Paul Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I have a couple of brief questions and I apologise if they have been covered.

There was a Vote in the Seanad so I missed part of this meeting and I hope that I will not repeat any questions. I am intrigued to learn about anaerobic digesters. How is there balanced supply by virtue of the fact that both grass and slurry are seasonal? Can anaerobic digestion use different products at the same time or is it slurry one week and grass the next week? How is the balance of supply kept right to keep anaerobic digestion running all year round? People depend on a supply of grass for the summer months but a couple of years ago there was a drought so grass was at a premium. Is there a contingency plan to maintain a steady supply?

Before I had to leave this meeting there was a lot of conversation about byproducts or slurry digestate. What byproducts or digestates from other materials are used in an anaerobic digestor?

Our guests have said that farmers will buy in if they get a price for their product, grass or whatever and the proposition is economically viable. How can we get the sector other than individual farmers to buy in?

The distribution of carbon credits is a big selling point for the agricultural sector. If, hypothetically speaking, in ten years' time we were flying in terms of using anaerobic digestors, the transport sector would gain more from carbon credits with the use of gas and the agricultural sector would still be the flogging boy of the class. How do the witnesses see the carbon credit being given back to the agricultural sector?

Finally, how much has the AD technology evolved, developed and improved since we started the conversation compared with when we started installation? Do the witnesses think that there will be major technological advances in the sector in the future?