Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I thank the witnesses for coming in. I thank Professor O'Mara for his innovative ideas. I contacted him two weeks ago. In fairness, he and Dr. Laurence Shalloo were quick about getting on the ball.

I have a question for Teagasc. I am watching youngsters in national schools and secondary schools who are nearly brainwashed before we can get them because of how agriculture is being depicted. A picture of a cow is now nearly a bad thing. Is there any tie-up with the Department of Education to give a balance in terms of what we need to teach youngsters? At the end of the day every youngster needs three meals. Is there any tie-up being done with schools on research to show how things are being done better and that farmers are required in the world? I remember one time if you had a big tractor you would have 20 youngsters running down the road trying to drive it. If you drive down the road in a brand new tractor now, they go into their houses because they do not want to look at it. That is the reality. There is no point in saying it is not. I am watching the numbers going into farming. We need to keep people here. To build rural Ireland and keep it sustainable we must encourage youngsters. In fairness, over the past seven or eight years, there are plenty of jobs even for small farmers. For us in the 1980s, it was a case of getting the boat or setting up your own business. In fairness, now there are plenty of jobs as well as farming. There is an opportunity to do agricultural science and become a planner or go to the likes of UCD to study veterinary medicine. One can even do mechanics through the courses that are being offered around the country. The positive messaging about farming and agriculture must start to come forward. As Deputy Rings says, the worse the story, the better George Lee likes it. It looks every night as if the world is going to nearly end. It is agriculture, agriculture, agriculture. We see the same Friesian cow every time we look at the television. It is getting to farmers. There is no point in saying it is not. It is getting to them and they are nearly telling their youngsters that they do not know if there is a future in agriculture. There is uncertainty as well because decisions are not being made. If a young farmer is putting up a shed, going into dairy farming, or into sucklers or sheep, if he or she is borrowing money, he or she needs to know that there is a clear pathway for the next five, seven or ten years. It is fine if you plant a hectare of trees, but at least you should not be wondering what is coming next January: if a cow is going to be allowed to produce 120 kg methane or nitrates will be brought down to 200 kg N/ha. Do the witnesses understand the point I make? What can they do to try to get that message brought forward and to show respect? If farmers stop producing food, the world will starve. It is as simple as that.

I have another question for the witnesses from UCD. I know UCD was involved with Dowth farm. It did a lot of research on multispecies grasses out there. What happens now? Is UCD still involved? I think the National Parks and Wildlife Service bought it. Perhaps the witnesses do not know. If they do not know they can come back to me. What happened to the research that was being done? The committee went out there and we met great people who were doing a lot of research. They were able to give us all the statistics. As Professor O'Mara said earlier, there was great research being done on possible ways to reduce fertiliser. It needs to be done over so many years to see when certain species will die out, what will last longest, and the productivity of the cattle or sheep that was on the land. Where do the witnesses from UCD stand on that at the moment?

There was talk about education. If a person does three or four years of study in agricultural science or whatever else and he or she goes on to do a master's degree, but my understanding is that it is pretty difficult for ordinary people to do given the amount of money needed. Sponsorship is required to try to make it feasible. It is not that simple to be able to do. Could the witnesses comment on those questions first please?