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Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 July 2019

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Questions (2135)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

2135. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of associated costs, including production costs, of a magazine published by his Department in a national newspaper (details supplied); the person or body involved in drawing up the publication; the way in which it is being distributed; the cost of the distribution; the number of national, farming and local newspapers that the magazine will be published in; the cost of same; if there is an online campaign; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34289/19]

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Written answers

The all-of-Government Climate Action Plan 2019: To Tackle Climate Breakdown, published on 17 June 2019, contains more than 180 actions that Ireland needs to implement to meet our EU 2030 targets and achieve our longer-term low carbon emission objective.

To meet these commitments, a step-up will be necessary within the agriculture sector - that means making changes on each and every one of our 139,000 plus farms. Delivering this scale of change requires a high level of engagement and empowerment. The Booklet, “A-Z of Climate Action”, highlights the actions that can be taken at farm level to enhance sustainability and demonstrates how the agriculture sector as a whole will contribute significantly to Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy and society.

The Booklet was produced and published by IFP Media and distributed with the Irish Independent on Wednesday 10 July 2019. My Department contributed €25,000 to the costs and placed an advert at a further cost of €2,000. The publication is available on my Department’s website.

With regard to the details of the costs of production and distribution, it would not be appropriate to release this commercially sensitive information which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the competitive position of the company that produced the Booklet.

As part of my Department’s public information campaign, further copies will be distributed next month at the Energy in Agriculture event at Gurteen College and at the National Ploughing Championships in Carlow in September. In the autumn, the publication will also be disseminated as an educational resource.

This publication builds on the Environmental Sustainability dialogue hosted by my Department last year which brought together a broad group of stakeholders to raise the profile of climate action and sustainability. Similarly, this Booklet informs readers of the scale of the challenge facing the agricultural sector with regard to meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emission targets while also signalling the likely future potential mitigation and adaptation measures that could be adopted to protect and enhance our green credentials.

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