Mr. Aaron Forde:

There is some overlap between the questions and hopefully we will cover them all. Deputy Ó Cuív asked where we predict the price to fall to. While there is always some reluctance to make these predictions in markets, as is the case when prices are on the way up, most commentary predicts an average price for the year of somewhere in the region of 26 to 28 cent including VAT. We fall in that range according to where we see markets today.

In terms of how many farmers we see to be in financial difficulty, that picture is not visible at this point. Perhaps groups like Teagasc have a better handle on it. In Auriva we have a farm profitability programme in place where we work with people who are not in difficulty but who want to make their enterprises more efficient, whether they are milking 40 cows and just want to make more money out of those 40 cows, are new entrants at any level, or want to expand. Many co-operatives around the country have similar programmes in place. Our aim is to make each of those farm enterprises more sustainable and see their way through difficult years like this. Whatever stage in the supply chain one is at, whether at the farm production end, the processing end, or the customer end, one's business must get more and more efficient and sustainable year-on-year, given the increased volatility we are all experiencing.

Deputy Ó Cuív's third question concerned the marginal cost of production. Teagasc has quantified that at an average of 26 cent per litre. That is from farms which do profit monitors, which not all do, and there is a range up and down from that. There are farms that have their cost base quite a bit lower than that and there are some higher than that, but that is where it is.

I will ask Mr. Condon to deal with the question about energy costs.