Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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In addition to making contact with the landowners involved, which is welcome and important ongoing work, we should also audit and carry out extensive research into why those with planting licences are not planting. As the Minister said, the level of work, cost and man-hours involved is substantial so we should not allow that to go to waste in the case of 40% of the licences issued when there may be a small number of relatively easy measures the Department could take to bring those licences across the line. It would be important to do that.

I will not discuss organics as we are short on time other than to ask one question. On the procurement of organics by Departments and statutory bodies, has the Minister examined measures to support the purchase of organic products by bodies expending public money, for example, in the case of hospitals and schools?