Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not think the Deputy is giving a fair reflection of what the food policy in Food Wise 2025 actually is. He talks about massive expansion in beef production, which we are not planning for. We are planning for a sustainable and controlled expansion, particularly in the dairy industry, but we are not talking about significant expansion of beef production. What we are doing is recognising the fact the Irish food industry and indeed family farms across this country survive in terms of their income on the back of the reality that Ireland is a very significant food exporter.

We continue to explore and develop new markets but the way in which the Irish food industry contributes to a global challenge of climate change is to show how it can be done with the lowest carbon footprint. We are already achieving good results in dairy in particular but I think we can do better. We are already also doing reasonably well in how we produce beef in terms of the carbon intensity of the production systems, which are, by and large, intensive grazing-based systems, but we can do much better in that area too. We are spending €300 million of taxpayers' money on a beef genomics scheme to improve the genetic integrity of our herd, ensure that our beef animals become more efficient, that we can slaughter them earlier and make sure that they are emitting less methane in their life cycle. That is the reason we have asked all exporting food producers in this country to sign up to the Origin Green programme, so that this journey is a transparent one in terms of how and where they source water and the carbon footprint of the production system as a whole as well as the carbon footprint of farming on beef farms in which Ireland is a global leader.

I accept the food industry has a responsibility, as do farmers, in terms of the climate change challenge. We will potentially need to look at radical solutions in how we farm, how we produce food and also our lifestyles. If Deputy Eamon Ryan wants to talk about that, he should do so accurately in terms of what we are doing and achieving as a significant food exporter in the European Union and as a country that is determined to show the way by means of the beef and dairy product that will be demanded in the future, regardless of changing patterns. If Ireland through its technology and production systems can show others how to produce food in a much more carbon-efficient way then surely we should be seeking to make that global contribution, rather than shrinking our food industry and farms.

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