Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will make a comment; I am not really looking for an answer. What Ms Hennessy outlined is very positive. Some of these initiatives are somewhat lost in the bigger, dare I say it, agri-politics forum, or whatever you like to call it. We talk about simplification in the context of agricultural schemes, and this is another example of it. We could do more to explain all of that and tell the good story. It is all positive. I will leave it at that.

I will quickly turn to IFI. It made a very interesting submission, in particular, in the context of its statement that "In IFI's experience, challenges to compliance most often relate to organic fertiliser management". The IFI submission also indicates that additional supports could be included. Support for investment in storage infrastructure was mentioned, as was an increase in training supports for farmers, contractors and advisers. I am not too sure we need an increase in training. Is it that people are not taking up the training? A great deal seems to be going on. Is it that people are somehow resistant to training? Do they feel it is beyond them or that it is too much of a science or is too complicated? Are people taking up the training? I am not convinced - the witnesses can tell me - that there is a lack of additional supports for training and information. I do not know whether farmers have the capacity and time to engage to that extent. Is it becoming too much of a science? Again, can we simplify all of that? The IFI representatives might comment on their observations of the need for training and their experience in that regard.