Over the past while, in the context of the challenges facing the entire beef industry and agriculture sector, many farmers have been exiting the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS. They had been promised that there would be a new green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, that they could enter, but it now seems there is nowhere to go until the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations are complete, and they are a movable feast. Has the Government any plans to open an agri-environmental scheme in the short term to accommodate those who have been coming off the AEOS scheme over recent months?

The Government introduced a new scheme specifically for the beef sector as well as other supports in the previous budget. I think the figure was about €78 million or so in extra expenditure on supports for farmers. I am not aware of a new environmental scheme, although obviously in the context of a new CAP I am sure we will see a whole range of new schemes being designed. That is, of course, still to be negotiated.