Mr. Brian Rushe:

I thank the Deputy for the question on the three challenges and if he asked me tomorrow there could be three different ones. The first one I have written down is to ensure that when we talk about or review sustainability, we look at the three pillars or the three legs of the stool, namely, the economic, the environmental and the social. Second, farmers must engage with the process. I speak to and engage with farmers every day and I would borrow Dr. Healy’s statement about the menu. Farmers feel that they are not at the table but that they are on the menu. That is not creating an environment for engagement and we need to address that. Third, current policy does not allow farmers to exploit the potential of renewable energy and that is a big issue. Farmers should be able to see clearly how they can get involved in that sector and provide energy, not just to mitigate on-farm energy use but to improve their incomes and make money from it. If we addressed that, it would be a huge step.

My view on just transition is similar to that of the former Bord na Móna workers. Just transition is about bringing people on a journey and not leaving them behind. I live in north-west Kildare, on the edge of the border where the rehabilitating bogs are and as a lot of the former Bord na Móna workers in the area are part-time farmers, they are being hit twice. On the overall challenge, sometimes the debate on the targets, climate action and environmental policy can be overly divisive from a farmer's point of view. It is a subject that raises passions and we are worried about certain sectors being left behind but sometimes the nature of this debate divides us more than it should and more than it needs to. That needs to be addressed as well.