Ms Caroline Bocquel:

To respond to the Deputy's question on the grant aid, we did open it in June 2024 and we closed it in October 2024. The reason we close the vast majority - not all - of our schemes at the end of October is to ensure we can process the claims, request the funding from our own parent Department, and make those payments by the end of December. Like all State agencies we are bound by the fiscal year.

Nonetheless, even within that short window, we had a significant amount of interest in that scheme. More than €3 million in grants was awarded to the processing sector during that first period. That is almost double what would have been awarded in a typical year under the previous programme. This is the sort of appetite we are expecting. As Mr. Donnelly said, through our visits, field trips and looking at innovations, we are actively encouraging processors to apply for these grants. We want them to modernise and to do so as quickly as possible. The window will open again in July this year and will close in October. I have been talking to industry. Some of the representative bodies would like us to look at doing it much earlier in the year in 2026, which is not a difficulty. We can certainly do that. We are looking at a first quarter opening in 2026 to ensure it fits with the time of year when processors have the time and capacity to do their grant application, with our assistance, at a time that suits them. We are certainly open to moving that window and will do so for next year.