Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before I open the floor to members, I just want to ask how we can have a situation where slurry that is removed from a farm is classified differently here from the rest of Europe. How can we have a different classification such that when the slurry goes out the farm gate, it is waste but the same thing does not apply in the rest of Europe? Slurry has become a very valuable product on farms, given the price of chemical fertiliser. There is far more of a focus on the viable utilisation of slurry now than was the case a number of years ago. Will the digestate that is produced be of a common standard? Will a farmer have to test it? What would the expected components of digestate be or does that depend on what raw materials go into it on a particular day? I ask our guest to answer those questions and then I will move on to committee members.