Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The final petition is No. P00035/23. It is to stop the Government's proposal to cull 200,000 cows and it is from Alfie Hollingsworth. This petition concerns the culling of 200,000 cows to combat climate change and meet their climate deadlines of reducing agriculture emissions by 25% by 2030. The petitioner feels this is a bad, and at the very least unnecessary, idea. The petitioner proposes a number of alternative solutions, including an emphasis on more sustainable farming practices and financial assistance to support the move to more sustainable farming. The case manager wrote to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. In its reply, it notes that there is currently no Government proposal to cull cows. Significant work has been undertaken by the Department and the wider agriculture sector on how the 25% reduction in emissions will be achieved by 2030.

The Minister established the Food Vision 2030 dairy and beef and sheep groups in 2022. Their priority was to chart a pathway to achieving the 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by 5.75 MT of carbon dioxide. Both the beef and sheep and dairy groups submitted final reports at the end of 2022. A key recommendation of the Food Vision 2030 dairy group was to explore and take forward a voluntary reduction scheme for the dairy herd which is being explored further by the Department. It states there will be significant engagement with stakeholders over the coming months on the parameters of the scheme. The Minister stated recently that no decision has been taken by the Government to proceed with such a scheme. No farmer will be forced to reduce livestock numbers as part of the climate action plan process. The Minister also stated that, owing to the serious concerns expressed by the farming organisations on the proposals for voluntary reduction schemes related to the suckler herd, they are now off the table for the beef sector. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department be forwarded to the petitioner for comment, and that the petition and correspondence received be referred to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Do Members have any views? No. Is that agreed?