Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I again thank Senator Lombard for raising this issue. As will be seen at events like that at Grange today, the farmers who are engaged in this process will obviously take the messages on board. The problem is farmers who are more difficult to reach, who are perhaps age profile challenged or in enterprises where the returns may not be as good. A key part of my message to this working group is to make sure that, through their networks, whether it is the farm organisations, the co-op structure, Teagasc or the private advisory service, we need to be specifically focused on those farmers who are harder to reach in order to make sure they are part of the message. They can also be part of the solution. There is a lower stocking density on some of these holdings so there may be capacity for better fodder conservation measures.

We have all the stakeholders around the table and this is comprehensive. Sustainability is critical to our international image; it is also a key part of Food Wise 2025 and is one of the five pillars within it. We will be maintaining this initiative for as long as necessary so we can ensure that sustainability is an ingrained part of the operation of any individual farm, be it dairy, tillage, beef or otherwise, as that is very important.