Mr. Patrick Lalor:

Deputies Cahill and Penrose raised a question about premia. I am speaking as a practitioner in this regard. For beef cattle, the premium is between 20% and 25% higher than a conventional premium. At the end of the day, however, it is about supply and demand.

The operators that are buying our cattle or whatever else we have to sell are in it to make as much money as they can, just like those who are involved in conventional farming. They buy cattle as cheaply as they can. That is economics. The cost of producing organic beef cattle is a good bit higher than that of producing conventional beef cattle. Much more covered space is needed for use as winter accommodation. Straw is needed to bed the cattle because it is not permissible to have them lying down on slats or concrete. That is a big expense. The cost of organic feed is double that of conventional feed. To be quite honest, the premium of 20% to 25% is not a lot when straw and feed are taken into consideration. I will mention oats as an example. I also want to make this point from an environmental point of view. At harvest time Flahavan's pays €350 a tonne for oats for milling. It is a fantastic price. I have no doubt that it is way more profitable for a cereal grower to produce organic oats at €350 a tonne than it is to produce conventional oats for between €100 and €200 a tonne. I do not know why more of the big cereal operators are not starting to grow organic oats. Flahavan's has held a public meeting to try to encourage more people to grow organic oats, but I do not know whether that approach will work. Deputy Willie Penrose referred to the environment end of it. I am no different from any other grower when I am growing organic oats. After I sow the seed into the ground in the month of October, I close the gate and come back with the combine harvester the following August. I use no sprays or chemical fertilisers.