Mr. Barry Lynch:

Most of the investment in the commercial side is coming through the ICBF and Teagasc. In case anybody is not familiar with it, the ICBF is the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, which was established by the Department in 1997 with a view to creating a new genetic database for animal evaluations. AgriNet has always worked closely with the ICBF. We ensure we provide it with all data from farms and we also use all the data available to it. The ICBF and Teagasc are the two entities that are doing a great deal of work in this regard.

I will give one example which encapsulates the current dilemma for the industry, because it is easy to view this issue as two small companies experiencing a problem. The issue for the industry as a whole is how we can have a sustainable and logical system. Private sector involvement is needed in all industries and anyone who disagrees with that premise is basically arguing that the private sector is not of any benefit. A major problem arises if private companies cannot innovate without the State innovating in the same area. This problem will come back to haunt the system sooner or later. A prime example is in the area of grassland management software, which is the product we export. AgriNet has a good few clients in the United Kingdom, the United States and New Zealand. Given that this type of software was invented in New Zealand, we are doing well to be able to sell into that market.

I do not wish to pick on the ICBF and Teagasc, both of which are involved in this area, but we offered to give Teagasc free access to a new central database for grass that we would design. Deputy Heydon referred to data flowing in. We informed Teagasc that it could write its own terms and conditions to guarantee the security of the data from our new database. It chose not do so and we understand it will launch a new central database in the next month or two. This does not make sense given that we offered to provide this service to the State at no cost. We would have done a good job. Kingswood has been in business for 25 years while AgriNet has been in business for 18 years. We do not have a bad reputation by any means and we are willing to carry some of the load in terms of providing IT for farmers at no cost to the State. Having done this work to a high standard, we offered to do it for the State.

Farmers in the United Kingdom think our work is great and we have received compliments from farmers in New Zealand. What is wrong with working with private software for a while, given that it works? Both of our companies are well able to design very good software in web technology. We can provide a solution and save the State from having to provide it. Is that not what people are seeking these days?

AgriNet is a small company but we are able to export and we have discovered we can get better. I am confident that if I come before the joint committee in five years, at least half of our revenue and markets will be outside the Republic of Ireland. When we are fighting for clients abroad we will come up against Kingswood. We are a good resource and we have done a good job. We have made the market for information technology as we have trained the top 5,000 or 10,000 farmers. We have established a need for farmers to use computers and software. When we offer to provide this service free it does not make sense for a State entity to provide the same service. That is not a good balance. I return again to the theme of this meeting, namely, the need to achieve a good balance. Given the major deficit, a little support for the private sector would not go amiss. We do not need financial support, but there is a need to strike a balance between the State and the private sector. If we achieve this, we will be able to operate, export, grow and provide good services to Irish farmers that the State sector will not have to provide. The State would not have to establish infrastructure or support services because we would provide them. The mentality in the system on the State side is that it has a vision on which it will act. We need to change this. The State sector should make the cutbacks needed and allow others to carry the load a little better. The question is how we will get to the stage at which the Department changes its vision.