Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses. It is great to have them here. I want to start with the Signpost programme that Professor O'Mara mentioned. There are 21 advisers working on that programme. So far, 7,000 farmers have been involved in it and Teagasc is hoping to reach up to 50,000. There are approximately 130,000 farmers in Ireland. How many advisers are required to reach the target of 50,000 and how many are required to reach the entire farming population of 130,000? We have seen a reduction in our carbon footprint through gases in 2022. This is the biggest game in town and probably the most important programme that Teagasc is rolling out. How much support and how many advisers does Teagasc need?