Ms Ciara Carberry:

Approximately 150 farmers are involved in the corncrake LIFE programme. We have found that being clear about what we are looking for in the scheme is key and we need to be clear about what the farmer is measuring. We can say it is operating on a no-surprises basis. Farmers know exactly what is involved. They have their scorecards and can measure things. Most importantly, they can show their colleagues and neighbours exactly how it works. They know how to get from A to B and what a results base looks like.

There are similar numbers involved in the LIFE on Machair programme. Again, farmers bring other farmers in and the word will spread. It goes back to what Dr. Bleasdale said. We need to make it make sense for farmers. Over-regulation and overburdening people with paperwork is not something we have found to be successful. We have to absorb some of the lessons from the Wild Atlantic Nature programme, which are really clear. We need to have boots on the ground and people out and engaging with farmers.

Making that work is quite resource-heavy for us. That is why the LIFE programme in such a support. Again, we will integrate those schemes. The development of the LIFE project, which Dr. Bleasdale was very involved in, informed the whole approach to results-based payments down the line. We want to pilot things in those projects that we will roll out nationally. There is huge evidence of successful pilot interventions, in particular from Wild Atlantic Nature, which received a significant European award recently. It engages with communities all over the place.

It takes people more than paper to do this. There can be a temptation for professional bureaucratic organisations to generate quite a lot of paperwork when they do not have enough people for safety. People on the ground and the visibility piece are extraordinarily effective. Our experience is that the goodwill is there if we make things possible for people.