Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for the invitation to discuss the agriculture contribution to Climate Action Plan 2023. I am joined in the room by Mr. Bill Callanan, chief inspector at the Department, Ms Edwina Love, head of climate, and Mr. Liam Brennan, inspector of climate. We are joined online by Mr. Fergus Moore, senior inspector in forestry, and Mr. Philip Blackwell, agricultural senior inspector in land use.

At the outset, I wish to state my commitment and that of the agriculture sector to making the fullest contribution possible to achieving our national climate ambitions. Our great sector, which is the backbone of rural Ireland and ensures a balanced regional economy, is fully subscribed and committed to meeting our ambitious targets. The 51% cut in greenhouse gas emissions for Ireland is an economy-wide target and will need each of us, regardless of the sector in which we operate, to play our part.

Agriculture’s journey towards a greater level of sustainability is nothing new. In reality, our family farms have been at the vanguard of driving positive environmental change for years. Take for example, the huge level of interest farmers have shown in joining ACRES, our €1.5 million flagship agri-environmental scheme. We have had some 46,000 farmers apply to join, and just yesterday I was glad to be able to confirm that I have secured places for all of those successful applicants in the scheme.

Our farmers have a vested interest in ensuring a positive response to the climate challenge. Farmers and fishers operate at the coalface and see first-hand the impacts of climate change, and especially those extreme weather events. They are also citizens, and just like the rest of us want to secure a healthy and prosperous environment for their families and their livelihoods.

Climate change does not respect sectoral boundaries, and it does not respect industry boundaries. It is the challenge of our generation. It is a challenge that will only be solved by us all working together as a united force. The 25% sectoral emission ceiling set for the agricultural sector is a hugely challenging target and one that will see our sector change over the coming decade, but we are determined to get there. We were the very first sector to have a credible roadmap for achieving our climate ambitions. Scientific and technological solutions are evolving all the time as well.

In the climate action plan 2023, we have focused our measures on three key themes: first, inputs and additives; second, husbandry practices; and, third, diversification. In practical terms, the types of measures we are undertaking include reducing chemical nitrogen usage and changing fertiliser type, providing voluntary diversification options for farmers, while also improving the environmental dividend from our farmed land. Each of these measures is supported by a range of actions, setting out a viable pathway towards reaching our target. They require transformational change. To put it simply and bluntly, the target for agriculture is anything but business as usual, and will require transformational change.

I very recently brought forward legislation which will see the introduction of a national fertiliser database in the coming months. I would like to touch first on the inputs and additives strand. This will allow us to collect a range of information on fertiliser products as well as details of fertiliser economic operators and end users. It will also support farmers in reducing usage and engaging with industry-led sustainability measurement.

Nitrogen reduction is also supported through the continuation of aid for low-emission slurry spreading, LESS, equipment. More than 5,100 applications have been paid in full under the LESS measure of the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS 2, since it was launched in 2015. That means that we have more than 5,000 low-emission slurry spreaders in the country from that standing start in 2015. From 2023, I have increased funding from 40% to 60% under the recently-launched new TAMS 3 investment scheme for low-emission slurry spreading machinery.

Alongside reducing the chemical fertiliser allowances for farmers, we are encouraging the adoption of protected urea, which will help to achieve ammonia emissions targets in addition to greenhouse gas emission reductions. These changes can have benefits for the environment as well as profitability at farm level too through a reduction in input costs.

To touch on husbandry practices, in 2022, I established the Food Vision 2030 dairy group, and the Food Vision 2030 beef and sheep groups. Their purpose was to advance the actions for the dairy, beef and sheep sectors identified in the Food Vision 2030 strategy, taking account of the requirement for the sectors to contribute to achieving our climate targets. This collaborative approach has been critical to securing engagement by the sector in our decarbonisation pathway. Both the beef and sheep and the dairy groups have recently submitted their final reports, which have been published. While the measures put forward have not been agreed by all members of the groups, both reports offer potential pathways to reducing emissions, with specific measures identified as well to contribute to that goal.

Both groups recognised the contribution that methane-mitigating breeding strategies can play in building carbon efficiency traits into our livestock population. I am keen to explore how we can, with the necessary commitment of all stakeholders, extend the work we have already done to improve the genetic profile of the herd in recent years. For example, I like to, and am committed to ensuring that Ireland becomes the first country in the world to genotype all livestock in the country. Farmers have not been afraid of innovation and I think the genotyping space is something, if we can deliver on it, that will be of huge benefit to the entire sector.

Reducing the slaughter age of cattle is another key recommendation of the Food Vision 2030 beef and sheep group. I have taken both these measures forward into the climate action plan. The new suckler carbon efficiency programme I introduced is designed to specifically improve the environmental sustainability and genetic merit of the suckler herd. We have an overall allocation in this of €256 million for the next five years.

On the third strand of diversification, some of the diversification opportunities that are available will include, for example, more tillage, anaerobic digestion, organics and forestry. In tillage, we will exploit the opportunity for import substitution of cereals and proteins, adding to the sustainability of Irish-produced feed. I have ensured that support is available in the current common agricultural policy, CAP, strategic plan through the protein aid scheme with an increase from €3 million to €7 million per annum. I am also supporting new tillage land conversion with the tillage incentive scheme and carbon sequestration by the tillage sector through a straw incorporation measure.

Delivery of a biomethane industry of scale will be important for agriculture, but also for industry and the decarbonisation of heat supply. We are currently commissioning consultants to develop a biomethane strategy by quarter 3 of this year. There is a fivefold increase in funding for organic farming to €256 million to triple the area of land that we currently farm organically to 7.5%.

The number of overall farmers farming organically has more than doubled to approximately 4,300. It is absolutely fair to say that there has been a really significant step change in attitude, culture, approach and appetite to going organic. We are reflecting that in funding. Organic farmers are also eligible for support of 60% in the organic capital investment scheme, OCIS, and have priority access to ACRES.

TAMS 3 also recently opened, consisting of ten different schemes which will support farmers in this journey too. An example of key innovation we have is the solar capital investment scheme, which will see the grant rate increased from 40% to 60%, with a €90,000 funding investment ceiling available to every family farm, separate to other schemes in TAMS. I believe this is a real opportunity for which, again, there will be a very significant uptake from farmers.

Overall, the CAP strategic plan has seen a significant increase in national co-funding, bringing the total to €10 billion, with €1.5 billion included for ACRES. In addition to the effective deployment of the CAP strategic plan funds, the changes needed will require other levers, including regulation, industry and market incentives. Such messages and incentives from industry will be just as important as Government initiatives.

I am going to touch briefly on land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF. The decision to temporarily defer the inclusion of LULUCF in the sectoral emissions ceiling process is a good example of recognising when we need to pause and to take stock to enable better decisions to be made in the long run. It is important that we better understand what is happening with regard to our soils and our forest estate before setting targets as to what we will be achieving.

My priority is to ensure that we do not compromise action in this area, and continue to make progress in the meantime. The commitments made in climate action plan 2023 with respect to reduced management intensity on our soils and also in terms of afforestation are testament to this. These commitments are supported by my Department’s investment in the establishment of a national agricultural soil carbon observatory by supplying the scientific infrastructure to measure greenhouse gas fluxes from soils under agricultural management. This includes approximately 30 greenhouse gas, GHG, flux towers across a range of soil types over the country.

Last November as well, we proposed a €1.3 billion investment in Irish forestry over the next five years, with a comprehensive package of measures ensuring that premiums will increase by up to 66%.

We cannot achieve our ambitions of climate neutrality without the land use sector making changes over the decades ahead. To this end, we are also investing in our peat soils under agricultural management.

Change is not easy as all of the members here know, and does not happen overnight either. In addition to financial supports, farmers need to have access to the latest science, and the role of both Teagasc and the private advisory network in this regard cannot be underestimated either. Recently, we launched a nationwide Teagasc signpost farm network to showcase best practice in this regard, and work to showcase the direction of travel to farmers.

I want to mention briefly the commitments relating to the marine environment, reflected for the first time in a stand-alone chapter in the climate action plan.

My Department has committed to the delivery of a number of adaptation and mitigation actions which centre on four high-level aims. These are the national marine research and innovation strategy, or Ocean Knowledge 2030; research to address climate change issues such as rising sea levels, ocean acidification, fish distribution and abundance changes; increasing the resilience of our coastal infrastructure; and, finally, expanding our understanding of, and informing our behaviours towards, the marine environment and its resources.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for the opportunity to make a presentation. I look forward to taking questions on my role, as do my team, and giving as comprehensive an update as possible of the work that is under way in the Department and its direction of travel.