Mr. Joe Healy:

I thank the Chairman. I am joined by Mr. Thomas Cooney and by Mr. Thomas Ryan, our environmental secretary. As the Chairman is aware, 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 rural Ireland. Last month I spoke with the elected officers of the IFA at the association’s annual general meeting in the Irish Farm Centre and I referred to 2018 as being a defining year for farming. Never before have such major challenges as Brexit, the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, budget, Mercosur and climate change converged on farm families in a single year. Today while we turn our attention to climate change, I know that members of this committee are well aware of the impact of the other challenges, the most pressing of which is Mercosur. It is unacceptable to IFA and the thousands of livestock farmers who we represent to see the clear contradiction at EU level. EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, continues to push for a Mercosur deal with Brazil and other countries, while choosing to ignore the rampant deforestation and associated carbon losses in the Mercosur region, in order to export less sustainable beef to Europe. This is all taking place while the European Union's Commissioners responsible for agriculture, the environment and climate demand that EU farmers do more to address the climate challenge.

Even more worrying is the talk of the EU being prepared to concede extra market access for beef to Mercosur countries in order to reach agreement, about which we learned in recent days. We simply cannot have a deal which sells out Ireland’s vital national asset, the Irish suckler cow sector. No deal is better than a bad deal. These trade talks really highlight the need for joined-up thinking at European and international levels when it comes to trade and climate policy.

However, European and international leaders speak with one voice when it comes to agriculture’s response to the climate change. For example, paragraph 2.14 of the European Union's agreed pre-Paris position states that when deciding on climate plans, regard should be had to the multiple objectives of the agriculture sector as food, fuel and energy producers, as well as the environmental enhancement and lower climate mitigation potential of the sector. Article 2 of the international Paris Agreement reiterates the European position and reaffirms that food production must not be threatened when addressing the climate challenge.

This policy position is important in an Irish context because at a time of increasing international population, changing dietary habits and demand for protein foods, such as dairy and beef continuing to grow, research completed by the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, the joint research centre, confirms 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. Therefore, the ask on Ireland’s agrifood sector must be considered in the context of our sustainable model of food production and the need to ensure that sustainable food production is not compromised, as set out at EU and international level. These sustainability facts, as set out in the joint research council’s research, are welcomed, however, they provide no room for complacency. We need to build on our delivery to date. Since the established base year of 1990, agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 3.5%, while our national emissions have increased by 10.4%, driven mainly by the transport sector, where emissions have increased by 139%.

Key policy measures are assisting this. For example, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is targeting European funding through the Common Agriculture Policy to areas that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the sector. Almost 90% of the measures in Ireland’s rural development programme have 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. The GLAS programme is oversubscribed, with a high level of farmer interest in participating. I strongly encourage the Government to reopen the scheme and allow for maximum participation. Other programmes include the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, and the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, which assist farmers to reduce emissions and increase productive efficiency.

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

Ireland’s future climate policy refers to an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, which does not compromise the capacity for sustainable food production. This approach requires careful consideration. It was first proposed by the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, in 2012, without any regulatory impact assessment. NESC itself readily acknowledged at the time that a technical or scientific silver-bullet does not exist to decarbonise the sector. Teagasc’s subsequent report, which looked at carbon neutrality as a horizon point for Irish agriculture, clearly stated that carbon-neutrality, even as a horizon point, is an ambitious target that cannot be achieved over any short time period. However, the same report acknowledges the role of carbon sequestration and fossil fuel displacement to reduce the impact of agriculture and land use on greenhouse gas emissions. This is where farmers can do more.

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 being 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 compliance bill of up to €610 million by 2020 for breaching its current targets.

IFA believes that this money should instead be diverted into a climate activation programme, focused on policy measures, including the reopening of the GLAS scheme which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an additional 65,000 tonnes each year and the announcement of a farm-based and community electricity tariff for renewable projects, with a specific export tariff for roof mounted projects. This should be used over time to displace electricity production from gas, which accounts for 35% of greenhouse gasses emitted when generating electricity. The funding for this could come from a ring-fencing of 20% of the current electricity tax, called the public service obligation levy, which is paid by homeowners across the country and currently goes to large scale multinational energy corporations. I mention the scaling up of on-farm emission reduction programmes identified in the national mitigation plan, such as smart farming, Origin Green and the carbon navigator, and the development of a national network of producer organisations to support the mobilisation of the private forest resource.

It is national policy to increase forest cover from the current 11% to 18% by 2050. In 2017, the planting programme was the lowest in over 60 years with fewer than 5,500 ha of new forest established, 25% below the 7,400 ha target in the forestry programme. Last year we launched a plan to revitalise the farm forestry sector, which sought the reintroduction of the farmer premium differential to optimise the benefit to the rural economy. We also proposed that farmers would be properly compensated for loss of premium and future timber earnings on lands they are obligated to set aside for environmental enhancement and that restrictions on planting productive marginal would be removed.

In 2016 the Council on Forest Research and Development, COFORD, identified nearly 180,000 ha of productive marginal land that has the productive capacity to grow commercial timber, which is outside of environmental designation and that is excluded from the scheme. Over the period 2021 to 2030, afforestation since 1990 will remove an estimated net 4.5 million tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere per annum. Forest sinks must be included as part of the measurement of emission reductions in the agriculture sector. Currently, carbon credits from carbon sinks are not attributed to agriculture. Ireland has the highest level of carbon sequestering permanent pastures in Europe, which when combined with the opportunity to expand the forestry cover can promote a substantial national carbon sink. CO2 emission reductions achieved through natural carbon sinks, such as forests and permanent pastures, must be included in the overall measurement of the contribution of the agriculture sector to emission reductions.

The bioeconomy offers huge opportunities to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels while still achieving economic growth, however a sustainable and profitable farming sector is required to underpin the investment and innovation required to successfully deliver a strategy for the bioeconomy.

However, a sustainable and profitable farming sector is required to underpin the necessary investment and innovation to successfully deliver a strategy for the bio-economy.

Farmers will not invest in energy crops until they have confidence that a viable market exists for their product. We welcomed the recent announcement that a renewable heat support scheme would be introduced this year. It is vital that the scheme is properly funded and embedded in the local economy, to optimise the economic benefits by creating a new revenue stream for farmers and valuable new job and business opportunities in rural areas, where job opportunities are limited.

On renewable electricity, Ireland needs a better mix of energy sources. Ireland can no longer rely on big wind exclusively. This flawed policy has divided communities, created a concerning impact on the landscape and led to a transfer of millions of euro from Ireland’s citizens to large multinationals each year through the public service obligation, PSO, levy. There are alternatives. The cost of other technologies continues to decrease. Solar energy is now the cheapest form of renewable energy after onshore wind power. Ireland’s late-mover status in solar provides an opportunity to learn from others and develop a role in this industry for farmers, landowners and communities.

Ongoing delays and lack of certainty regarding grid access and prices are having a negative effect on farmers’ involvement. The IFA has sought to progress policy in this area, making submissions to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the design of a new renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, and to the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, CRU, on grid access policy.

If Ireland is to develop a citizen-centred renewable policy, as envisaged in the energy White Paper, the Government must act on its own recommendations. These include community feasibility grants, provision of loans, ring fencing grid access and the use of trusted intermediaries for community projects. The proposal for a tariff premium for wind energy production up to 6 MW must also be extended to other technologies, including solar energy.

The IFA is concerned by proposals to rely exclusively on an auction-based pricing model. For community, roof-top and farmer-led projects, the IFA supports a feed-in tariff model. This gives certainty and security of revenue, which is important for farmer-led projects as they are stand-alone and individually financed.

Grid access is one of the most important consents in any renewable project, and is vital for farm scale or community projects to proceed. Regarding the proposed policy measures put forward by the CRU in their recent consultation, the IFA supports the discontinuation of grid relocation, an increase in the capacity process and the requirement for planning permissions to be in place before grid access is granted.

The day of speculative trading of the grid, which developers have secured from farmers for less than €1,000, must be brought to an end. It must be replaced with a grid access policy which leaves no room for the speculator, but instead supports farmers and communities across the country to develop their own energy solutions.

Community renewable projects have been a goal of the Government since the White Paper was published. Since then we have seen large developers, foreign equity funds, pension funds and venture capital firms sign up large areas of Irish farmland. What we have not seen is clear Government policy to deliver on the ambition of the energy White Paper.

We call for greater clarity on crowdfunding legislation and platforms, to allow communities to finance community projects; the introduction of the necessary financial, taxation and pension instruments that would allow farmers and communities the opportunity to invest and benefit from the wealth created; clarity on grid access policy, grid which is affordable and defined and allows farmer-led and community projects to move forward with their projects; and the introduction of green bonds, low cost loans and feed-in tariffs, which would give farm families and households a fair and even chance to compete in the renewable energy production.

More than 25,000 acres of farm land are currently locked down in some form of a solar contract. This should not just be a conduit for profitability for foreign equity pension or vulture funds. It should be a means for creating opportunity and wealth for farm families right across the country. It really is time to make good on the promises of citizen and farmer involvement in the next phase of renewable energy roll-out.

EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan spoke in December at a conference in Dublin organised by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Commissioner said, “Ireland needs to wake up, and fast, to the reality that we are part of a European Union that has assumed the role of global leader in the climate challenge.” Within the agrifood sector, the IFA believes that the measures in this presentation around biomass, the bio-economy, farm-scale, roof-top and community-based renewable projects provide real and tangible ways to deliver on both our renewable and climate targets.