Mr. John Keane:

Yes. On the Senator's question on training modules for farmers and what that looks like, this is not something new for Macra na Feirme. We conducted research on this in 2015 to 2016 and the Broadmore report was produced by the late Pat Bogue in 2017 on what a continuous professional development, CPD, framework looks like for the agricultural sector. That is a whole-of-sector approach to developing a CPD framework that delivers for farmers. We have had that constantly on the agenda for the past three or four years with little movement in getting it developed, bringing the CPD framework into the limelight and having it as an approval system for farmers as they develop. We should compliment farmers on being very good at what they do but if they were in any other profession, they would have to maintain a certain number of credits or points over three or four years, or whatever it might be.

It offers an opportunity for farmers to get the credit for the training modules they are doing. They could be on-farm safety, grass production, nutrient management or soil management modules. Farmers are already actively engaged with all of these things. It is through such an overall arching framework that we see the development of a training framework for farmers. We have some offerings where a CPD stamp is put on training modules for farmers when there is no accreditation or verification system and no overall framework for that. We recognise that within different organisations, our own included, our Skillnet programme has a huge role to play in providing training for farmers and non-farmers alike. That could be the practical application of farming through the likes of our dairy, artificial insemination, AI, freeze branding or other such practical courses or leadership development, dairy engagement or grassland-based modules.

That is where we see it coming from but there has to be an overall framework in which to develop that. We have engaged with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Heydon, on it and there has been progress and discussions on it in recent months. We need that stakeholder group to be set up to oversee the establishment and verification of that. Macra na Feirme does not want ownership of this and we recognise that other organisations and institutions such as Teagasc have a huge amount to contribute. It is not that Macra na Feirme wants to own these kind of things but we want the establishment to ensure it is there for the wider population of farmers and to ensure those are delivered to a relevant standard.