Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

A prosperous and secure future for Irish agriculture is best served under our new climate plan. Central to that plan will be a new land use plan which starts, first and foremost, with a vision for the future prosperity of rural Ireland and the family farm. That will be achieved at the same time as we store carbon in the land using some of the mechanisms Teagasc has suggested, as I outlined, and many more. It will also look at the restoration of biodiversity as central to the future role of farmers in helping to achieve key objectives such as the management of flood waters and improvements in water quality. The latter is probably one of the most serious environmental problems we have on this island. We need to see a reduction in ammonia, nitrogen and other pollutants. In doing that, we will reduce the costs to farmers, which will, in turn, help them to achieve the prosperous future to which the Deputy alluded. All of this must be done in an integrated way. It is not about telling farmers what to do or removing their business capability and instinct or their management skills in looking after the land. Farmers will be the front-line heroes in our climate response. I look forward to working with them on delivering a low-carbon, high-value future for farming.

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