Mr. James Geoghegan:

The small print in the forthcoming ban states that there is to be no ban until there is a sufficient quantity of alternative quality product on the market. Currently, there is not a hope of that happening for the next two years. As Mr. O'Connor stated, it might be two years before PDM has a plant built. It is not even sure if it is going ahead with a plant yet, given the cost of the new treatment, which is a matter we have not touched on yet. From what I am hearing, a stake that costs approximately €10 now could increase to €15. Is a farmer going to pay €15 for one stake? Companies are not going into the new treatment in full force because they are not sure they will be able to sell the product, it will be so expensive. This is a significant issue. Can farmers afford to pay €15 for a stake compared with €9 or €10 now? This is a major investment for companies; I have heard figures of between €1.5 million and €5 million to build a plant. Companies want to be sure they have markets for an expensive product before they proceed. This is slowing down the product in coming to the market.