The chairman of Waterford Co op, Mr John Dowley, has rejected suggestions that the co op has been forced into the proposed merger because of its recent difficulties.

"We are recommending the merger because it makes strategic sense and offers leading milk prices by extracting the savings between the two organisations that we all know exist. The value being placed on the Waterford business continues to grow and we are achieving market value and share price levels that we could not achieve alone for many years," Mr Dowley stated.

The chairman also rejected the notion of Waterford going it alone. "If it was a better option, the board would be recommending it. We would be ignoring the changing face of dairying worldwide and we would be denying our farmers the benefits of the savings that can be achieved. At the end of the day, we would have to face the merger issue anyway.