Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. If I can paraphrase Deputy Nolan, she said that farmers deserve credit where credit is due. I echo that. I made the point earlier before the Deputy came into the Chamber that long before it became popular to talk about sustainability, farmers were on this journey, referenced by the fact that the much-lauded previous environmental scheme, the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, is back in vogue. That goes back to more than a decade ago so farmers were embracing environmental ambition and sustainability long before the issue had much traction politically, and they deserve credit for that.

There are debates about methane and nitrous oxide, which has been referred to. We have strategies to deal with that now. For example, we grant-aid low emissions slurry spreading equipment. I do not have the figures with me but a substantial number of farmers have availed of that. That reduces the NOx emissions in agriculture. In terms of inorganic fertilizers, we are looking at the use of protected ureas, protected calcium ammonium nitrate, to ensure that NOx emissions are significantly reduced.

I accept the point Deputy O'Donoghue made about anaerobic digestion. It is an industry that is very much in its nascent stage here. It is one on which my Department and that of Deputy Bruton have been working. Slurry, of its own, is not a sufficient feedstock for it but it is certainly one that will have a greater role to play.

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