Mr. Sean Coughlan:

I will deal with the other points. Members expressed concerns around the smaller herd sizes. The reality is that artificial insemination is used in the smaller herds. While only 20% of the progeny in last year's scheme were from AI, 50% of the herds were using some AI. There is potential in that regard.

In terms of the herds on offshore islands, the actual profile in terms of star ratings is not dramatically different and there are four and five-star cows on the island farms as well. I do not see that being a significant issue.

I think Deputy Aylward raised the query on untested bulls. We have the same issue with the dairy herd. The key is that if one has a herd of 20 cows, it is best practice to use AI from a panel of bulls and spread the risk in terms of calving difficulty and the evaluations going up and down. That is just good practice. That is what the dairy farmers are doing. That is what we would expect beef farmers to do as well.

To respond to a question on the star ratings, if the star rating of the bull goes down, it may affect some of the offspring which may not then be eligible. That will be a challenge for some farmers. It would be remiss to have data on an animal that was no longer as good as it was and whose stars were dropping and not give that information to the farmers and have them as informed as possible.