Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To be the balance, much work has been done over recent years, whether in livestock, or the beef data and genomics programme, or the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, which has done a huge amount of work in the last ten to 15 years. The rural environment protection scheme and agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, were before that. All those environmental schemes have made a huge contribution to the dynamics of this. In my opinion, that will continue. I think, with no disrespect to older farmers, that the younger farmers are buying into the principle of these initiatives. Even though we will increase meat production, that does not necessarily mean that we will have thousands more cows. The old line, "better before bigger", is where we are going as opposed to having bigger numbers. We will be more efficient and get more out of the numbers that we have first. That is the point that we must make first.