Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our guests for coming to meet us this afternoon and I wish them céad míle fáilte. The committee recently presented its climate action report to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the Dáil. We were very conscious of a just transition for our peat industry when we were considering that report and yet our Government has had to commit to not using peat for energy generation after 2028. We have three power stations, two of which are based in Edenderry and Shannonbridge in County Offaly, which I represent. Many jobs are already being impacted and even more will be over the next decade. Is it possible for Ireland to source EU funding for such regions? EU funding is currently limited to the coal regions and I am anxious to see that extended.

Agriculture is the cornerstone of our economy, but we are aware that it is responsible for about one third of our emissions. Mr. Petriccione has spoken about building the bio-economy and natural carbon sinks. Has he any comment to make on whether there are specific areas or actions we can take to reduce our emissions profile from agriculture?

My final question is about the potential for carbon sequestration in our peat lands and our capacity to increase forestation. Could the benefits for land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, from carbon sinks such as these be used to offset emissions in the agricultural sector or other emissions across the economy?