Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a fair acknowledgement. I will be polite in making my final argument, which is on an environmental issue. It is a huge issue for climate and society and if we are to solve it, finance will be key. The first thing we need will be a major increase in potential storage, which will require cheap money and a whole-of-government approach. The Departments have responsibility for housing and agriculture. Is there a whole-of-government approach to dealing with the nitrates action programme? Has there been correspondence between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance on the amount of money required over the next five years to implement this plan? If we look at the previous figures, it will probably be in the billions. A previous plan a decade ago led to a major increase in natural capacity and cost an awful lot of money. In fact, I understand the Comptroller and Auditor General had an issue with the plan and produced a report on how much money was spent. Have all Departments engaged in a deep review of how much this could cost and what will be done to make sure the farming community gets the money?