Mr. Michael Moroney:

I thank the Senator for his supportive comments. I hope I have all the points in the correct order.

We have proposed a register to the Department and it has responded that we should create a register ourselves. We have almost completed the process of doing this. We will have several key points on the register. The contractors will be VAT registered and registered as an employer. They will possess contractor insurance policies so there will be proper insurance cover. They will have an audited annual safety statement to protect themselves, their employees and customers. They will also have a record of staff training for manual handling and the necessary safety training programmes. These are our five criteria. We suggested this to the Department which, in a sense, batted it back to us and asked us to come up with a suggested programme. We are at this at present. We are in the process of compiling it and we hope to have it in place before the end of May 2022. These are the requirements at this stage.

If farmers involved in some of the environmental schemes tick the GLAS box they have to identify a number of programmes in which they will take part. One of these is low-emission slurry spreading. They will get a grant based on the contractor invoices and the number of cubic meters of slurry spread. Quite a few of our members fulfil these requirements. They complete the invoices for their farmer clients, so they can satisfy the requirements of the GLAS scheme. We suggest this should not be restricted to GLAS but that all farmers should have access to it. If they have a registered contractor who provides them with a low-emission slurry spreading system they should be able to apply successfully for similar grant aid. This would encourage better use of equipment on farms.

Water quality issues with regard to forestry has been an issue. I note the committee has been very involved in forestry issues as have we on the forestry policy working group. It is important for us that the role of the contractor is recognised in this. It is important that when the forestry service in the Department identifies the new machinery systems or planting systems that it also includes input from the contractors. Ultimately, they are the people who will have to use the machines to carry out the work. It is not satisfactory for the Department's forestry service to come up with a programme of mechanisation or a forestry strategy without consulting the forestry contractors. Some of the proposals that have been made are virtually impractical. With input from contractors, who are the people doing the work, this could be far more valuable and useful and get far better results for the whole sector.