Mr. Brian Rushe:

I will take the first part and I ask Mr. Buckley to come after. With regard to Deputy Smith's commentary on the "we", Irish farming is sectorally diverse and diverse in terms of production systems, depending where in the country one is, but we have to look at what drove the increase in dairy production. The market signal and opportunity for farmers to improve their income and bring young people home to farm drove that.

We need to be aware of where we lie in terms of scale when we talk about Irish farming and intensity. The average herd size in Ireland is fewer than 100 cows. Pre-quota removal, it was 70 cows. It has risen by 20 to 25 cows per herd, on average. Those 25 cows allowed farmers to employ someone to help them on their farm, which gave them a better quality of life. It allowed a family bring home a son or a daughter who otherwise did not have a future in farming. These are positives and I will always highlight the positives in agriculture, because I am one of those farmers who has two young sons, a ten-year old and a seven-year old, and we are working towards making a future for them in agriculture.

No person or sector is immune to change and farming is no different. We are changing. We are changing our practices on-farm, fertiliser use, animal genetics, because we want to stay in business. We want to continue to contribute to our economy and towns and villages throughout the country. If I wanted to be a millionaire, I would do something else, but I do not. I want to be a farmer. I want to produce food and contribute to the social sustainability of the country, because that is what I and most farmers believe in.

I take exception to dividing farmers into large or small or whatever else. That will serve no one in this debate on climate action. We are having that debate within agriculture all the time. We fully recognise that if we divide up and start fighting among ourselves, we will achieve nothing. We are very serious about meeting our climate action targets. We are very serious about staying in business and being here for the next generation. We are solutions-focused and not in it for Goodman, exports or whatever else. We are in it to stay in business and continue to do what we are doing.

We are not intensive. The average stocking rate is 23 cows per acre on 60% of farms. That is a very low stocking rate. When we compare ourselves with our international peers such as Australia, America, Canada or Brazil, we are not an intensive producer. That is not to say we do not face a significant challenge, but we are engaging with it. That is why we are here today and why we continue to adopt the best research, engage with Teagasc and everyone who has solutions.

I would like to bring in Mr. Buckley to clarify some of the figures.