Ms Helen Scully:

There is a minimum of 5%, but in excess of that percentage of re-inspections probably takes place. When we consider this, the consumer is prepared to pay for organic produce. It is the most highly regulated method of food production in Europe and it is important that the standard we have be maintained. The Organic Trust believes we are on the cusp of something great.

Senator Daly asked what is the greatest challenge in the context of our wish list. It is for Government to recognise the opportunities that are available in Ireland for the organic sector. We could fulfil our environmental obligations via the organic farming scheme in respect of CO2 emissions. We can draw on lots of experience; we do not have to reinvent the wheel. In our 25 years in operation, we have never witnessed such an appetite in supermarkets and other retail outlets for organic produce. They cannot get enough of it and the vacuum will be filled by exports unless we take advantage of the opportunities that are there.

There was a question about whether the overall perception is that Ireland is a green island and that we produce an excellent product. Consumers who choose to buy organic tend to know what they are buying. They are buying a quality product and they are educated in respect of the food they buy. When the product has the EU organic logo, the Organic Trust logo and is accompanied by the mandatory control code, they know they are buying a product of integrity. The problem is the blurring of lines. Consumers who are not as knowledgeable about organic production and all that it entails could think that chemical or fertiliser free products, which are unsubstantiated claims, are the same as organic. We need an education process and we need support for the sector to explain the difference between organic and non-organic products and explain that those unsubstantiated claims have no basis in law. That would go a long way towards us becoming less of a victim of the point made earlier.

New operators are the lifeblood of any industry and we need the political will at Government level to reopen the organic farming scheme to encourage new entrants. This must be seen by farmers not as a stop-start scheme but as a system that is continuous and that they can buy into it. The decision to buy into organic farming is not made on a whim; it is not for everybody. People look at the long game and envisage what kind of a legacy they can leave their children in respect of the management of the land and so on. The issue is getting that message across to everybody. We seek the reopening of the organic farming scheme and the additional budget necessary to achieve that.

A small percentage of growers exit the scheme. When organic aid was first provided under Government schemes in 1994 through supplementary measure 6 of REPS, there was no requirement for people to attend a mandatory organic production course, which there is now. There were no organic demonstration farms but there is a raft of those now. A conventional farmer can, therefore, see at first hand how organic production operates on the ground. There were no supports and organic farming was not supported at Government level other than by this scheme, which offered a small amount for people to convert. Then the organic sector developed a reputation for people going in and out of the scheme but that has all changed in recent years because people are now making decisions based on their wallets and on the value added products they can achieve on their farms such as oats and biscuits. It is important to set the record straight that the revolving door is no longer our experience.