Mr. Kevin Kilcline:

I would like to make a general comment on the reference in Professor Renwick's report to sheep production numbers since the MacSharry reforms of 1992. The June and December livestock surveys for the first years of the grassland sheep scheme, which involves a premium payment for the ewe, have shown that there has been a year-on-year increase in sheep numbers since the introduction of the scheme. This shows that offering an incentive gets a reaction in terms of production.