Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

They could not have picked a better site for it. We will not complain about that. It has massive potential. I hope the bio-refinery gets going as quickly as possible. However, there is a small mistrust of the companies involved. We have a product now that was waste, which was a cost for the industry. Now, instead of being a cost, it is going to be a benefit for the industry.

I was on the Irish Dairy Board, or Ornua as it is called now, for eight years and we knew the exact value of each product produced from the litre of milk. We knew what a pound of butter, a tonne of skim milk powder and a tonne of whole milk powder were worth all down the line. However, we do not know what this will add to the chain. I am not criticising the research. The witnesses give a global figure for the added value but how much is permutated whey worth to a company such as Glanbia and what worth will it put back into the bottom line for the primary producer? The potential is immense. I recall that 25 years ago one either fed whey to pigs or just got rid of it, but now it can add immensely to the bottom line.

The witness said that one in three of the world's population are malnourished. One of the major challenges for research is climate change. We all have to face the fact that climate change is happening and ensure that the restrictions it will impose on us will not hinder our production in the future. Consider the current situation with derogation and the impact on water quality of run-off and so forth. Half of our dairy farmers are farming under derogation. If we lost that derogation for any reason, be it water quality or whatever, our production would be greatly restricted. The research the witnesses are doing on ensuring that the nutrients we spread can be used by the soil, that we do not have run-off and that we can produce in a sustainable and green manner is hugely important. They are doing immense research on that. The low emission slurry spreading period has been extended by a month. I have practised that on my farm. If farmers get into the habit of practising it they will never go back to the other way because the value from the nutrients will more than repay the cost of spreading it. One can see with one's own eyes, without having the research, the value one gets out of the nutrients and the lack of hindering of grass growth.

We are the most sustainable dairy producers in the world and we are fifth with regard to beef. However, we cannot stand still and this research must continue. It is going to become a smart game so the research the witnesses do is invaluable to us. On the nutrients side, I have seen the research plant at Moorepark where new products are being designed to provide more nutrients and more added value to product. Given the scope and the wider range that has given our industry, there cannot be enough investment put into that side. That is what will keep our industry to the forefront. However, we need to get back to plain economics and the price and return for the primary producer. Unfortunately, with all the standards being imposed with regard to quality assurance and so forth, the primary producer is getting squeezed further. It is worst for the beef and tillage sectors. They are being squeezed out of existence. There was a headline about what dairy incomes were in 2017 - it will be a different story in 2018 given the spring we had - but the other sectors are under even more pressure. We cannot expect a constant stream of top quality product if there is not going to be a return for it.

I commend the research the witnesses are doing. It is invaluable and has put us at the forefront of world production.