A further ten Deputies are offering. We are going to have to be quick.

The St. Patrick’s Day festivities last week kick-started the tourism and hospitality season for many operators. They have had a torrid time over the past two years. Hopefully this will be a good year. There are many pressures on them, particularly those relating to inflation and staffing shortages. The return of the higher rate of VAT is looming in the distance. In the context of the inflationary situation we are in and the difficulties the industry faces, can we make an early decision on keeping the 9% rate of VAT beyond September? It would add fuel to the inflationary fire if we revert to the 13.5% rate in September.

I accept that operators in the tourism space are under pressure. They are hoping to see a significant return of international visitors over the course of this year. We expect to see that happen. The legal position is that the lower rate of VAT will be increased in September, but the Government will keep the situation under review and will confirm its position in due course.

There are various commitments in the programme for Government on land use. For example, there is a commitment to the effect that:

Within 24 months, we will evaluate the potential for contributions towards our climate ambition from land-use improvements and set in train the development of a land-use plan, based on its findings.

There is also a commitment to:

A national land use review, including farmland, forests, and peatlands, so that optimal land use options inform all relevant government decisions.

There is a further commitment to:

Publish a National Soils Strategy that will assess all appropriate soil health parameters and will inform future policies on good soil-management practices.

We have issues around land use coming into sharp focus in terms of the potential fodder crisis resulting from the conflict in Ukraine and the stark recommendations on land use in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. I am also aware of the European Commission regulation on nature restoration coming down the tracks. Where stands the work on our land-use plan?

The Deputy raised a number of issues about land use, which is central to farming, rural Ireland, biodiversity, protection of the environment and the future of energy. The Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Hackett, is leading a substantive body of work on behalf of the Government on the land-use strategy. I will ask her to revert to the Deputy directly.