Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. As a rural Teachta Dála from the constituency of Laois-Offaly, I, like many rural Teachtaí Dála, am very concerned about the impact of what is coming down the tracks and what is being imposed on us. The economic impact report commissioned by the Irish Farmer's Journaland done by KPMG showed us clearly what lies ahead, which is the destruction of Irish farming and the family farm if a blunt instrument like what is being proposed is used.

My question relates to the fact that all the good work being done on sequestration of carbon is not being accounted for. We have grassland, hedgerows and forestry. Would it not make sense to get farmers to get more involved in afforestation? Would it not tick that box? Dr. Mitloehner mentioned the fact we do not know how much carbon sequestration is being done by beef farmers. Does he feel an assessment needs to be carried out on the positive work that is being done here by beef farmers in sequestering carbon before a blunt instrument or a calculation is decided? Any pragmatic and logical person would say we should do the assessment first, rather than plunging a whole sector into chaos.