Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I compliment the witnesses on their response and their project on the milking of sheep. It reminds me of where the dairy industry was in the 1950s and 1960s. How it really got off the ground was down to how the co-operative movement gathered around it and became a real driving force. The co-operatives made sure a coherent system was put in place to ensure the dairy industry got going. At the time, co-operatives were set up in nearly every second parish and eventually they all joined up and moved forward. Do the witnesses think the co-operative movement will play a vital role in their industry going forward? Do they believe they need to set up their own co-operative movement for sheep farmers or do they expect to work with a dairy co-operative society and to engage with it on its technology, marketing and infrastructure? Where do they see this industry develop, going forward?