Mr. Bill Callanan:

There are two elements to the Deputy's question. On the issue of sustainability and our submission being littered with that word, it is very much at the centre of the agriculture sector going forward. That is recognised in the Food Vision 2030 report. However, it is sustainability in its three manifest elements, that is, environmental, economic and socially sustainable production models, that is very much clearly at the centre.

As regards an increase in the national herd, that has not been policy for several yeas in the context of potential for growth. Indeed, action 2 on page 57 of the Food Vision 2030 report requires us to produce detailed plans by quarter 2 of 2022 to manage the sustainable environmental footprint of the dairy and beef sectors. That includes reducing total methane, nitrous oxide and ammonia emissions. It is not policy in the context of growth and has not been for several years. The focus in Food Vision 2030 is on value over growth in numbers. Even in the context of the 2019 action plan, we were the first sector to come out with a roadmap of actions for farmers to do because it is very important that people understand how we implement the ambition. At that time, we identified that methane levels could not grow if we were to achieve the overall commitments made under the 2019 plan.