Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 October 2021
370. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he can through CAP or by way of other measures ensure that agri-food production is not impaired by carbon reduction measures given that Ireland’s carbon footprint is the lowest globally for the level of food production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51914/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Climate Act was passed by the Houses during the summer, and commits the economy to a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The Deputy is correct in his assertion that Irish food is produced in a way that is very carbon efficient by global standards. Nevertheless, the sector needs to step forward and reduce absolute emissions and contribute to the economy wide reduction target by 2030.
I have made my views clear on this subject over recent months, I believe the sector can meet its climate objectives, maintaining agricultural output but importantly reducing our emissions and contributing to National and International commitments.
The new CAP Strategic Programme will financially assist farmers to make the required transitions.
In addition, I will continue to invest in research and innovation which will provide further solutions for our farmers, for example, the issue of methane reducing feed additives is an area that I am particularly interested in. The Department has a number of ongoing research projects looking at this issue, including the following projects:
|
METH-ABATE |
Development and validation of novel technologies to reduce methane emissions from pasture based Irish agricultural systems |
€1,248,221.65 |
Teagasc-GRG (NUIG, QUB, AFBI) |
|
SEASOLUTIONS |
Seaweeds and seaweed-ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions from pasture-based sheep, cattle and dairy cows |
€300,843.90 |
Teagasc (ITS) |
While this will be a decade of change for Irish agriculture in terms of on-farm management, meat and dairy production from pasture will continue to underpin the rural economy.
