Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Review of Food Harvest 2020 Strategy: Discussion

4:20 pm

Photo of Andrew DoyleAndrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses. The meeting has been very informative and thought-provoking. Next week, Bord Bia and the Irish Dairy Board will attend the committee. The farm organisations have been in attendance. I see a common sense of purpose between the producers and the processors in fighting the distortion in the market. It has been a common theme in all four presentations. It gives an extra sense of purpose to our advocacy as parliamentarians to have that code of practice brought in on a statutory basis.

The committee has highlighted the obvious collision course between climate change objectives and Food Harvest 2020. We must look at the statistics, the one in eight versus the one in eight in heavy steel production. Our statistics nationally from agricultural output will be skewed heavily. I refer to the 20% under production, or under EU average, which is probably 30% under production given that we can produce more within the existing herd, which does not mean any greater output of greenhouse gas emissions. There is much information here which we intend to bring, by way of a report, including our findings on the whole process, to the Minister. We would be happy to submit it the witnesses. I again thank the witnesses.