Mr. Tom Canning:

There are four key asks in relation to this. As Mr. O'Driscoll already mentioned, we need funding for a knowledge hub, if you like. That is key to it in terms of feeding that information back. There is a disconnect, as Mr. O'Driscoll said, in terms of the research and the information coming back to our members.

Second, and critically important, is technical support. Teagasc has that structure where it has technical specialists in each of the areas. We will take the example of nitrates where it has somebody there to back it up. The goalposts are moving constantly, and we are facing into an ever-changing climate here. We are 100 days out from new nitrate regulations on 1 January. We still have not clarity on that. We need to be prepared for that, and we need the technical backup support for our members in order that we can answer the key questions very quickly because they are urgent questions.

Third, we need specialists who can organise and focus training that meets the specific needs of the five regions in which we operate. Without that, we are certainly disadvantaging the 64,500 farmers with whom we are dealing.

Fourth, we are looking for the publicly funded tools like the nutrient management planning system now. We are going to be forced into using an AgNav system under the new nitrate regulations here as well that are coming in.