Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If the Irish agriculture sector was transposed lock, stock and barrel to the United Kingdom, France, Germany or any other industrialised country where the average profile of emissions is about 10% of its total, it would halve the equivalent of what the United Kingdom and other countries are at. We are leaders on our journey to sustainability. Deputy Wallace argues that the livestock sector and the dairy industry are akin to fracking or the coal industry and that we should dismantle the herd. What would be the purpose of dismantling a carbon-efficient system that can and must do more when we would only see product displacing it on supermarket shelves with a far higher carbon intensity? What we must do in our production systems is become more and more efficient. We must drive down the carbon intensity per unit of output and maximise sequestration through afforestation and appropriate soil management. As the third leg of the three-legged stool, we must ensure the displacement of non-renewable energy sources in the agriculture sector.

See this speech in context