Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the IFA for the presentation today. I will be quite brief and note I agree with the two previous speakers in respect of most of their comments. Last week, representatives from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department appeared before the joint committee. They mentioned the 4,500 individual commonages, how an individual plan was required for each one and how one could have two adjacent commonages, one of which was overgrazed and the other under-grazed and that there would be a need for different stocking levels on them. I have three short questions in this regard. How do the witnesses envisage the issue of the stocking of dormant shares being dealt with? What would be a workable plan in that regard? Would active farmers on those commonages be obliged to stock up or stock down to ensure the entire commonage was properly grazed, depending on whether it was overgrazed or under-grazed? Would an appeals process be of any use? Would it work or would it simply be another level of bureaucracy within the system? Finally, in respect of the upland agri-environmental scheme and the IFA's discussions with the Department, is there a commitment to such a scheme? Has the Department agreed to take up the matter with Europe and what progress, if any, has been made in this regard?