Mr. Brian Rushe:

I can speak only for myself and I did not hear him say that. It is common knowledge that there is a 25% target for agriculture, and the State and the Government have no clear plan on how to facilitate and help farmers achieve that. Farmers themselves have put their hands up and said they are willing to do X, Y and Z and to invest in their businesses, but we have seen no level of support.

To return to the issue of anaerobic digestion, Mr. Punch was dead right. First, an anaerobic digestion sector is almost fairy-tale stuff, but even if we did have one, the mitigation of the emissions would be credited to energy or land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF; I am not 100% sure. The Deputy, like farmers, is asking me what it will mean but the bottom line is we do not really know. We still do not have a clear line of sight, and it is the job of the Department and the Government to give us a line of sight and to properly engage with stakeholders. As has been said during this meeting, the level of engagement has been non-existent.