James Bannon (Fine Gael)

——or if it fails to put wood chip on the same footing as peat, commercial decisions will be made by the purchasers of these sites which may not have the same financial impact for farming or the local economy. I am delighted the Minister for Agriculture and Food has responded to pressure and recently announced an energy crop scheme with €8 million in funding. This will provide a boost to hard-pressed farmers and help to tackle the looming energy crisis. It had seemed our ideas were falling on deaf ears for some time.