Mr. Clive Carter:

There are plants and crops which can be used that are not food-based, but their by-products can be used as food in animal feed. Deputy Pringle asked where things are being done. I am doing some small things on my farm. I am not in GLAS. I am trying to install reed beds and plant trees on my own whenever I can. I am not in receipt of any finance for that. These are my projects and I try to do as much as possible. Most farmers are the same. The vast majority of tillage farmers have a few acres of grass which are not as intensively managed as a productive dairy or beef farm. They may have a single cut of hay. They have more biodiversity, with longer flowering periods, more flowers and old hay meadows.

Deputy Cahill referred to only one sector expanding. He is supporting what we have said. Perhaps there has been too much of a focus on dairy farming in the past. We may possibly face trouble in the future in terms of environmental issues. We need to promote our food grade export crops and quantify the carbon sequestration and mitigation of the tillage sector. We would be very keen to get Bord Bia and Origin Green on board to prove these facts for us.

Deputy Daly mentioned the carbon tax. We would not support a carbon tax, but the Citizens' Assembly recommended a carbon tax on agriculture. We would not like to see any further tax on farmers. The sector has enough problems as it is. If such a tax were introduced, would a tax credit be available for people who are carbon positive? If one thing could be done now to-----