Mr. Paul Price:

As I said in my statement, studies on how to reach the Paris targets show that part of that is dietary change. That does not mean having no animals but it means balancing the system. We have unbalanced the system, particularly over the last ten years, by disconnecting animals and producing more slurry than can go to crops. Growing grass rather than grains seems to be a mistake. Looking at the modelling on a better system for the EU, the idea is to get to zero inputs of chemical fertiliser but also to have much more of a direct connection between any animals and the crops. It is more about grain growing, human food and recycling nitrogen back to the land. We have arrived at this situation because of the way the economics have gone. Farmers have made good decisions within the system we have but it is an unbalanced system. If farmers are paid with more certainty to have an unbalanced system, then that is what they will do. That is because the policy has been set in a certain direction, which is unsustainable. We are seeing that with the repeated fodder crises and, as the Deputy mentioned, the difficulties for vegetable and tillage farmers in particular. We should be supporting tillage farmers. Tillage, vegetables and horticulture are the core of any agricultural system but in Ireland that system has been unbalanced and has become even more unbalanced and less efficient since 2010. That is a problem.