on reducing the cow numbers this year because Eamon Ryan wants it to and the members of the Government are under his apron. For the Taoiseach and for Micheál Martin to stay in power, as well as the rest of ye, they will sell the farmers of Ireland.

Do they know what is happening in the rest of the world? I had to go over to the USA for a couple of days last week for a funeral. There are the biggest of vehicles. There are roads over you, under you and up and down beside you with six lanes on all sides of you. All these vehicles, the biggest of vehicles, are all petrol; eight-litre petrol engines. Germany is mining new coal mines. China is building hundreds of coal-burning power stations. I certainly know you do not have to have AdBlue in India.

Turning to water quality, and surely this is what this is about, why is the Government not so interested in doing something about the hundreds of treatment plants in settlements around County Kerry, and areas around the country that have no treatment plant?

They are polluting the water.

If all of us evaporated from the country tonight, it would only make 0.13 of 1% of a difference worldwide. This is the torture the Government is putting the people through for the sake of Eamon Ryan and staying in power and for no other bloody reason. That is what you are at. It is driving the farmers and the people of Ireland down through the ground. That is what the Government thinks of them.

I thank the Deputy. It is important to put on the record of the House that the nitrates directive and derogation are environmental law and is about water quality above all. No matter what they do in America, India or China, and no matter what the Eamon Ryan thinks or does not think, all of us in the House want to have high quality waterways and rivers in our country.

What about the sewers and treatment plants?

It is in the interests of urban and rural people, and farmers and non-farmers to have pristine and clean rivers and clean water in our country. Ultimately, that is what the nitrates directive and derogation is about. It is not about CO2 emissions or climate; it is about water quality. I am disappointed that we were not able to hold onto the 250 kg limit. We did our best to do so.

He did not try because he sat at home.

The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and I met the Commissioner and explored any possible flexibilities that we could get, including moving the date for implementation, but the rules are clear and are written in black and white in European law. We have some flexibilities. The average is not immediate from 1 January, but is over the period of the year so people can delay implementation. Obviously, that means doing more in the latter half of the year and the consequences that arise from that. It does not have to happen on 1 January; it is an average over a full year. There is the possibility of exporting slurry. There are other options available to farmers. As well as that, there are some changes to how calves are calculated in the directive and help for farmers was announced in the budget in terms of slurry storage and so on.

My biggest concern for Irish farmers and our food industry is the possibility that we will lose the derogation altogether in 2025. The Netherlands has already lost it. It is already gone in Flanders. Only Ireland and Denmark continue to have the derogation. I have a big concern that we will lose it altogether. If we lose it, we will be doing a big disservice to Irish farmers, farm incomes and our wider food industry. The worst thing we can do for farmers is to tell them that this problem is going to go away because it is not. We have to work together to improve our water quality. That means changes being made on farms. It also means improving Uisce Éireann's infrastructure and doing lots of other things. The last thing we can do now is to turn a blind eye or tell people this problem is going to go away. It is not. The way we keep the derogation we have is to improve our water quality and that means the Government and farmers working together to make sure that happens.

The political point is that if we do not sell food from Ireland people will get it elsewhere. It is very clear to me that neither the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin or Charlie McConalogue put up any real fight to stop this. Consumers will have to get food. There are a million more people in Ireland. I hope the Government is not thinking of slaughtering some of them. I would not trust the Government if Eamon Ryan asked it to do it. The cow is the easy option.

What about the treatment plants? The Government is making no attempt in the world. This has been going on since I came up here in 2016. I and others in the House have raised this issue. There has been no difference or improvement. Kenmare is waiting. Currow and Scartaglen do not have any. Castleisland is waiting for an extension. It is an issue all over the county. Knocknagashel and Brosna do not have treatment plants. The waters are being polluted. What is the difference in polluting water from bad treatment plants? The Government has said the cattle are doing it, but I doubt that very much. Farmers are the first target.

Many young farmers will not take over farms because they cannot bear the villainisation and criticism farmers are getting. They are being blamed for the whole thing. Yet, we see what is happening in the rest of the world. No one else is doing what the Government is doing. Eamon Ryan has flown to COP or whatever.

He would want to get a bottle of cop-on somewhere because of the racket that is going on.

Deputy, we are way over time now, please.

He is spending two weeks in Dubai, where they do not give one tuppence about him because they will drill for oil, shove the land out into the sea and they will build cities, and we cannot build a house here because people cannot get planning permission to put a roof over their heads. That is what we have here.

Deputy, you are on a roll. Taoiseach, please.

A full minute over time. It is nonsense.

I do not like anyone being demonised when it comes to this debate. I do not like to see farmers being demonised, I do not like to see farmers being climate-shamed and I do not like to see my colleague, the Minister for the environment, Deputy Ryan, being demonised either. This is a European law-----

He is demonising farmers.

Please.

-----agreed by 27 member states, and it has been around for quite some time, long before Eamon Ryan was a member of this Government.

I believe it is possible to produce high-quality food in this country and still have good water quality. That is actually what people in Ireland want, in rural and in urban communities. If we get a reputation for producing food in a way that is not sustainable, we will lose market share around the world. A total of 90% of the food we produce is for export, and we need to maintain that reputation for having sustainable agriculture and being genuine about the Origin Green concept, so it is in everyone's interest to get this right. Farmers want to keep the derogation, we want to keep our market share around the world and we also want to improve our water quality, which means the Government and farmers working together to make sure that happens between now and 2025. Yes, it involves investment in treatment plants, reducing industrial waste and changes on farm. If we do that, we will keep the derogation, but bear this in mind. To keep the derogation is a vote of 27 member states, most of which do not have the derogation and see it as a competitive advantage that we have, so we need to be clever about this. It does not involve slagging off Eamon Ryan. It means boxing clever and actually looking after the interests of farmers, and that means improving our water quality so that we can keep the derogation.

Sitting on your backsides at home will not sort it out.

Please, Deputy, please.