The long-awaited National Biomethane Strategy is set to face further delays, as the policy will undergo a four-week public consultation period.

The announcement was made by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett at Thursday's Birr2020 Partners in Transformation conference in Offaly.

The policy, which was supposed to outline a roadmap for the development of the anaerobic digestion sector in Ireland, has been delayed twice and was expected to be published in January.

The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the policy document is complete, but a late decision was made to invite the general public's views on the roadmap.

A draft policy is set to be published in the coming days, along with a series of questions to which the public will be invited to respond.

The consultation will last for four weeks, and feedback received will contribute to the final policy document, expected sometime thereafter.