Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 June 2020

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (Resumed)

 

3:50 pm

Photo of Michael MoynihanMichael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister or the Department might respond to us on any questions we ask. In the discussion about climate change and agriculture, we have, collectively, to be very strong in respect of our support for the agriculture industry. From the consumer's point of view, we produce the finest product in the world. We produce an expert product that, for those who consume it, whether in the home or the restaurant, is top quality. We have to be very strongly supportive in that regard and make no apologies for the product being made. We then have to go back to the primary producer, who has in recent decades conformed to all the regulations, going back to those that were nearly impossible to envisage. Farmers comply with them daily. As the Minister will know through the Department, they comply with the regulations almost 100%, in terms of ensuring there is traceability and accountability for the product that has been produced. We must acknowledge the farmers who do that and farm families the length and breadth of the country, as well as the product we have.

We then have to tie that in to the challenges that exist, not only in Ireland but also throughout the rest of the world. We can stand over the product we export, however. I am aware that the Minister has been at many trade talks right across the world and can stand over the product. Any Minister, Department or official can stand over the product our sector is trying to sell.

We must ensure farmers continue to produce. Many parishes and communities will say there are no young farmers taking over or that, having moved on to other jobs, they are simply not going back to farming because they do not see a future in agriculture. We will have to make sure the agriculture industry is attractive to young people and that it is an attractive one in which to have a livelihood and to comply with the regulations.

As we renegotiate the CAP, we must ensure the family farm is protected. As we go forward, we must have a new agri-environmental scheme that is genuinely an environmental scheme. The one that existed 25 years ago made a huge difference to rural Ireland in a raft of areas. I could go on at length as a practising farmer but those are the few words I have on agriculture.

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