Mr. Larry Murrin:

I wish I could offer consoling words about the weather. Unfortunately, that is not part of the remit I am asked to consider. Having said that, one can only have sympathy for all primary producers in beef, dairy and tillage. The country is literally under water at the moment. Bord Bia has a helpline for farmers which it activated when the crisis deepened. Farmers can defer an audit that might be in the programme, if the circumstances they face on their enterprise demands it. Bord Bia will be very sympathetic in these cases. The weather is going to continue to be a very topical issue for some time. It will occupy a share of the board's and the executive's discussion. However, like the lights I referred to earlier, unfortunately, we cannot switch off the weather.