Professor Gerry Boyle:

Unfortunately, I do not have answers for two of the Deputy's questions. The first one concerns the nature of the environmental schemes, how much they will be worth and so forth.

I am afraid we do not have any more insights than members do at this stage. The only issue that is quite different is the payment by results pilot which is a departure from what was there in the past. We must wait and see how that works out.

Similarly, the Deputy asked an impossible question in respect of the potential likelihood, if any, of a reduction in cow numbers to achieve whatever environmental targets or budgets will ultimately be set. I simply do not have the answer to that. We have looked at a variety of scenarios, depending on the scale of the potential reduction which might be required, but it is nearly impossible to answer that question in any precise way because we do not yet have the information on the targets. It brings us back to the point that the key assumption in the old climate Bill was that of the stable herd. We have talked about that already and its importance for the overall ability of the sector to continue to make an adequate living for the people who work in it and also to achieve an overall reduction in gaseous emissions.

I agree with the Deputy's comments on the challenge some farmers, particularly livestock farmers, have in making an adequate living and on the importance of farm employment, which is hugely important and has, no doubt, been affected to some extent by Covid. I would certainly like to think farmers would be very careful that their farming activity does not eat into the household income they generate off-farm but also, and equally important, that it does not eat into the single farm payment. When that starts happening it can be very corrosive when trying to manage normal household expenses.