Mr. John Keane:

I have two quick points to make in response to other questions, but I will make them at the end. Young farmers right now do not see forestry as being a viable opportunity for them, based on the roadblocks that are there, the issues with felling licences and thinning licences. It comes back to the initial point both Mr. Fitzgerald and I made, which is that certainty into the future is not there for them at the moment. The number of planting licences this year was reduced and the amount of planting was far below the target of 11,000 ha. Young farmers are not being provided with certainty at the moment. It is very much a long-term commitment and investment to put an acre or hectare of ground into forestry. The current issues could potentially be resolved but it does not provide certainty for young farmers to invest in it as an opportunity. There is not proving to be a huge appetite for it among our members. The numbers on both of those fronts would suggest the same as well.

In terms of land mobility, there is an important piece on it too in terms of the service. I acknowledge the Minister's comments last week on the role Teagasc and Macra na Feirme will hopefully play together in the coming year or so in terms of the development of the service. Mr. Dillon touched on the numbers with Deputy Flaherty. In terms of the development of the relationship and the integration of Teagasc as part of the expansion of the service, there is an opportunity for resources to be aligned and shared. It involves both education and the provision of a knowledge transfer piece around succession and what the arrangements look like. In time, you would hope that would drive both the enthusiasm, engagement and need towards a service like the land mobility service. It is probably a good idea to look at it in terms of its own sphere and what can be delivered on that front. The multiplier effect of having an organisation and development agency like Teagasc involved as part of the development of the service in the coming years will grow it and develop it and provide a resource piece as well in terms of how we can ensure that the demand is met, should that piece be increased.

In terms of the eco-schemes and the antimicrobial resistance piece, part of the feedback relates to how we monitor whether there is a benefit to the antimicrobial resistance piece and the use of antibiotics, as well as the animal welfare piece.

That is the feedback we have got from the Department but from our end, the answers are pretty much straightforward. We know our average figures for antibiotic usage and our laboratory capacity and throughput of faecal egg sampling. It is about the implication and monitoring of that on-farm, if we do so through the likes of Bord Bia and our Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, programmes, and having the tools in place to monitor and measure that. Those are pretty much a win-win for all of us.