Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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We have heard from representatives from various sectors. The biggest problem I see with this is that we are not making any more land. The competition for land is going to be intense. If one were to try to source ground at the moment to feed these plants, I do not know how it would be economically viable to do so. Banding and the pressure on dairy farmers to meet their stocking rate requirement is putting huge inflationary pressure on land. Tillage farmers are saying they are losing ground because of the extra competition that exists. If we put another stakeholder into the equation, adding more competition, it is going to cause more inflationary pressures. It is like a cake and the cake is not expanding. That is how I see it. Do not get me wrong; I am not against this innovation and this technology. I am always very much of the view that we have to embrace modern technology to reduce our emissions. This is a way of doing so by being able to use municipal waste and waste from processing plants as well as agricultural products to produce energy. I am fully in favour of these ideas but in economic terms I do not know how the equation can be balanced with the huge competition that exists for land at the moment.