Mr. Michael Spellman:

I want to come back on one of the points I made in my opening address relating to sustainability of rural communities. There is a serious concern relating to the loss of services in rural communities, whether Garda stations, doctors' surgeries, banks or other services. Ernst & Young indicated an increase in milk production from 2016 to 2020 was putting an additional €540 million annually into those rural communities. They were supporting jobs, including the farmer producing the milk, who supported the store, local grocery or supermarket, the butcher, garage and whatever else. That sort of sustainability is critical too and there is a place for all levels of sustainability to be nurtured here. Sustainability in the production of our food is critical, as is sustainability of the communities that live in rural areas. It is worthwhile to keep in mind that a little change can make a big difference.