Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I thank all the witnesses for their presentations. It is really important to bring everyone into one room to have these discussions. It is clear that there is still a long way to travel to reach agreement. However, there are areas where there is agreement. I think everyone is in agreement that rural and farming communities need to be supported to make the changes and that those will require financial supports. We also agree that there should be consultation. Agricultural communities and the scientific community need to be involved in the discussions on engagement. How much consultation has there been to date with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications or Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine on this issue? I would like to get a sense of what has happened and what the witnesses would like to see happen. It is really important that we get this right and that it is done on a collaborative basis as much as possible.

I understand that the economic impact of this is a major concern to the agriculture sector. The social and economic impact of these changes was referenced. The evidence is clear; environmentally we are in a much worse place than we were even 20 years ago from a biodiversity loss and climate perspective. Dr. McGoff mentioned that only 20 of our waterways are actually pristine versus 500 just 20 years ago. We are really on the wrong path environmentally. When planning for the future is the social and economic impact of not doing anything taken into account? We will see changes in things like flooding, weather patterns and drought patterns. Are those taken into consideration? My two questions are on consultation and the impact of not doing anything.