Mr. Brendan Gleeson:

Deputy Fitzmaurice probably knows more about peat emissions than I do. I cannot answer the question. What I can say, however, is that we went through a tortuous process, first with DG COMP, the competent authority for state aid approvals. That body does an interservice consultation, and that consultation went to DG Environment. I cannot say how many meetings and exchanges we had with DG Environment. Eventually, we came out with an approval that had the conditionality in question attached. From the directorate-general's perspective, this is the minimum required to make sure that Irish forestry meets all the relevant environmental conditions. We have a commercial sector here that might say this represents a complication in producing commercial timber. There is a Teagasc report on emissions from peatland, but I believe it relates to the assumption that peatland under agricultural use is completely drained. The Teagasc analysis concluded that some of the drains have not been cleared for quite a number of years, meaning the emissions from the land in question might be lower than might have been anticipated. However, I do not believe that would have changed the argument on forestry. When this is reviewed in 2025, it is a matter that we will consider, but I urge caution in that it is the Commission that wants the review in 2025 and to make sure we are meeting all the environmental requirements. Therefore, I do not want to give the idea that we can have a review and come out with something much easier. That is not the way things are viewed in DG Environment. We will have to go through the interservice consultation again.

I absolutely accept Deputy Fitzmaurice's sincerity and his view. However, I cannot come in here and talk about aspirations; I have to come in and talk about the facts as I know them to be. The facts are that we went through a tortuous process to get approval and came out with what I believe is a very generous package. However, that package comes with conditions attached, and that is what we are going to have to-----