Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Mr. Cogan and the officials from the two Departments for attending today's meeting. I will direct my first question to Mr. Cogan. The dynamic behind this move at European level to reduce the 7% cap on first generation energy crops for biofuels comes from the ILUC report on indirect land use change. Will he elaborate on his thoughts about that and his understanding of how it stacks up or otherwise? There has been some dispute at European level as to whether it is accurate and whether the initial reports were correct. That is very important in the overall context of what we are discussing. I hope he will elaborate on that. Will the officials from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment also give us their view on that and its bona fides?

The officials from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment indicate in their presentation that various countries, including the Irish Government, have expressed reservations and concerns. That is not very firm about the Department's view on this. Is the Department opposed to this cap being reduced? Are other countries opposed to it? One often sees scenarios in which various parties to a negotiation express concerns and reservations during the process, but ultimately the deal is done and that is the end of it.

Unless people are opposed to it, it does not stand for very much. I would like the witnesses to flesh this out further.

We have dealt in this committee in recent weeks with the massive pressure our tillage sector is under. We see year on year how the acreage under tillage is dropping and how there are no margins for farmers. We have also seen in the past how the sugar beet industry, for example, has ceased to exist. I am very interested to hear the views of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and our friends from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the potential of biofuel production to play a significant role in agriculture and the economics of how this might stack up in providing a profit to farmers, in particular the economics of how it may play out regarding the sugar beet industry. I would also like further detail and commentary from our guests on the subsidies that are required in order to make this work.