Dr. Anne-Marie Butler:

As regards Deputy Ring's comments on attracting youth into the sector and retaining it, that is critical, and we all have a part to play in adding to that positivity. Even at the ploughing match this year I met many farmers who asked me, "Why would you operate courses where the challenge for the youth of today is to sustain a level of income with what are seen as the challenges that are out there?".

When we look at the colleges, there is a great enthusiasm. There is nothing like interacting with 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds and the enthusiasm that they bring. We work very closely with our colleagues in the advisory service who run sessions on transferring the family farm. It is a very important but difficult conversation for many. We find that many of our students are not going home to farm in their own right in the first instance but we want to make sure that they are part of the transition and that it is an open conversation.

It is very important as well that our curriculum is up to date. We recently appointed a new curriculum specialist for climate. We make sure that what we bring information from advisory and research into the classroom so that the farmers of the future are equipped with those skills.

We recently took four students to Slovakia to an agro challenge competition for the first time where they competed against 17 other countries. What was intriguing coming back on the aeroplane listening to them was the enthusiasm of our sector versus what they had seen internationally. It is very important.

In response to Deputy Ring's final point, I am very happy to chat to anybody who is having a challenge getting onto courses. There is a good spread of courses across the country but I completely understand that the start dates do not always suit timelines. I am very happy to chat with anybody who has any challenges with course availability. I take the point. We will certainly look at the course dates.