Mr. Bill Callanan:

I have just a couple of comments on the questions that were raised. Deputy Penrose asked about the focus on the environment at EU level.

It has been flagged that it will be a key issue going forward in the context of supporting farmers to achieve good environmental outcomes. There are multiple ways to do that. As I set out in my opening statement, they are very much part of our scheme structure now for targeted interventions to deliver support to farmers and have a high degree of delivery from environmental expenditure. That will undoubtedly continue and probably increase with the development of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, in the years ahead. I will leave it to others to address Coillte. We do not have a representative of Coillte here so it is hard for me to deal with that.

Senator Paul Daly referred to the tillage sector. Tillage accounts for less than 8% of land use in the country by area so it is important for us to retain a strong and vibrant sector, not just for feed production but also since it is a significant supplier of raw materials to the burgeoning and strengthening distilling and brewing industry. We are particularly exercised about maintaining a vibrant tillage sector. It is undoubtedly challenged by global prices for the market. The supports available include the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, which has a number of measures. Over 800 applicants have come in. Supporting machinery and mechanisation generates efficiency in tillage production. Our message about efficiency of fertiliser use, which is a large component of the cost of growing crops here, is consistent in trying to ensure that the most efficient production systems are in place.

There are measures under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, which are dedicated specifically to the tillage sector such as catch crops. We have 2,366 growers of catch crops, which means putting a crop in after harvest. Such activity is positive from a greenhouse gas emissions perspective. Over 300,000 farmers use minimum tillage under the scheme and almost 13,000, predominantly but not exclusively tillage farmers, grow wild bird cover which is a significant support to the sector too.