Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Did the members come across any country they would regard as having been particularly successful, having started from somewhere a bit like where we are, in mobilising the level of public support as well as a sustained commitment? I would have thought the Netherlands was a very successful country but I now see a massive pushback against it with the emergence of a farmers’ party that seems to be challenging many of the gains. That may be a very superficial view of what is going on in the Netherlands.

The other question is whether the members considered the circular economy as an all-embracing way of thinking. We have to look at the entire supply chain in our lives and the various impacts it has on nature, emissions, pollution, how we dispose of materials and so on. I ask this not only because I am interested in it but also because it has the merit of recognising that in the food sector and the farm sector, there are co-ops that are selling to consumers who are increasingly conscious of the need to have high-quality, sustainable food. They ought to be also feeding back through that supply chain. It should not just be just the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

I think Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin mentioned it when she referred to paying for quality, sustainable food. That could be just as powerful a signal. It would also be very powerful with regard to how we use packaging and so on. I am wondering if there is potential to integrate, through a circular economy prism, many of the challenges that we have, particularly in food?