Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)

I thank our witnesses for all the comprehensive answers. I think Professor Daly answered my question. I was going to ask about the possible rationale behind this temperature neutrality approach being around accommodating the potential expansion of the herd. Having said that, the herd has contracted, albeit modestly, over the last number of years by about 4%, both in suckler and dairy. On the whole issue around the methane aspect of it, using technology-based approaches to address some of it, in particular the potential role of anaerobic digestion, there is potential there in using feedstocks that are not from cut grass but from farm slurries. The first one I ever saw developed in Ireland was in my home county of Kilkenny in Camphill in Ballytobin. That has been producing electricity and a good dry-fertiliser product for the last 20 years and yet we cannot scale up AD to a level that is required that could make a really meaningful impact on emissions.

I have a second question added to that because Professor Daly mentioned the role in Denmark. I absolutely agree with her wholeheartedly. Farmers need certainty, good advice and money for what they are doing and they are not getting it. The climate and nature fund looks like it is going to be raided as well. What we are also missing is the other piece of the jigsaw around the land use review and the potential for the nature restoration plan to have a positive impact on supporting farmers to do the right things.