Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will go to members shortly and remind them that we have agreed there will be five minutes for questions and answers. I have two questions for the witnesses. I would like to use my time to allow Dr. O'Hagan-Luff to elaborate on her suggestion that there should be a market for credits for ecosystem services. The challenge we have is figuring out how we tweak the system that we currently have such that we get nature restoration and a reversal of biodiversity loss. Given the system we have, how do we change it, what does that look like, has it been done anywhere else and what does Dr. O'Hagan-Luff suggest?

My second question is to Dr. O'Mahony and I invite Dr. Ní Dhúill to come in if she wishes. Dr. O'Mahony made a strong point around the current system not working for farmers; he was not just talking about it not working for biodiversity but said it is not working for farmers, and he was very clear about that. I would like him to elaborate on that. There might be a slight difference between what he is saying and what Dr. O'Hagan-Luff is saying in that Dr. O'Hagan-Luff is talking about using the system that we have whereas Dr. O’Mahony is talking more about system change. I would like to hear him speak to that system change and how a new system would work for farmers as much as it would work to restore nature.