Mr. Bill Callanan:

We are not at that level of processing in Ireland that I would suggest RENURE is going to be of any great advantage to us. There are opportunities in terms of the progression of that technology, the development of anaerobic digestion and the consequent further processing which, I understand, has to apply.

In terms of the changes that were brought in and why they were brought in, the nitrates action programme specifies technical calculations that are done in terms of, for example, the excretion level for every type of animal you can think of - ducks, geese, sheep, cattle, livestock, horses and so on. The excretion data for calves up to 90 days old was recalculated, as was that for those in the two-year-old category. As the Deputy described, the weight for the male went up and that for the female went down. That is all based on a calculation process done by Teagasc based on scientific assessment and the most recent science data. We had also that in respect of dairy cow excretion rates based on the introduction of banding. In other words, we are updating to take account of new science.

On phosphorous, the Deputy is correct that wastewater treatment tends to be a phosphorous issue rather than a nitrates issue. That is modelled by the EPA in terms of where the relevant sources of phosphorous that are going into the system are emanating from. Does Mr. Massey want to comment on RENURE?