Mr. Owen O'Driscoll:

To come in on the training side, we must do CPD modules to become accredited FAS advisers. Teagasc advisers get five or six days' training from in-house specialists and have access to specialists throughout the year if there are changes. In the ACA, we are all volunteers. Sometimes we do webinars ourselves. A couple of us come together to educate our members. What we really need is support. We need to have the resources through a knowledge hub or an ACA specialist, which can then filter down to the advisers and then the 63,000 farmers. We must make a submission to the CAP consultative committee. That is very difficult for me when I am working and trying to run a business. We do not have the resources as a knowledge hub. It is very difficult. The three of us here are volunteers. We meet monthly as a national council. It is more difficult if you do not have access to supports and funds. That is the big issue. We have the knowledge and the ability. We just need a small bit of cohesion to make it work. We are best described as an untapped resource.