Ms Sadhbh O'Neill:

In our report, published jointly with the environmental pillar and Sustainable Water Network, SWAN, we recommended that the Government not support or develop any carbon market or offsetting project that uses land-based credits. The basis for that was research work done by a European NGO called Carbon Market Watch, which highlighted the points I made earlier in regard to the challenges with verification, showing additionality and proving permanence. If we cannot satisfy those criteria, it is unlikely that projects would even meet the new standards that are coming forward under the voluntary carbon market regulations that are being proposed by Mark Carney's Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets.

The reality is that we have to take action to reduce emissions and protect and restore biodiversity on our own territory in the first instance. If there are market opportunities, these mechanisms may well play a role in the future. For now, it is important we get our fossil carbon emissions down and stop releasing carbon from sinks. There is a stock of carbon in the soil, trees and hedgerows. It is urgent that we focus on what is available to us close to hand. We do not have to invent new, complicated and expensive schemes to do that. We can use our regulatory powers to set a price or to set limits on the amount of nitrogen that we are going to allow to be used in Ireland. That would have a knock-on effect on emissions downstream.

I will revert to the committee on the question on horticulture as I do not have that information with me today.