Mr. Barry Lynch:

Yes. Historically, the State did the national, central databases and we did the farm front end. We provided what the farmer needed. Our software was used on the large commercial farms and medium-sized farms. We provided software solutions on the farm. One of our most important jobs on the farm was to feed data into State systems. Traditionally, the State handled the national database. It has all gone wrong in recent years when the State decided to handle the national database but also the farm software. That is where the clash is happening and there is a breakdown.

For many years, there was a nice partnership between the State and private sector. The State dealt with the back-end national databases and the private sector did the hard work on the ground. For many years in the 1990s and the 2000s, we had to drive to farms with the computer and set it up on the farm. In those times, no one had computers. We set it up, checked the Internet connection and made sure the programme worked. We installed the data, showed the farmers how to use it and explained that they had to feed the data to the Department, Teagasc and the ICBF. Kingswood Computing Limited has trained people in this technology since 1987, when there were not too many computers in Ireland. We established information technology on farms and there was a nice balance between public and private, which is reflected in the title of our submission. We do not think the public sector should be excluded from doing X, Y and Z but we must do A, B and C and we must know where the balance lies. For many years, there was a good balance. We got the job done at the farm level and got data in. It worked well but now it has changed and the State is capable of doing the job and does not have to work with the private sector. The challenge is how to get the balance back because the current situation is not practical. Perhaps that addresses the questions members posed.