Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuil mo thacaíocht 100% taobh thiar den rún seo. Ní saineolaí mé ar an ábhar seo ach tá an t-uafás léite agam agus cloiste agam ó chuir an Teachta Pringle an dua air féin an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála agus é faoi bhrú.

Ba mhaith liom a rá gurb é an rud a léimeann amach ná go bhfuiltear ag déileáil leis na feirmeoirí mar chuid den fhadhb seachas ag déileáil leo mar chuid den réiteach. Sin an rud atá ag teastáil, do na feirmeoirí beaga ach go háirithe, in iarthar na tíre, ó Thír Chonaill síos go Ciarraí.

Is gá déileáil leo mar chomhpháirtí ar an leibhéal céanna toisc gur cuid den réiteach iad. Bhí an Bille maidir le hathrú aeráide os ár gcomhair inné agus beidh deis agamsa, an tseachtain seo chugainn, labhairt faoi. Tá an Bille sin ró-lag agus, mar sin, tá mé 100% taobh thiar de bheart a chur i gcrích maidir le hathrú aeráide agus maidir leis an rud atá taobh thiar den rud seo. Ach tá an leasú atá feicthe agamsa baolach amach is amach do na feirmeoirí mar go mbeidh siad ag brath ar cibé cén Rialtas atá ann amach anseo agus cibé cén tAire atá i gcumhacht chun maolú a thabhairt dóibh. An chéad uair eile, nuair a bheidh na cainteanna ar siúl maidir le CAP nua, i gceann cúpla bliain eile, beidh siad thíos. Beidh siad ar chéim níos ísle mar nach mbeidh an zoning talmhaíochta i gceist.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Pringle, for doing this. He was under time pressure for other reasons within our group and he managed to get this tabled for discussion tonight. I am certainly no expert when it comes to this matter but I have read in preparation for tonight and I have listened. I have talked with Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INFHA, and indeed, over the last number of years, I have attended all of their meetings in Conamara and throughout County Galway. I have listened to them carefully and they come across to me as a very reasonable organisation. They also come across to me as protectors of our environment, who seek to farm in a sustainable way.

Before I go any further, I want to preface my remarks to say that next week, I will be speaking on the new climate Bill. I listened carefully yesterday when it was up for discussion. I believe it does not go far enough. I am, therefore, absolutely 100% determined to force this Government to take serious action on climate change.

Equally, I would not support any organisation that did not have that to the fore. I see this organisation doing exactly that. If this amendment goes through as part of the CAP negotiations, it will allow this Government or a future government to take away the status of agriculture from their land. It seems to me that in dealing with the farmers like this, we are dealing with and looking on them as part of the problem rather than as the most important part of the solution on how to farm sustainably and how to deal with climate change. If we remove that zoning agriculture from the land they have farmed for a very long time in a sustainable way then we are creating terrible problems. We are also dealing with those small farmers in a most unequal way to how we dealt with bigger farmers and various derogations on various issues, as has been mentioned by my colleague.

I ask the Minister, and I see that he is listening carefully, if he is opposing this motion or accepting it. Would he look at this with the view to not letting this amendment go through? Who is pushing this amendment? Is it himself as a Minister on the Council of Ministers or who is doing it? I understand he has a very important say in this and he can stop this going through. I do not know; perhaps I am being unfair to the Minister and it is not coming from him.

Certainly, however, when I look at what the farmers have presented to me and what they have argued, I cannot see any reason for going ahead with this. They specifically ask a number of questions, which I believe are very reasonable. They ask why baseline conditions are being created under the good agricultural and environmental conditions, and they are only talking about GAEC 2, which farmers cannot achieve without undermining the eligibility of their lands. They ask why, after this has been pointed out, the Council is still determined to continue on this route. This is important and something we must address. I say this as someone who is absolutely 100% behind climate change legislation.

Their third question relates to how much of this is driven by the urgent need to offset carbon emissions for the benefit of other sectors of society. What is Ireland's position, as represented by the Government, on this?

Unfortunately, I am speaking before the Minister of State. I hope he will tell us that he is not opposing this motion. It is a specific and practical motion which urges the Government to work with the small farmers and the organisations who are asking that the zoning is not taken away. The Minister of State may indicate that he is not going to do that. However, if the amendment is made to GAEC 2, it will allow the Government or those which succeed it to remove that in the future. The farmers to whom I refer would then be left in a position where they would be obliged to seek a derogation in order to get their payments. They are now at a disadvantage working from a much weaker position, as opposed to being equal partners in our fight for sustainable farming methods and in tackling climate change.

Again, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this year in the aftermath of the pandemic and the declaration of the climate and biodiversity emergency in 2019. We also have the data from the international agency which drew our attention to the high emissions rates, notwithstanding Covid. We are going in the wrong direction on every level. We need to work with the farmers. We particularly need to recognise the small farmers who have struggled year after year to maintain a sustainable type of living which benefits all of us and the environment. I appeal to the Minister of State not to oppose the motion and to work with us.

See this speech in context