Professor Tommy Boland:

I am never sorry not to be asked questions, so there is no need to apologise. The Deputy addressed a question to us directly about the Dowth farm in County Meath and its relationship with UCD. That multispecies work sprung from a long-standing relationship between Devenish and UCD. They have been supporting us in a number of activities in past years. That came from work we have been doing in the university for almost 15 years. That work was funded through a European project. Research is an expensive business and we often need external funding to do it. That project is coming to an end. Five PhD students are completing their theses at the moment. My understanding is that there has been no contact between the new owners of the farm and ourselves about the continuation or otherwise of that work in Dowth.

That work is ongoing at Lyons Farm, which some of the committee members have visited. I know similar work is ongoing in the Teagasc centres. The multispecies work is forming an important part of what we are doing to address the challenges facing the sector.