Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There are two sectoral areas where we should not just rely on technology tweaks that a marginal abatement cost or MAC curve approach tends to bring but think about system change, which must come from the top down and the centre. One of the key recommendations made by the committee was to use a land use plan akin to what was done in the UK. Lord Deben was very clear about the benefits to be gained from a land use plan and I specifically sought this measure. There are many references in the agriculture section to some of these issues that we are talking about yet it is not specific and clear. Action 110 on page 54 states: "We will develop a roadmap by the end of the year to ensure the future development of agriculture and land use, including the forestry sector, will be built on environment sustainability and contribute fairly to Ireland's climate, air and energy targets." That roadmap could, and should, be a land use plan in the sense of not telling what every acre is going to be. The Government says it wants to increase afforestation from 5,500 ha to 8,000 ha but it says nothing about how many of those hectares will be new continuous cover forestry or a continuation of single species, clear felling and fast rotation. It is vital to have that detail because a biodiversity emergency and not just a climate emergency has been declared. I recall when our adviser, Professor Peter Thorne, an eminent scientist said that we have to seek win-win solutions. Land use is the biggest area for win-win solutions though the rewetting of bogs, the diversification of farming, and changing of the current farming model of just beef and dairy production at all environmental costs and these opportunities could be stitched in this. That has to be mapped and based on a land use plan. Action 110 states that other key stakeholders will be involved. They should include the environmental community such as the National Wildlife Trust and others that have an interest because this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to tackle the biodiversity crisis as well as the climate crisis. That can only work when one has a proper land use plan that operates from the top down. Is my interpretation of the roadmap correct? Will a land use plan be devised?