Ms Geraldine O'Sullivan:

I have to say that overall for farmers it is a regular service. It is very well advertised and local. It is there and provided on an annual basis. They know in and around when it is going to happen. Overall, it is very positive because there is that consistency. Obviously, price is always an issue with the farmers. There is always that, but they know it is a consistent service. It is there all the time for them and it is very well advertised locally. I know there is the focus on the 12% or 10%. That is really positive in trying to improve where we are. We have seen farmers going more and more to the bring centres. They are more regular. It has now become a part of things. Things like the Bord Bia requirement are encouraging that yearly movement of farm plastics. These are all very positive.

We have seen how we went from 90% to 88%. There could have been a number of reasons but we are seeing that consistency of in and around the 90%. That has grown over the years. One would hope we will see that growing again with farmers and that the bring centres will continue to reach those levels and improve on that. We have seen farmers engaging more and more. It has become more regular. As an organisation, we are always trying to promote it and make farmers aware of it. To have that consistent service is a huge benefit to farmers as well as knowing that it is local and that there is not a huge issue with getting there. It is guaranteed as a simple transparent process with a weighbridge. It is very transparent. They are very happy with it overall. Obviously, they would like it to be cheaper but that is just the nature of it. They know it is an organisation on which they are represented and that it is not for profit.