Mr. P.J. McCarthy:

I wish to respond to Deputy Neville's question about risks. For pillar industries such as the agrifood, beverages, biopharma and biomedical sectors, the biggest risk is not supporting biomethane. The difficult sectors to decarbonise are agriculture and heat production. We are very confident that with support from the Government and the right policy and legislation, we can assist in substantially decarbonising both of those difficult sectors by supporting biomethane.

One positive aspect is that we can do this in a comprehensive manner. We certainly look to Europe for the best practices and technology. We have aligned with the revised renewable energy directive. The slurry to silage ratio has been specifically and purposefully designed in line with the sustainability criteria pertaining to the production of renewable biomethane gas. We are very much referring to the best available practices and technology and aligning with our European colleagues, who are assisting us with that expertise and those competencies. As was mentioned earlier, being late to the table is to our advantage for the simple reason that we can draw on those resources and the expertise and competencies which we as a nation do not currently have. We are collaborating on a consultative basis with key stakeholders, including Teagasc, industry and consumers, who are very important to our economic activity in rural Ireland. We are looking at safeguarding current and future investment. Many of the market drivers affecting biomethane and decarbonising heat are driven by the trade sector and global consumers. We do not need to explain how valuable that export market is to the agrifood, beverage and biopharma sectors. Along with creating an additional 3,000 jobs directly in the production of biomethane through anaerobic digestion, we are also looking to safeguard the competitiveness and sustainability of our manufacturing and processing sectors. Those sectors include Danone, which is represented here today, and others.