Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not know if our guests heard our earlier discussion with the Department and Teagasc. I refer to what I am trying to determine in the first instance. Is it possible? Absolutely, it is possible. If you can do it on one farm, you can do it on all farms. Is it practically possible and feasible to do it at such a cost that it can be carried out throughout the country? That would be a game changer. I agree with Dr. Gilliland because it is not just about the sector. Agriculture is like every other sector - there are good players and bad players and those in between. If we could get to a point whereby every farm had an audit of what is happening here and now, and knew that if they were in a position to improve those figures in terms of improving sequestration and lowering emissions, that would be of benefit not only to society - all farmers want to contribute to society - but, crucially, to farmers in terms of being able to trade carbon and be rewarded through schemes or whatever other measures are put in place, as well as being able to use it as a promotional tool for their product. Across an array of areas, this could be a game changer that flips the entire environmental debate on its head.

I will finish this point and then let our guests reply. Devinish is a company, so I am sure euro signs are flashing in our guests' heads while we are talking about this. What would need to happen in a collaboration, as they have suggested? Obviously, there would be a need for the private sector but it would need to be driven by the Department if this were to actually happen and every single farm provided with this type of an audit. What steps would need to be put in place by our previous guests, namely, the Department and Teagasc, in order for that to happen?