Mr. Percy Foster:

In response to Deputy O'Rourke, regarding engagement with stakeholders, I have been involved in this industry for the past 15 or 16 years, and over the past year there has been significant engagement from additional stakeholders my colleagues have mentioned, namely the end users of fertiliser and materials in the horticulture industry. Recently we had a meeting attended by a farmer, Keith Swan, from BASE Ireland. He is growing 60 ha of wheat using a combination of compost and ammonium sulphate from digestate. He is able to do so without using any chemical fertiliser. Overall, in the past year I have seen huge interest where we can produce more locally based fertilisers not only in the farming sector but also in the horticulture sector, where people are looking to use peat replacements. There is a lot of interest in being able to compost dewatered digestate and to use it in the growing media sector as well. In Ireland, as well as producing biomethane for heat and transport, there are huge opportunities to produce locally based fertiliser, not only in the agriculture sector but also into the horticulture sector, where in the current situation our practices are unique compared with those of other countries, where there is a demand for peat alternatives.