Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the witnesses here. It has been informative, if not a little disjointed. That is my observation. I read their submissions and I also took the time to research some of it.

I myself have grown hemp. I am a professional horticulturist. I worked in the National Botanic Gardens here in Dublin and in Kew and in Canada, and I lived in Greece and that is where I grew it. My experience of growing hemp was very simple. Why do we call it a weed? Effectively, you throw it on the ground. It must have strong contact with the soil, but it will grow in any soil. It is a weed. It is a handy crop and many would like to grow it. I speak with some experience on it. There are many varieties and types of hemp, as the witnesses will be aware.

Of course, we have the issue around the seed. There is a real market for growing quality seed. There are inferior seeds of hemp in Ireland. I visited places where they have seed and there is a real industry in growing, harvesting and exporting seed. Many other countries will want our seed and we need to look at this cleverly. There are many by-products, as Mr. McCabe has said. I have seen hempcrete and it is very successful. We have the opportunities for animal bedding. We see it in the bloodstock industry; I have seen it used successfully in Kildare. We see it in the poultry sector; I have seen it used effectively in Monaghan. I have seen it used for industrial matting. I know nothing about it in terms of mushroom production. We are always looking at new alternatives in mushroom production and mattings there. There are many opportunities. That is why the witnesses do not have to convince me. There is a wonderful opportunity there when you look at it in terms of fibre, food, feed, both human and animal, in terms of mixes and how that is calibrated out, and then, of course, you have the oil.

The biggest problem with this industry is people's lack of understanding of it. Effectively, hemp is a form of cannabis. Let us call a spade a spade. That is what it is. That is where there arises ignorance to some extent and concern about public health and all the issues around all of that. Of course, we are aware of the toxicity in terms of the seed and the flower and the restrictions, and how do we destroy the flowers of hemp. I refer to the role of the Garda Síochána in terms of licensing and permits. Of course, there is an element of all that seeping out, and there are problems. There are many people growing cannabis in Ireland, there are many people growing hemp and there are many people who are irresponsible. Having said all of that, there are many people who are very responsible. I see it as an exciting industry.

Teagasc has done some amount of work on it, but it is a State agency. It is cautious and that is the concern. Going away from this committee, our remit here is agriculture, food and the marine. Therefore, we must clearly be interested and particularly excited about the opportunities in terms of an alternative crop, or a short-term or intermittent crop. Clearly, we need to do much more work. We need to collaborate with our guests and others in terms of the work and seeing it.

They might touch on those issues. How can we educate people more about this crop? How can we bring people on board and allay their concerns? How can we entice farmers and demonstrate to them? Through education, in Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, they will see this as a crop.

We are looking for new crops. We are looking for new agricultural industries. That is the really exciting part of this. Clearly, our guests have their own experiences of it.

I want to wrap up by saying that I see the benefits of rural regeneration. I see the benefits of the rural economy. I see all of the benefits, including the health benefits. We are all becoming so much more aware of what we eat. We are what we eat and what we consume. I see many other benefits and opportunities.

This must be regulated. Like alcohol or any substance, it must be in the hands of people who are highly experienced and responsible. That is a concern to us. That is where we have to go.

I would like our guests to talk briefly about the issue of seed, the production of seed, their knowledge of that production, and their knowledge of the quality and the certification of that seed because with that there are significant market opportunities. I thank our guests for their time. I believe in them. I believe in the product. I believe in the real opportunities for agriculture in terms of an additional crop.

Hemp is historic. It is interesting when you go back and research its history. It has enormous opportunities. I thank our guests for coming here.