Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I just want clarification. I do not even know what a hemp plant looks like. We had the representative bodies in and it seems to me that the kernel of the debate and the issues we will have if this is to have any kind of feasible future is the fact that the plant is covered by the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017. I hope the witnesses will correct me if I am wrong because, as I have said, I do not even know the make-up of the plant but it has high levels of protein and the seed oil has many uses. It strikes me that looking at this from the perspective of the fibre alone is like doing a consultation or feasibility study on growing barley for straw. Am I right in saying that? The value of the barley is in the head and, from what I have heard, the situation is likewise for hemp. If it is to be a feasible crop, the farmer will not be growing it for the fibre but for the head.