Mr. Thomas Cooney:

On water quality, it is also worth noting that, since 1990, the amount of seriously polluted water bodies has declined by 90%, although there are still improvements to make. More than €2.5 billion has been invested in Irish farms, in slurry storage, effluent management and so on. The code of good agricultural practice is improving. By European standards, we are in the top ten. There is more to do but we are confident that the new measures in the latest river basin management plan will deliver the agricultural sustainability and support advisory programme, ASSAP, which is being rolled out. We are confident it will give us further improvements where the 30 sustainability advisers will help further improve water quality. There has been a decline in some of our pristine waters, but we should remember that not all was in intensive agricultural areas. It will probably be discovered when the local authority water support and advisory teams go out there and there will probably be improvements.

On emissions, it is important that 27 measures that Teagasc has recommended are implemented and that every effort is made to ensure this. As the previous speaker from Teagasc noted, to take out 7 million tonnes is over one third of agriculture emissions. There is potential to do that with the current stock numbers. There is no point in rehashing it, but that is our line.