Mr. Pat McCormack:

I am accompanied by my colleague, Mr. John Enright. Mr. Lorcan McCabe sends his apologies that he is unable to attend.

I am pleased to get the opportunity to respond to the Citizens' Assembly climate action and mitigation strategy. The recommendations that are of relevance to us are Nos. 11 and 13, which have a significant effect on the dairy and livestock sectors. Recommendation 11 suggests that a carbon tax would be applied to farmers based on carbon output. That would have a disastrous effect not alone on the dairy and livestock sectors but also on the rural economy, given the impact of agriculture on rural areas.

We must establish a few facts. The first is that global demand for food is increasing as the population is increasing. Dairy and meat remain main constituents of our diet. Ireland has been proven scientifically to be the most carbon-efficient producer of milk in the world and the fourth or fifth most carbon-efficient producer of beef. They are facts. Mr. Donnellan spoke earlier about Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025. Irish agriculture is on course to deliver the aspirations in that regard. When those ambitions and goals were set out, a commitment was given to the primary producer in order that they would drive forward for the betterment of the rural economy and the industry. We cannot envisage an unfair levy being applied. To apply a tax on the producer would completely undermine our ability to export. We are unique in that we export 85% to 90% of our agricultural produce. People need food and it would be unacceptable to be paying a liability and for the food to be produced in a less efficient country. Given that our climatic aspirations and liabilities are a global issue and not just a geographic one - it is not a case of Ulster against Munster or Connacht against Leinster - we need to be in a position to produce food in the most efficient countries. That would have a significant impact on the viability of family farms.

Recommendation 13 concerns afforestation and organic farming. I was interested to hear the experts from Teagasc say that organic farming can have a high carbon footprint for each unit of food produced. We must remember that. Another drawback with organic farming is that it is very much a niche market and is easily oversupplied. Not alone would it be environmentally unsustainable, it would be economically unsustainable if there were a surge towards organic production. The Government must incentivise and encourage more positive land use to mitigate climate change. At the same time, however, we must be mindful of the social as well as the economic issues associated with forestry. Previously forestry was stigmatised due to poor felling practices where eyesores were created in rural areas.

Methane and nitrous oxide are the main greenhouse gas contributors from the agriculture sector. For a farm to remain environmentally sustainable, there needs to be economic sustainability. Unfortunately, in the debate thus far this afternoon there has been very little discussion about economic sustainability. For that to happen, there needs to be an education process for food consumers around the globe. They must know what they are getting and where they are getting it. People get high-quality, environmentally sustainable produce from an Irish and European perspective but the bridge must be crossed in terms of the education curve.

We have heard about measures that can be introduced to improve efficiency from the point of production per food unit. The economic breeding index, EBI, and the use of slurry and fertiliser are important in that regard. Farmers have been active in that regard with the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, resulting in a significant level of applications for low-emissions slurry spreading. There are many opportunities to use slurry and to develop solar and wind energy that are underutilised. It is unfortunate that they were overlooked in the recent budget. Our European counterparts can make as much from the roof of the barn as they can from the basement, and a third of their profit comes from the middle. There is an opportunity.

I will reiterate the four critical points. We are carbon efficient from a dairy and beef perspective. The carbon stored in grasslands needs to be fully incorporated into the greenhouse gas emissions abatement strategy. Fertiliser and slurry management needs to be incentivised through schemes such as the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, to bring our lime pH up to the optimum level. Energy generation from renewable sources must be promoted. There is an opportunity to do that annually as well as through CAP reform. We will be pleased to take questions.