Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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There is so much we can learn from those six catchment areas. I recently visited Castledockrell catchment area. Eddie Burgess is the official running that. I certainly learned a lot from that visit. There is so much all of us can learn from the experience and research. Overall, the message is that it really speaks to the fact that it is very different for different soil types. It is not straightforward; rather it is quite a complex area in terms of how nutrients react and how different soil types can absorb and respond to different levels of nutrients. As Mr. Nolan said, a nitrates farmer on 250 kg of chemical nitrogen can operate in a way that is very manageable and sustainable yet on a different type of soil, a much lower level of input can have much more potential for impacting water. It is really complex and there is a lot we can learn. I am committed to see how we can develop, expand and learn. The key point is to take the learnings we have from those catchment programmes and expand them to farm level across the country. I will hand over to Mr. Nolan for further comment.