Mr. Fergal Monaghan:

As a dairy farmer, the Deputy would be accessing a market for an agricultural commodity. What we are trying to do is create another market for ecosystem services. The position is that the farmer would now be accessing two markets — a market for an agricultural commodity and a market for ecosystem services. The farmer has a decision to make, however, as to what his priorities are in respect of each field. With some fields, his priority might be to manage them for the production of silage, which entails relatively heavy fertiliser use. More than likely, this will result in a very low score. It is an agricultural decision. The farmer will have prioritised an agricultural output over an environmental one. That is fine and it is perfectly acceptable to us. With regard to different fields, however, the farmer might come to a different conclusion and say the best option to get a return on it is to access a market for ecosystem services. That is the farmer's decision.