Mr. John Lynskey:

On the question about the hill breeds, we met with Meat Industry Ireland on this issue. There is a realisation that work must be done on the breeds. There is a pilot programme in operation with John Noonan, the adviser in Westport, and Sheep Ireland to pick out the best breeds of the hill sheep so in the future the best rams will be available. Also, the hill sheep are the basis for the breeding flock. The Mayo Mule and Greyface breeders hold very successful sales of the mule sheep, which is a cross breed of the hill sheep and the blue Leicester. There is also work being done on what is called the Hilltex breed, which is a Texel crossed with a hill ewe to give a carcase that is suitable for the French market, even at the lower end of it. Work is being done on a number of issues in that regard.

However, the issue today is to try to get the maximum support available to the sheep sector from 2015 and if our proposals in the presentation can be worked on and agreed. If we could get the support of this committee, we would welcome it.