Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh gach uile dhuine. It is great to have this session on what is and should be a really positive story for Irish energy generation, but also for Irish agriculture. Frankly, it is shameful that we are hearing of difficulties in terms of farmers being able to participate in what should be a very positive story in the context of energy generation. Many of the issues outlined by Mr. Bolger are not new; we have been hearing about them for the past decade. To me, it is inexplicable that some of these blockages are still in place, especially considering we have a Government that is stating categorically that it considers these issues to be a priority.

I have a few questions. We can go over and back. There has been much interest and many questions from members of the committee following the Millvale announcement last week.

Many people are asking pertinent questions about whether or not this is an option at which they would look. Could Mr. Bolger give more detail about the size of the farm involved and the proportion of the farm that is now allocated to solar panels? One of the things that interested people was the fact that the stocking rate, which involved a sheep farm, was only reduced by 25%. Clearly, this is an opportunity for this particular farmer to continue farming while get an alternative income stream.

Could Mr. Bolger touch on what the model would be if a beef farmer decided to go down the same route? How much of this farmer's land would have to be apportioned for such a project and would it be possible for the farmer to continue breeding cattle on any feasible basis?

The big question is whether this is a realistic route that more farmers would go down. As Mr. Connolly will know coming from the good part of the country, as I would describe it, we in the north of the country might not have as many summer days as they do in Cork so is it a feasible option in all parts of the country in terms of the return that might be there?