Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Excuse me, but I believe I have eight minutes.

I commend Deputy Cahill, the Chair of our committee. He has sunk his teeth into this. As Deputy Harkin said, Deputy Carthy is from Monaghan. I am from Roscommon-Galway. Dan Brennan does not live in our area. Deputy Cahill is from Tipperary. When Dan Brennan appeared before our committee, we knew that somebody does not keep something going for 20 years. This matters dates back to 2004. A person does not keep something going unless they feel there is a woeful injustice being done to them.

I commend the farming organisations. I welcome Dennis Drennan and Francie Gorman to the Gallery. I also want to remember Padraig Walshe, who, God rest him, was with Dan Brennan the day he appeared before the committee. I think of Mr. Walshe.

This is not just about Dan Brennan. This could be a farmer in Donegal, Kerry, Sligo, Tipperary or somewhere else. I do not care what Department said what down through the years. What happened in this case stinks to the high heavens, to be quite frank. I am no private investigator or scientist, but when one checks fodder and water and when one says to a farmer - and it is insulting to a farmer to be told this - that they are not looking after their cattle properly when they are doing so, that is not good. When all of these things are checked, and the farmer is not at fault, then, as Deputy Harkin has said, one has to take a helicopter view and look outside to see what is wrong.

There was a guy who appeared before our committee - I believe it was a Mr. Crilly - who spoke about samples that were taken from eave gutters. That guy talked from the heart.

A huge amount of research was done but it was not listened to. Something stinks when something goes over to Brussels but comes back without a person on the committee knowing about it, without it being discussed, without anyone asking what we are going to do with it and whether we are going to have a report on it, and how it came back. Something is wrong when people are talking about one gram versus one kilogram of cadmium. There is something amiss and something awfully wrong and suspicious when samples go to a place but they do not appear or they get lost. God, it is very convenient. That should not happen. There is something very wrong if a vet who had an opinion is moved.

In fairness, this was not in the Minister's time. No one is saying one thing about the current Minister because he was not the Minister at that time. As politicians, no more than with regard to other inquiries that have been brought up in the Dáil, we have a responsibility to try to undo a wrong that has been done. We have a responsibility to this wronged person, a farmer and family man. We could see it etched in Dan Brennan's face at our committee meeting. I did not know the man from Adam and nor did Deputy Carthy. Deputy Cahill might have known him but we did not know him from Adam and we could see etched in his face the years of torture that he and his family had gone through in trying to get justice.

I welcome the Minister's indication that there will be an inquiry. I listened to him use words like "inquiry" and that there would be a "review" of what the Department had done and I heard him say there was no new information. We need an independent person, not one nominated by the Department, to conduct this inquiry. The Minister should find an independent person or ask Deputy Cahill to do so and put whatever expertise is required at that person's disposal. I would like to see someone like a retired High Court judge being appointed. He or she might not know a lot about farming but the Minister can provide the wherewithal to get the expertise from outside the country. The biggest problem, if we are investigating ourselves, is that we are not too fond of hanging ourselves.

The EPA has a lot to answer for here. There are certain State or semi-State bodies that have a fair bit to answer for because one farm was sacrificed for the bigger picture. I ask the Minister to make sure we get closure on this. We are not here on a Thursday afternoon for the craic. We are here to try to make sure that Dan Brennan gets justice. I welcome the fact that the Minister has made this effort but I urge him to provide the necessary expertise, whether that needs to come from Germany, the UK or elsewhere. No more than a lot of things in this country, it is a small circle. Not alone do we need a review of the Department, we also need a review of every person who gave evidence, as well as any other evidence that can be brought forward. We need to hear from the likes of Jim Crilly and we need to go to UCD and all other relevant places and look for the answers. We also need to go to Brussels to find out what went on behind the scenes whereby a report was posted back but nobody knows who did it. There is something very fishy about that.

I can go through all of the different parts of this but in fairness to Deputy Cahill, he has outlined the case well. We have heard it. Basically, bones started growing on kidneys. There is something wrong because that does not happen. How many farmers around the country today have had that happen to their herd? Zero. There was something wrong that caused that and it was not the fault of that man up in the Public Gallery, Dan Brennan. There is no point in my going through all the tittle-tattle about what went on. That is what the person who is going to head up this inquiry needs to do. He or she needs to meticulously go through this with an open mind, get the expertise that is needed and listen to all of the players in this, including the ordinary people.

I welcome what the Minister has done and thank him for it. He must make sure that this does not drag on for a year, leaving us scratching our heads again. This needs to be done as soon as possible. We need to provide whatever time is required to do it meticulously but we must not kick the ball so far down the road that we are waiting and waiting again.

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