Mr. Paul Dillon:

We agree with Senator Comiskey that lamb represents an area of great potential. We regard it as one of the big growth areas given the amount of marginal land available and the low intensity at which lamb is reared in many of these areas.

We have spoken about delays in payment already.

On the question as to whether the door is still open to people who want to join, we are examining that at present and will be making a decision on it shortly.

With regard to the combination involving GLAS and the organics scheme, there was a deliberate move on our part to regard organic farmers as having priority access under the GLAS because we recognised organic farming as a practice to be encouraged. Bearing in mind the demand for access to the GLAS, it is an advantage to be organic or in the process of converting to organic farming. We are well aware of that.

On Senator O'Brien's points, should we examine further the Austrian model? Is there something the Austrians are doing that we do not do? A larger proportion of Austrian farmers are organic. They have a smaller farm size and a small enough herd size. They operate on the basis of eight certifying bodies, which are private sector controlled. We have five and they have eight so there is a lot of competition there. The Austrians have one representative group, which comprises almost two thirds of all their organic farmers. That seems to be a difference; there seems to be strong representation. Perhaps that is a factor. Perhaps it is just the type of farming they do on the type of land they have, or the fact that they have alpine pastures that are covered in snow for much of the year. Perhaps it is all those factors together. However, we have examined and will continue to examine the Austrian model.

We are open to constructive suggestions. If there are arrangements we need to change, we will consider them. We believe the combination of GLAS, TAMS and the organic farming scheme, particularly considering the capital investment opportunities for organic farmers that are not available for other farmers and the ring-fenced processing money that is not available for other areas, should in itself stimulate interest. If after the mid-term review of the rural development programme we find an insufficient uptake, we will need to determine what we need to change. However, we have an open mind.