Ms Tara McCarthy:

There is a broad range of questions so I will answer them in clusters. Deputy Cahill raised concerns on the attacks towards beef on the grounds of health and the idea that the dairy industry has successfully navigated this issue. I would challenge that analysis because the attacks are coming from three different locations and to both sectors. They do not come just from health but from environmental impact and animal welfare. I would argue that dairy is being challenged just as hard as beef in those areas. I stand over the fantastic work of the National Dairy Council, NDC, but I do not think the battle has been won by any means. There is a challenge to all the industry to articulate its benefits better, whether that is the job of a brand new agency or the current infrastructure in the shape of the meat and dairy organisations and Bord Bia, which can provide data to those organisations. Expertise is also provided by dieticians and there is a job to be done to co-ordinate that message. The campaign attacking the animal protein sector is co-ordinated and both areas need to be grouped together rather than separated. One has not done better than the other and both are equally vulnerable.

If we did not have Brexit, which is one of the biggest challenges facing our sector, the only thing we would be talking about is the challenge of climate change. These are two significant challenges to our industries and they threaten their very existence. I acknowledge the state of emergency but I suggest it is coming from the market as much as from this building. Many farmers and the industry in general signed up to Origin Green, and that is a strong indication of how much the issue has been taken to heart. The infrastructure has been designed and developed since 2012 so that we now have 52,000 farms on board, which is 90% of exports. Some 95% of dairy farms are on board and we have a strong infrastructure to collect data. We now need to move on to the improvement that is happening on farms. A lot of work has been done and a lot of technical expertise is driving the improvement, such as by looking at the marginal abatement cost curve, MACC, and the fantastic work Teagasc has done in this space. There is a significant obligation on Ireland to illustrate the improvements its industry is making to justify its existence, never mind its expansion. I am not saying it is easy but it will only be done by a coalition to look at and align all the targets collectively rather than by segregating them.

Mr. Brennan will talk about the industry structure and feedlots.