Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opening statement of the chief inspector, Mr. Bill Callanan. His statement on climate change is very positive. I concur with 99% of what he stated. I believe there is a balance between a carbon-neutral society and our ability to produce food on productive land. He went through many of the key issues, including the beef data genomic programme, the economic breeding index, EBIs, and where we are going as a society.

Statements have been made in the media and in public forums such as the Citizen's Assembly, for example, expressing views that are in deep contrast to what Mr. Callanan stated today. The statement by Professor Alan Matthews from Trinity College to the Citizen's Assembly is very much at odds with what we have heard here today. In a statement, and I am open to be corrected, he staid that we would be better off if we reduced our beef output and farmers would be more productive if they were to draw down the single farm payment. That would go against my ethos and that of many people in this room because farmers like to produce food. Farmers like to work the land and being proactive. It is a topic of a generation. Not alone is it a topic for discussion, it is a decision of a generation. That is why Mr. Callanan's statement is very comforting to farmers and the farming community but we need to have that debate as well. Professor Alan Matthew's statement is the exact opposite in that he seeks to curtail farming, to stop the agricultural sector developing and in many ways he going against the European policies and the Food Wise 2025 strategy, which Mr. Callanan outlined in his presentation.

Will Mr. Callanan comment on the conflict between his opening statement and that of Professor Alan Matthews to the Citizen's Assembly? The view the Citizen's Assembly took is also tied into it and that needs to be clearly rectified. The views of the Department and this committee could add to a greater understanding of the issues.