Mr. John Bryan:

There are a few excellent examples, not of the tipping point but of how changes in the single farm payment have affected production. Of the old 15 member states, 11 stayed historical and four went to a flat rate. England, not the rest of the United Kingdom, and Germany were two of the countries that went for a flat rate, and the suckler herd halved. Ireland, which stayed historical, has held its suckler herd, as has Scotland. France, Belgium and Austria all coupled their suckler herd but held their numbers. That is a clear message for Ireland. If one has a €500 per hectare single farm payment and it halves, the cows must go. In the countries that stayed historical, the cows survived. The cow numbers also survived in the countries which coupled. In the countries that went for the flat rate, however, the cows went. There is a very clear lesson for Ireland. If we want to retain the jobs and exports, we must target the payment as best as we possibly can.