Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 May 2017
1144. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the fact that from 1 October 2017, the quota for sugar and the minimum price for sugar beet will be abolished and that sugar beet growers will lose a third of their CAP subsidies in 2018; his views on preferential trade arrangements introduced by the EU (details supplied). [19173/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraBy way of explanation I would like to give the Deputy a short background to this issue. My Government colleague Minister Coveney sought agreement at EU level to allow for the growing of sugar beet for the manufacture of sugar/bioethanol, at the earliest possible date. In this connection, he secured agreement as part of the overall CAP reform package at the final EU Council of Agriculture Ministers, which he chaired in June 2013, to abolish all sugar quotas by 30 September 2017. This agreement removes, with effect from 1 October 2017, the current EU quota barrier for operators in Ireland or other Member States wishing to re-establish a sugar industry and this opportunity has been broadly welcomed.
Two commercial groups have conducted feasibility studies into the possibility of establishing a new sugar/bioethanol production facility but it is important that any venture to develop a combined sugar/bioethanol production facility in Ireland would have to be a viable commercial proposition, and supported by a sufficiently robust business case in order to attract the funding from investors for the very substantial capital investment required.
The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive (as amended by the 2015 ILUC Directive) limits to 7% the amount of energy from crop based biofuels, whose use could lead to Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC), that Member States can count towards their 2020 renewable energy targets in transport. In November 2016, the European Commission published a proposal for a new Renewables Directive that envisages an overall European Union renewable energy target of at least 27% in 2030. It is proposed in the draft Directive that the amount of energy from crop based biofuels which can be counted towards renewable transport targets in the period after 2020 will be progressively reduced to 3.8% in 2030.
While recognising that a resource-efficient agriculture and land use sector can play an important role in supporting use of 2nd and 3rd generation biofuels, it is equally important that bio-fuel production deliver greenhouse gas savings and not impact negatively on food production and land use.
In conclusion, I am also pleased to confirm the current Programme for a Partnership Government makes clear that “State enterprise bodies will be asked to examine any substantial business plans related to rebuilding the industry with a view to considering appropriate State supports”. It is now available to those interested parties to move the project forward and to garner sufficient commercial and financial support to turn their plans into a viable reality.
