Mr. J.P. Prendergast:

I thank the Deputy. One of the key issues is engagement at the beginning. However, it is location. One finds that a lot of problems stem from the location of projects. It is very important that the developer, as part of the community, engages with the local council, because that in itself will give advice as to where these plants can go. Certainly, from a communities point of view, if one is going to build something at the back of my house, there is going to be an immediate objection, so it is very important. One of the things we have worked on is farmer-led projects - farm-led, on-farm based projects, where farmers themselves become the owners of these plants. From that point of view, one has got an immediate solution whereby on the farms themselves one develops these projects and farmers become part of this as a co-operative, since they develop these projects. Then one has an issue that as farmers are within the community, it is outside the locality of housing etc. Then it is certainly an option. With communities, absolute trust is necessary.

Second, one has to understand that everyone has a value on their house and where they come from. If they see anything going behind that within the locality, they are going to have an objection. The opportunity would be for farmer-led projects on the farms where the technologies can be. That is certainly an option that can be investigated.