Mr. Matthew Macken:

With regard to the anaerobic digestion, AD, sector, we are quite behind in Ireland. In the UK, there are in excess of 1,000 AD plants. There is quite a generous supply of indigenous fertiliser in the UK. I believe there are fewer than ten plants here on our island. The regulations in this area go back to the late 1980s and early 1990s and classify by-products of this kind as waste. We feel this is not correct. Liquid digestate, dry digestate and biosolids all contain valuable nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, that could be made available to farmers. The farmers I have been dealing with and on whose farms we have spread have had very positive responses from using such products but the area is quite restricted because of the legislation classifying these materials as waste rather than as by-products, which would make it more usable for all farmers. Endorsement from Bord Bia, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine would be needed to allow all farmers access to these products and to let them use them.