Mr. John Keane:

I will ask Mr. Curran to come in also. Some 64% or 65% of our membership are non-farming now; 33% are actively farming. Many of them come from farming backgrounds and 49% of our membership are female. We have many members involved in business in rural Ireland. The committee may have seen the proposals specifically for agriculture and reduction schemes this week. We have costed that at about €1 billion that will be lost in circulation in the rural economy. That is based on a figure mentioned to the effect that if 100,000 cows are taken out of the system, with 5,500 litres from each cow multiplied by the price of milk, that is about €250 million in direct income to farmers. Research also suggests that every euro that goes into a farmer's pocket recirculates in the rural economy between three and four times. That is €1 billion. Farming is important for the fabric of rural Ireland. We mentioned the importance of schools and sustaining them. We cannot overstate how important sustaining rural Ireland is, not just for our organisation and others. Young people are the very fabric of what happens in every village and community throughout the country, ensuring people are in schools, involved in the GAA and sustaining those communities.