Mr. James Nix:

A couple of issues arise in that regard. The figure is €4 billion to €5 billion of food imports.

Moreover, approximately €1 billion of that goes on animal feed alone. Consequently, we are importing produce which in a sense is subsequently re-exported. One key issue pertains to the fodder crisis that was experienced in the springtime this year. At a strategic level, An Taisce perceives a need to preserve the current level of production of wheat, oats and barley. Some of that production might go into Flahavan's porridge, some will go into animal feed, some into Guinness and so on. However, the land area concerned effectively is under threat from the dairy expansion and to our way of thinking, strategically it does not make sense to hike up one's imports of oats, barley and wheat to go into adding volume on the dairy side. We do not discern the strategic gain in this regard. I do not dispute any potential gain for individual international corporate actors in that scenario but from the perspective of Ireland's national interest, that land is better maintained in a diverse cycle of tillage.