Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their informative presentations. In terms of the research that SFI commissions and how that operates, I am interested in how successful ownership operates in particular. In relation to the type of agricultural projects that would be funded, and we are talking about tillage today in particular, how does this compare with research that is happening in other countries and how much of that crosses over? How different is research in other countries because of the specific climate we have in Ireland and our own conditions? How much of what the witnesses do can be used internationally and how much of what is used internationally is relevant and valid here?

Professor Doohan referred to various varieties and nutritional biomedicine. In terms of cross over and the thresholds in relation to what people would regard as genetically modified, will Professor Doohan elaborate further on how she views that and how it is viewed generally? Going forward, the big question and the big challenge for our tillage sector is profitability and the fact that people are leaving the industry because the margins are not there. In regard to the role that science and innovation can play, I am interested in the witnesses' view on where that can take us and what is possible. What SFI can contribute to that?