Mr. Alan Jagoe:

Support is required for education and training. As Mr. Joyce stated, the agriculture colleges are full to the brim. It was not too long ago when Teagasc was trying to close down some of them. The colleges are full along with many third level colleges that are focusing on agri-food, agri-business or science. The graduates are going out to work among the 300,000-strong workforce. They are working directly in the agri-industry. There is spin-off employment for those who provide services to that industry.

Recent proposals for means testing must be opposed. The land that a farmer farms is his or her equipment that aids him or her in generating income from that farm. The idea that a farm itself should be used in determining whether a son or daughter may avail of potential student grants is ludicrous.

Macra na Feirme continues to educate and train its members in many different ways. For example, just last week we saw a group finish a very intensive dairy directors' programme, which was run in conjunction with ICOS. The very intensive programme is giving our members the opportunity to further their skills and education. This is the second year of the programme. Students in last year's course spent three or four days in Holland with FrieslandCampina, a very successful co-operative. It was a case of working with and listening to our counterparts in Holland to understand how they work.

Mr. Joyce referred to efficiency programmes, including the dairy efficiency programme, DEP, and BTAP. These are very successful programmes and they have encouraged 6,000 dairy farmers and 7,000 beef farmers to enter schemes. We want to see the schemes expanded to include sectors such as the sheep and tillage sectors. The DEP is coming to an end. We encourage the committee to facilitate an extension of the scheme to encourage new entrants to join discussion groups.

I ask Mr. Edmond Connolly, our chief executive, to make a brief statement.