Dr. James Moran:

Regarding the verification and monitoring of achievements across multiple goals, including in respect of carbon, biodiversity and water but also in respect of the impact on our food production system, we do not have the capacity at the moment. It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation. We do not build the capacity until we actually need it. However, if we cannot do it, nobody in the world can. We are not blowing our own trumpets in saying we have one of the most highly educated societies in the world. We still have a private agricultural sector. In Teagasc, we have a top-class, Europe-leading research, education and advisory service related to land use. There many top-quality scientists in our universities, top-class engineers at work and top-class practitioners on the land.

In the pilot projects we put in place, we developed the capacity in a relatively short period. With regard to the ACRES co-operation project, we are now scaling up from 2,000 farmers to 20,000. We have seen eight co-operation project teams – multidisciplinary teams – built across the relevant areas in the past six months, albeit not without challenges. However, from what I have seen from having been involved in many pilot programmes, working with colleagues across the university and higher education sectors and the education sector in general, and having seen the capacity of 99 random citizens to address biodiversity loss at the citizens' assembly over the past six months, I have no doubt that if we put our mind to this as a country, we can take action, put the incentives in place and monitor, verify, research and improve as we go. We just need to have faith in ourselves and direction from the Government.

As Dr. Byrne stated, we need an integrated land-use strategy, working on a community-by-community and catchment-by-catchment basis within a national framework, so as to go in a particular direction to solve a crisis associated with the climate, biodiversity and future food security and nutrition. Without trying to build it up too much, I believe we have no choice. It is either what I suggest or extinction. When human society's back is to the wall, it can do this. We do not have the capacity at the moment but will develop it as needed.