Mr. Matthew McGreehan:

It is important that the committee know the wide variety of services that do and could use social farming. Senator Lynch mentioned the different services that should be paying in, for example, to rehabilitate offenders back into society. I have had people on my farm who, although they did not come directly from the probation service, had a life of crime but wanted to change things around and found themselves with a service that sent them out to me.

There are a number of ways that social farming can help society, and not just the obvious ones. There is mental health, Tusla, young people in care, Vision Ireland, which has people out with us at the minute, RehabCare, people with learning disabilities and the IPAS system. A variety of services could have people really benefit from being out on a farm. Society benefits in turn.