Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not know which of the academics is an expert on sheep farming but it raises a broader point, which I raised here last week. I gave an example of a sheep farmer who came in to me, and we were doing the means test. They were knocked off a scheme wrongly because the Department of Social Protection inspector did not understand sheep farming. The difficulty is that more people are moving away from the land so when claimants go in, whether it is with regard to cattle or sheep farming or premia and so forth, there is a lack of understanding there that actually denies people access to some of these schemes.

I do not know who wants to go first in terms of their expertise on agriculture. Dr. Boland's light is on, so if he wants to go first and try and grapple with some of Deputy Ó Cuív's questions, we will then refer it on to the other speakers, unless someone wants to rush to start. I do not expect expertise in either sheep or suckler farming.