Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I took a couple of notes on the presentation by Meat Industry Ireland. I would like a little more information on its representatives' views regarding the future of grassland in terms of carbon sinks. Mr. Carroll stated research is ongoing in that regard. At what level is that research?

Mr. Carroll also mentioned that the Irish model is very different from that in other countries, in particular as regards the intensive feed systems utilised in many countries, especially for beef production, whereby cattle are housed all the time and are never free roaming or free feeding such that they go out and find their own food. It is a very intensive model of beef production. I sometimes fear that such a system is becoming more prevalent in Ireland, which would be detrimental to the image we portray whereby we market our beef as being from free-roaming, grass-fed animals from family farms and so on, which is where consumers from any country would like to think their meat comes. Such production model is generally the case in Ireland but I fear that we are moving in another direction. Is the intensive feed system more profitable? I assume that is the reason for its usage. I direct that question to the representatives of Meat Industry Ireland. We must realise that money talks and that things will move in the direction of where the most profit can be made, regardless of what we want to do in terms of carbon sinks and so on. Ultimately, the farmer or producer will opt for what pays best.

In regard to the grain and tillage sectors, Mr. Carter mentioned that the tillage sector is an excellent carbon sink and, in particular, that sugar beet, with its long growing season, is one of the best carbon sequestration models, and is probably better in that regard than forestry and many other things. What is the source for that? I ask Mr. Carter to provide further information in that regard.

Both the Irish Grain Growers Group and the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association mentioned anaerobic digestion. A problem for many farmers is that they have too much slurry. Many farmers in my area received grants to build slurry tanks and are now storing slurry but have nowhere to put it because it has rained from August until now. What is to be done in that regard? If climate change is to lead to more frequent wet periods, that will have a detrimental effect on what can be done with the slurry that has been stored. One option is to consider anaerobic digestion and what can be achieved in that regard.

Has much research been carried out on the bovine digestive system and its resultant emissions? A report was published last year regarding a type of seaweed that could be fed to animals to assist in that regard. I assume there was some chemical make-up within the seaweed that had an effect on the bovine digestive system and I wonder whether any further research has been done into isolating that and its potential usage. It is possible that it was an airy-fairy report but it seemed accurate to some extent.

Is there any research being conducted to see if science can solve some of these problems?

The grain growers mentioned hemp. I knew a farmer in County Roscommon who grew hemp exceptionally well on very marginal land. Of course, he needed a licence to grow it because of its particular leaf and the problem that one could be growing something else in the middle of it. As everyone knows, there is no drug involved in hemp, but as it has the same leaf, the danger is that people could be producing cannabis in the middle of it. Could there be some alteration - I would not say a genetic modification - in order that it would have a different colour or something else to make it easier to obtain a licence? It offers a real option because the issue of plastics will really come at us in the next couple of years and we will need to find alternative models of packaging. Hemp has been around for centuries and could be used again.

The representatives of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association mentioned forestry, of which I am very much aware given where I come from. I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Andrew Doyle, about agroforestry and farming among trees. He told me that it was under review in the hope something could be done. The existing grants are very poor and nobody takes them up. Given the amount of work involved in fencing, etc., they are useless. If there was a proper grant available, a farm producing cattle, sheep or whatever else would have the economic advantage of the timber, as well as the carbon sink of the forest.