Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Could they outline in detail the impact that will arise from the establishment of the future milk centre and how it will work with the major partners and stakeholders in the dairy industry? Over what time period is it likely to be in being and what do they see emerging? I am ad idemwith Professor Doyle. I appreciate the appropriateness of extracting natural data from the land by way of sensors and instrumentation, how that can be applied and the works that derive therefrom. However, it is all about the larger farm or the more intensive production. For the vast majority of people along the west coast and parts of the Midlands, this will not have any application. Holdings will be too small.

It is consonant with the drift that is taking place towards mechanisation or the aggregation of agricultural holdings. This will fit in.

Professor Doohan works in UCD. Does she operate in conjunction with Lyons Research Farm, the Teagasc Oak Park Research Centre or similar entities? I know Professor Jimmy Burke and his colleagues at Oak Park carried out a great deal of research in their areas.

One of the things about disease-resistant crops is that no matter how fast one goes, various mutations of stem cells always come along and create difficulties in the context of the application of particular products, be they herbicides, pesticides, fungicides or whatever. There is a race on in that regard. What my colleagues were asking is: is it necessary to develop crops that are almost GM-like in order to deal with such eventualities? In that context, has Professor Doohan ever been asked her opinion on application of glyphosate or the widespread use of that particular chemical under the trade name Roundup? A decision will be made at EU level very shortly on whether the licence relating to this chemical will be extended for a further period. One of the problems we had was the World Health Organization saying X and somebody else saying Y. Surely that was an area in respect of which Professor Doohan or someone of her excellence and background should have become involved. The decision that is made could have far-reaching consequences, particularly as the chemical in question is now so widely applied in Ireland. Last Saturday morning, while listening to Damien O'Reilly's radio show, I heard an intense and worthwhile debate between a person from Kilkenny and somebody from Meath in respect of the application of it.

On biological treatments and environmentally-friendly products and dealing with the adverse environmental conditions that Professor Doohan mentioned in the context of Donegal, is she referring to developing a potato that could mature at an earlier date than the traditional potato? Roosters or Kerr's Pinks are one thing, but is it possible to develop something that might come out of the ground earlier? Senator Mac Lochlainn has just referred to the huge losses potato farmers in Donegal suffered as a result of the flooding that occurred there recently.

We have limited indigenous crop-breeding programmes. I salute Professor Doohan in trying to widen activity in that sphere. She is working with her European partners to try to achieve something in this regard. I know she receives funding for the CONSUS project from SFI and Origin Enterprises. Does Professor Doohan have a paper to which we could point and say "This has been developed here to suit Irish conditions. We developed it in conjunction with our European counterparts and this is the result that is going to emerge"? Is she in a position to highlight something that can adapt to Irish conditions, that is a disease-resistant, early-producing variety and that will contribute to significant increases in agricultural output for, say, the maltingindustry or some other industry? Whatever it is, I would like to hear about it.