Mr. Joe Healy:

I thank the Chairman and members for inviting the IFA to address the committee. The agrifood sector is Ireland's largest indigenous productive sector, exporting food, drink and forest products worth over €13.5 billion in 2017 and providing employment to more than 300,000 people directly and indirectly. It has been a key driver in Ireland's economic recovery and is the backbone of economic activity across the rural economy.

Regarding climate, there are a number of facts that are often unheard in the climate and climate response debate. Since the established base year of 1990, agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 3.5%, while Ireland's national emissions have increased by 10.4%, driven mainly by the transport sector, where emissions have increased by 139%. Emissions from energy industries have increased by 10%. European and international leaders speak with one voice about agriculture's climate response. Agriculture's role must be considered in the context of the additional demands on food, fuel and energy production in addition to environmental enhancement. That said, Ireland has a responsibility to act, and within this context agriculture has an important role to play, while respecting the need to safeguard food production.

Ireland is taking a leading position by targeting European funding through the Common Agricultural Policy to areas that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the sector. Almost 90% of the measures in Ireland's rural development programme involve climate-reducing elements. These measures include the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, which promotes the retention of soil carbon stocks through the encouragement of climate-friendly agricultural practices such as minimum tillage, green-cover establishment and low-emission manure spreading techniques. GLAS is oversubscribed, with a high level of farmer interest in participating. I strongly encourage the Government to reopen the scheme and allow maximum participation. Other programmes include the beef data and genomics programme and the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, better known as TAMS, which assist farmers to reduce emissions and increase productive efficiency.

Emissions intensity as a proportion of output is the most appropriate climate measure of agriculture, particularly if we accept the position of the EU heads of Government and the international Paris Agreement of December 2015.

Research completed by the European Commission's science and knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre, demonstrates that Ireland has an emission-efficient model of food production. Ireland's dairy farmers have the lowest carbon footprint in the EU for milk production and our beef farmers are in the top five. This is not surprising given our natural grass-based model of food production and our temperate climate, with 90% of our agricultural lands being carbon sequestering grasslands. These facts around Irish farmers' emission-efficient model of food production are welcomed but they still provide no room for complacency.

Ireland is the only country in the world that monitors, measures and manages carbon from farm to fork. For example, 90% of beef exports are now in an audit and carbon foot printing programme and 100% of milk production is entering into a carbon auditing cycle. In addition, over 137,000 carbon assessments have been completed on farms to date as part of Bord Bia’s Origin Green sustainability programme. In the IFA, we are leading a voluntary initiative called Smart Farming with the Environmental Protection Agency. This aims to address the dual challenges of improving farm incomes while reducing environmental impact. In 2017, the average cost savings identified by participating farmers was €8,700, with average emissions reductions of 10%.

Under the renewable energy directive, Ireland has a mandatory target to produce at least 16% of all energy consumed by 2020 from renewable sources. This is to be met by 40% from renewable electricity, 12% from renewable heat and 10% from the renewable transport sector. Agencies such as the Institute of International and European Affairs estimate that Ireland is likely to be hit with a bill of €610 million by 2020 for breaching the targets. The IFA believes this money should instead be diverted into a climate activation programme, focused on policy measures including the re-opening of the green low carbon agri-environment scheme; the announcement of a farm-based and community electricity tariff for renewable projects; the scaling up of on-farm emission reduction programmes; and the development of a national network of producer organisations to support the mobilisation of the private forestry.