Mr. Cormac Healy:

On the issue of the future for the industry, we have set this out in a document on the future of the Irish beef sector. After Foodwise 2025 was published the industry itself set out its views on what was achievable and what growth it felt was possible in the sector. We put that out and published it, and we were before this committee with it. I shall refer to some aspects of it. On the expansion in dairy we had envisaged - with a vision, a want and a wish that the suckler herd is maintained in Ireland - that somewhere in the region of an additional 80,000 above the production on the baseline would be possible. Sucklers were very much part of that vision.

On the question of where product would go, we are going to remain largely focused on the European market and will try to continue to increase the profile of customers that are available for the European market.

Brexit is a big issue in respect of the outcome. I am happy to come back and go into more detail on that topic. Regarding contracts, there is some level of contracting between processors and farmers but it is not substantial or significant. The industry is not against it by any manner or means. A form of contract and forward pricing arrangement was announced two weeks or ten days ago by one of the companies in co-operation with one of the dairy processing co-operatives. Other contracts are in place in respect of specific breeds, production systems or supply at particular times of the year. There is, therefore, some level of contracting going on. Does it need to increase and would it be better if that happened? Yes, probably. Are there back-to-back arrangements everywhere regarding contracts in the marketplace for processors? No, there are not and that has to be worked on.

There was also a question regarding access to data. I think Deputy McConalogue asked this question as well. We get our information via Bord Bia in respect of the line-of-sight forecast numbers coming down the line. There is also work with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of the numbers of calf births, ages at various times etc. That is what we rely on for our forecasts of what is coming down the track. It is necessary to have some foresight of what is going to happen. We do not know exactly when those animals are coming but some idea of the kind of numbers coming through the system is useful. We have to give indications to customers as well as to when we want to do business, such as in the second six months of this year, at X level of production or of tonnage.

There is day-to-day interaction with the animal identification and movement, AIM, system to get clearance in regard to various things for veterinarian purposes and so there is access via the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the meat plants. Access is also required to establish whether animals are eligible for China or various other markets. Those are the kinds of access parameters we have. Without that type of access, we will not be servicing a market in China or wherever. That is the mechanism put in place and governed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

I apologise, I have forgotten the subject matter of the last question.