Mr. John Spink:

Teagasc has organised a hedgerow week that will be launched next Monday at the Teagasc college in Kildalton. The Deputy's question concerned carbon sequestration. I am not aware at the minute that we have a way to quantify how much carbon is sequestered by hedges but I am talking to my Teagasc colleagues in the environment research unit at Johnstown Castle about starting to do some work on the issue.

The next issue was sugar beet. We do not currently do any research on sugar beet. We did a small amount of work when Beet Ireland developed its plans. Part of our work was on how much the yield potential of new beet varieties had increased since sugar beet was last grown here. The work was part-funded by the Irish Farmers Association. Our work showed that there had been an increase in the yield potential of beet since the industry closed. At present we do not have a programme because there is no market. As far as I am aware, Beet Ireland has shelved its plans. However, we recognise the value of beet production in crop rotation and the value of break crops in crop rotation. For the last few years, we have conducted a large programme on break crops and analysed the benefit of beans and oilseed rape in animal feed. Initially, the research was funded by the IFA and we have recruited a permanent researcher to work in that area. We recognise the value of crop rotation and how non-cereal crops greatly benefit cereal crops.

The Deputy made a point about horticulture and he is right. As I have mentioned, there is scope to significantly increase our horticultural production. It is not a particularly land hungry enterprise and, therefore, it will not replace the thousands of acres of grassland currently used for livestock production. There is potential to significantly increase our production if it is found to be economically viable to do so.

There was another issue and it is not an area in which I am expert. The Deputy mentioned avocados. Members of the public are no longer used to eating seasonal vegetables. People want to eat avocados on Christmas Day as well as in the middle of the summer. Our domestic production is seasonal so we will not necessarily be able to replace everything that we import.

The Deputy made a final point about forestry, which I might start to reply to but my colleague, Mr. Coggins, might finish answering. The Deputy made a few points about conifers and their impact on water quality. At present we are harvesting forests that were planted between 25 and 30 years ago. The rules and regulations for forestry have dramatically changed in the intervening period. One now needs 30% of broadleaves when establishing a new forest and there are setbacks from rivers, houses and things. One might have forests there now that are planted right up to the edge of a stream and are being harvested, which is causing pollution problems. That is no longer the case and Mr. Coggins might have more detail on the matter.