Mr. Se?n Finan:

This was a key principle we had in our 2019 policy paper and it continues through. It was put in because when we engaged extensively with a wide variety of stakeholders in developing the policy paper, there was a concern, especially among farmers and the farming community, that the industry would be developed, but at their expense. By this I mean there would need to be mechanisms built in to ensure farmers would get a fair return for their feedstocks. We have seen reports published where silage prices, going back the years, have not been near where they need to be to make it economically viable to produce that feedstock. We are saying we need to be cognisant of all the stakeholders along the supply chain. There is no point in putting in place supports, measures and incentives without being cognisant of the challenges some stakeholders along the supply chain have, such as what farmers are paid for their feedstock. If the price and the supports introduced are correct, the plant operators will have the ability to pay for those feedstocks, which they need to do in order to get them.

In reality, the feedstock will not be produced, in that farmers will not produce silage, unless it is economically viable for them to do that and it gives them a return for their investment, time and land. When we engaged with some of the State agencies and the farming organisations that was very strong on their agenda. We need to learn from the experience of developing certain sectors where people are not necessarily getting their fair share along the supply chain. That is why that point was put in there. There is a need for all policymakers and those developing and improving strategies to be conscious of the need to ensure farmers get paid for their feedstocks and that the plant operators like Biocore have the ability to pay those farmers via the support systems they get to produce the gas.