Mr. Thomas Ryan:

Let us go back to what Trevor Donnellan of Teagasc said earlier. We were in the Gallery at the time. He said that methodologies change. We have been having a discussion on carbon sinks and our frustration at the fact that there is 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 from forestry that is sitting there but not being counted when it comes to landscape, land and agriculture. In the same tone, the lifespan of methane in the atmosphere is being actively discussed right now. When the Department representatives came before the committee they referred to it. The scientific community is referring to it and we are rightly going to refer to it as well. If methane lasts in the atmosphere for 12 years, then, unlike CO2, which lasts in the atmosphere for up to 200 years, of course we are going to bring it to the attention of the committee.