Mr. Michael Dowling:

On transparency, there is some improvement on that and with the information which is available. It is a significant improvement. Many farmers probably believe it is not transparent enough but that is as far as it can go at the moment.

The long-term plan will now need very substantial consultation to include the review of the CAP, the requirements from a climate point of view and other matters which were not within the remit of the beef task force. There will be a need for a consultative body for the beef industry going forward, beyond what the task force has been able to do because those issues were not ones it had the remit to examine. The CAP issue, for instance, is something that is only beginning to be crystalised now. A consultative process will be required into the future on the longer-term strategy for beef and indeed other sectors in agriculture but it would follow on from the task force rather than being a job for it.