Dr. Maria Snell:

Time is the critical component when we are working with the environment to try to effect change and not only get the improvement but protect it. That is important to recognise. Also in terms of the farm business, time is critical and we need to be able to invest to see a future. Certain management practices are not practical to implement on a yearly basis in respect of the time or effort required and nor are they beneficial to the environment or water quality and we need to recognise that. Once we begin to implement these measures, the recovery of the system takes time. It takes time to see the stabilisation and improvement. When we get to that, it is about the protection of that improvement.

There are complex issues around each of those steps and how we deliver on that but we absolutely need to move beyond confining ourselves to political cycles of four years. While I understand why that is in place, we need a longer-term vision on this if we are serious about delivering change. I certainly understand that ten years is a long time and there should of course be checks within that, such as interim reviews or ways of measuring the trajectory to ensure we are going in the right direction. We must believe in and follow the signs and commit to that over the long term, as it takes time for the environment to recover and change. We know that and the science is there, too.

All parts of this must be balanced. There are the social and environmental aspects and then there is how that land and infrastructure in Ireland is managed. We work with a grass-based system; it is a system where animals are outdoors and one that has been in place for many generations. We wish to see that carried forward. Farmers have always worked with the environment and care very much about it. The key message is that we need time but also communication and understanding. That is why, as my colleague Dr. Hanrahan mentioned, we want and need more advisory capacity. Sometimes, it is just what we see but we cannot see our own blind spots. We wish to get more people on the ground in order that qualified professionals will be able to go out and look at what the issues are on the farm.

Enforcement has been brought up a lot. Rather than go straight to that, it is important that people have the opportunity to learn. This must be a behavioural change. If we want this to be a permanent change and not just something that we try to deliver on a derogation, it must be more than enforcement. We must be able to bring people on a journey and there must be learning from all actors in this. We must work together and know what the common goal is. What good water quality is and what that looks like for everybody in society needs to be communicated. Then, what is needed to do that? What are the practices that can be done on farms? In my experience, farmers are happy to do that. Sometimes, they are just not aware.

Farming has changed and there has been a step change now. We recognise that farming is not just about production but about the service as well. I think we have yet to catch up on how we reward farmers on this element, and how we build that into the farm business as a valuable commodity that society values. Imagine what it would be like without having good water quality or without having the production we have. We must move forward together and be visionary in what we wish to achieve. Ultimately, we all want the same thing and it is just around finding that balance. Communication and awareness are critical at every step so that we can get all the actors together and move forward and have that long-term vision.