Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation. The experience in England and Scotland was mentioned and how it is possible to achieve a collective approach. I assume a collective approach would be on a co-operative basis. How does the co-operative approach work in Scotland and England with regard to the fear of collective responsibility? If the issue can be solved on a co-operative collective basis, things can only get better. Incentives were mentioned. I do not live too far from an area with sandhills which is worked on a co-operative basis with collective responsibility. It has been very badly damaged over the years and when one or two people stepped out of line, they faced consequences. How does one get people to buy into this and see the benefits of working together for the common good? By working for the common good in a collective way, they also improve themselves individually. Ms Keena stated achieving a co-operative approach is not trivial and that it will require time and professional input with associated transaction costs as well as incentives for farmers. What does she mean by "associated transaction costs"?