Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses and welcome the presentation. There is a huge discrepancy in single farm payments across the country, from €150,000 to €2,000 or €3,000. Do they think they need to be sorted out to keep family farms more buoyant? Being realistic, conditions in some parts of the country are such that a lot of people are going to pull out of the grain sector. Professor Boyle spoke about the RHI and new ways of creating energy. Does he agree that marginal land is not fit to grow willow, or some of the crops about which people are dreaming? Does he think the RHI should only be paid for what is produced, reared or sown in Ireland? What is his view on tillage sector incomes, which are going down? What is his view on biogas from silage? I know Teagasc is doing research on this but would it be more viable for some people than others?

What research is Teagasc doing into craft beers? I was at a few events in Dublin and it is clear that people in the sector are making a lot of effort to get their beers known and exported. In either New Zealand or Australia they have developed a type of grain which is unique but costs €1,200 because it is wanted everywhere. What work has Teagasc done into this type of thing, where the farmer would not be the price taker and the sector would benefit?

The witnesses spoke of large fines coming down the line. Do they agree we are in a bit of trouble with biomass? A lot of it appears not to be efficient to grow. I feel that the guy in the suit or the guy with the biro gets more from tillage sector knowledge transfer, whether in respect of beef or sheep, than the farmer who gets €400 or €500. It has not been a great scheme from the point of view of attracting farmers.