Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the other side, there are cases in which people will have to de-stock radically. They are the efficient plots. We have made this point. If I want to be part of a commonage, I can delegate the responsibility for keeping the stock on the hill to one or two farmers who are doing it all the time anyway. It means that where there are people who are not already farming their commonage area with stock and there are others who are, they should be entitled to come to an arrangement whereby nobody is affected by that. A common-sense approach is needed here. To work through this on an ongoing basis, I can see the merit in having some type of working group or forum where everybody could come together.

As I said earlier, the purpose of these proceedings is to put this on the public record, so everybody has a chance to have their say and to collate a great deal of information, opinions and proposals, with a view to having a better GLAS, commonage and land eligibility process in place at the end of it.

I thank the members and the witnesses for their contributions. It has taken three hours, but it has been worthwhile.