I wish to raise a cross-Border issue with regard to the poultry industry. North of the Border, the poultry industry is an important and large industry. Of course, a byproduct of that is poultry litter. Poultry litter contains a high level of phosphates. As a result of the North already having an abundance of them, and the South having a deficit, poultry litter has traditionally always been exported South of the Border under licence from the Department of agriculture. However, the Shared Environmental Services, SES, in the North – it is kind of a State-fund organisation similar to An Taisce down here – has raised questions about the export and spreading of this litter, particularly its impact on designated sites.

That has brought us to a situation where, in fact, there has been a suspension of licences being issued. The poultry litter cannot come across the Border and it is having a serious impact on farmers down here. As we know, the price of fertiliser has gone through the roof. They will have to buy fertiliser to replace this. It is a serious problem for both sides of the Border. Farmers in the North cannot get rid of it and farmers down here who want it are not being given a licence to get it. We need to get this resolved. I raised it with the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, in the past. He said he is trying to work something out. The Government needs to engage with the environmental services and the Department of agriculture, as well as with our counterparts north of the Border, to get this issue resolved as quickly as possible.

I am happy to raise it with the Department of agriculture and the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, to get a response for the Deputy. I am not fully appraised of the situation and, therefore, I do not want to put anything on the record that I may not be fully aware of. If it was suckler cows, I might have been able to come back to the Deputy directly. When it comes to poultry, I cannot do so, unfortunately.