Mr. Bill Callanan:

I welcome the Chair's confirmation. I would not like anybody to go away with the impression that we are not taking this particularly seriously in terms of the contribution of agriculture to a positive impact on biodiversity. In the round, I recognise that we are working with farmers and stakeholders and ensuring we bring them with us on this journey in terms of education. I am at this a long time too. The best example to illustrate that is the rural environment protection scheme, REPS. I was a REPS man in my day. It was a broad, general scheme in terms of its actions.

Further iterations then became more targeted in terms of the right action. The further development of that was the right action in the right place, using the likes of NPWS mapping on Natura and EPA water quality mapping as the focus point in terms of developing GLAS. People in a priority area for water quality were required, as farmers, to take those actions that were appropriate to water quality.

We have now pivoted even further in terms of a results-based approach where a significant amount, almost 25%, of the land area in this country is now subject to annual assessment. There is a second-year assessment in terms of marking and scoring for biodiversity value. We have also developed training for 850 advisers in terms of their knowledge of biodiversity. The overall objectives of the scheme are no longer based around compliance but rather education on what we are trying to do with the rules so that people understand them and, therefore, are committing to them.

In terms of sanction on pollution, to be clear, as a Department we are responsible for implementing the basic payment system. Within that, there are requirements in terms of compliance by farmers in respect of statutory measures and good agricultural and environmental conditionality. There is additionality in terms of support through eco and agri-environmental schemes. On compliance, our responsibility is limited to the application of penalties in respect of non-compliance. Overall, the nitrates regulation falls to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and local authorities through regulatory enforcement element of that, which is also available to the EPA and not this Department.