Mr. John Muldowney:

I will not claim to be an expert on the food waste side of things, but we can get back to the Senator with some material on that. There is Bord Bia's Food Dudes programme, which encourages good practice among kids in respect of food. The Senator raises a very important point about the discussion surrounding agriculture and climate. The European Council conclusions as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, report recognise the inherent challenge in our having to balance the demands on agriculture with the necessity of food production. The Council conclusions recognise that these are intrinsically linked. So does our national policy, which is an approach to carbon neutrality that does not negatively impact food production. We have a responsibility in this regard, as Senator Daly said. The figure we work off is the requirement to increase investment in agriculture for food by at least 60% by 2050. We must contribute to that environment but must equally contribute to the national ambitions. That is why the balance between reducing our own footprint and committing to carbon removal through sequestration, be it afforestation or management of peatlands, etc., is critical. This is the reason for the €3 million that has been assigned to the Department to carry out pilot projects in respect of carbon removal, which will include at its forefront peatland management measures. These projects are critical to striking the balance between food and carbon removal and delivering on both objectives.