I understand that the IFA held a meeting in Mullingar this week with interested members on how best to move a new renewables working group forward.

The IFA previously had a working group focused on renewables, but it was disbanded several years ago, and its responsibilities were bestowed upon the environmental committee.

However, it appears that the environmental committee has been preoccupied with other matters, which has left farmers without a dedicated representative during a crucial period of renewables policymaking.

This has been detrimental to farmers, as the country’s two flagship renewable energy policies, which have been years in the making, now make farm-scale wind turbines and solar farms and farm-based biogas plants unviable.