Mr. James Healy:

May I address the first question and lead on to the second? The change in the farming demographic is much greater in dairy farming because it is a profitable sector. I mentioned earlier creating greater value for the produce Irish farmers produce. The beef sector might be producing a slim profit but, more than likely, 90% of beef farmers in Ireland are depending on the single farm payment to live. The tillage sector has been reasonably good this year but has experienced much lower yields because of the conditions last year. With regard to the horticulture sector, I cannot imagine what it would be like to see a kilogram of my carrots that I put my heart and soul into producing being sold for 49 cent in a shop. We need to place more value on the food we are producing. It is important that there be a secure food source for the populations of Ireland and the rest of Europe, which is why the Common Agricultural Policy exists, but we need to realise that, in 1970, consumers were spending 30% of their income on food and that this proportion is now down to 10%. This is with much improved production processes, improvements to animal welfare, etc. Scale is important for some farmers because it is the only way they can make a full-time living.

In our organisation, we ask whether a farmer with 100 cows would be better off with that number and operating extremely well, perhaps working alone, which might involve a small bit of labour from time to time, or whether he would be better off with 200, thus having to bring in extra labour and all that comes with it. We are examining this. This relates to the question the Deputy asked. We certainly value the Irish family farm model but we must ask whether the Irish farmer is getting the correct reward for this.

With regard to climate action, 40% of the carbon attributed to food production, depending on the product, is associated with the waste of the product.

One could eliminate this. I am not a science expert, but the figure is based on a study carried out by a Dutch university that Mr. Dillon and I saw when in Brussels. The food waste element amounted to the equivalent of the production element of the food's lifecycle because we were throwing away so much. That is where it might come back-----