Mr. Vincent Buckley:

I will wrap up on some of the questions that were briefly touched on. Senator O'Keeffe asked what the State can do to help. We have included that in our slide on the Government working with us. We would be very concerned to have a pro-business attitude in the country, that exporting is made as easy as possible, that there are no obstacles being put in the way and that support for research and development is ongoing.

I agreed with the Chairman when I commented on the investment that is needed in the processing sector. While that investment may not come by way of direct investment from the Government because I recognise the difficult financial situation and the need to balance the books at Government level, tax support would be seen as a stimulus to that industry and would create employment. The Chairman noted that creating employment and making this 50% growth possible will bring in revenue for the country, so we see it as a stimulus that is badly required. I have been asked to make that point today. It is not possible for the processing industry or for farmers to fully fund that sector, a point of which I ask the committee to be conscious.

Deputy Ferris raised the issue of volatility, which has been discussed. He also raised the issue of quotas and the survival of small farmers. The point would be 100% correct if quotas remained in place and we had guaranteed support for the volume that was being produced under quota. Unfortunately, in recent years we have had the worst of all worlds. We had a quota regime and, within that, we were asked to sell milk virtually at world market prices. Even within the quota regime, the number of farmers in milk has been declining. Hopefully, this will not continue at the same fast pace, but I take on board the Deputy's point. If there was price support, quotas would protect farm incomes to a certain point.

Reference was made to central Asia, including Iran. We need to be conscious at our end that our resources are scarce and we cannot be all things in all markets. We must identify the markets that will deliver best for us. When our strategy is drawn up and looked at, perhaps the committee can point out opportunities to me here or there. However, resources can be limited.

The issue of risk assessment was raised. All I can say is that we have a very active internal audit committee which has drawn up for the board a risk assessment policy in terms of business continuity should something happen within the business. We cannot cater for every eventuality but, in so far as we can, there is a policy in place to minimise any potential risk that might arise.

Senator O'Keeffe asked about the requirement for funding in the processing sector and how plans are working in this regard. We are well on target to meet our plans and the requirements of farmers and the processing industry. The snag is that, in developing our plans, we require the processing industry to deliver increased product at the end of the day. We hope that funding at that level will not be a hindrance in terms of growth. We are focused on meeting our 2020 objectives in terms of our requirements as marketers and we are conscious of the fact there may be a hiccup at processing level in terms of the finance commitment that is needed.

I hope we have covered most if not all of the issues raised. There were a lot of questions and if somebody feels we should come back-----