Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I come from an agricultural background. Before I was elected to this House, I spent a long number of years representing farmers. We run a family farm in County Tipperary and I am delighted the next generation is taking on that mantle. I want to ensure he is economically sustainable on that farm and that he can make a living like I did before him, his grandfather did before me and the generations before us did.

I am proud to be one of the many thousands who make up the Irish agrifood industry. This is an industry that totalled €14.5 billion in exports in 2019, 9.5% of Irish merchandise exports. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine stated in September of last year that 164,000 people are employed in the agrifood sector, 7.1% of the total population of our country. Last week, a respected analyst and economist said we should renege on our responsibility to feed a large proportion of the world. I fundamentally disagree with that statement. We have the ability in this country to produce food sustainably. We are able to produce food for 60 million people and we do that more sustainably than virtually all other parts of the world. To say we would reduce our production to allow food to be produced elsewhere less sustainably is environmental madness as well as economic madness.

Agriculture is the backbone of rural Ireland. It is the backbone of the rural economy. When this country was pulled out of the last recession, it was the SMEs and our rural farmers who were looked to in order to boost the economy. Moreover, with over 160,000 people employed and exports with the value of €14.5 billion, it is impossible to deny the essential role farmers play in the Irish economy and Irish society. I will quote from the European Commission's website:

Rich, fertile soil, a mild climate and all that rain we love complaining about makes Ireland perfect for farming, and we’ve taken advantage of that fact for generations. Agriculture has provided us with food and income for thousands of years and it’s a vital part of who we are.

The Commission also highlighted that 71.6% of our country, almost 70,000 sq. km, is agricultural land. Another 11% is used for forestry. As a result of all this, we are one of the most sustainable producers of food on the planet. Our little island feeds a significant part of the world. Members will not hear me denying that climate change is a massive issue; I fully accept it is. I appreciate that change is necessary, that burying our heads in the sand or soil will fix absolutely nothing and that it will actually make things worse. I will never be one of the Members of this House who shouts and roars from the sidelines, ignoring the science and trying to rile up the masses. However, I will not sit back and allow a naive and at times ignorant view of Irish agriculture to decimate this essential industry and cut off our nose to spite our face. I fully recognise this country faces massive challenges in relation to climate change but any moves we make must be both economically and environmentally sustainable, and that is of paramount importance for rural Ireland.

The Glanbia cheese plant in Belview, County Kilkenny is a prime example of this. This is plant is environmentally and economically viable and sustainable. While objectors did their best to frustrate this plant, thankfully they were not successful. Thankfully that is now over and the development of this plant can continue at pace. This plant followed Government policy exactly, specifically on diversifying dairy production post Brexit, by building a plant that can produce 50,000 tonnes of Gouda cheese for the European market, thus reducing our dependence on the British market, which is absolutely essential in the post-Brexit era. This plant met the rigorous standards and expectations of An Bord Pleanála and the objections launched against it did nothing except defeat the purpose of everyone working together to meet environmental targets. When An Taisce uses weak environmental arguments in court to attempt to defeat a viable process of development, it does more harm than good to the green agenda. It polarises opinions and makes those who would rather bury their head in the sand than acknowledge the major issue of climate change appear legitimate. There must be a middle ground in this debate that recognises that change is necessary but it must be change that is sustainable and viable and supports the farmer and rural Ireland in moving towards more sustainable climate-friendly practice, which also protects the industry that is the backbone of rural Ireland. Farmers, who are the custodians of rural Ireland, will not forgive or forget this attempt to stop this vital infrastructure.

There are two camps who are already firmly entrenched in the climate change debate in this country. There are those who scream and shout about rural Ireland and the rural people and make a song and dance about being the saviours of the rural way of life. They would rather deny climate change exists than try to offer up viable solutions to the problem and tackle the issue in a way that will support and benefit rural Ireland. On the other side of the debate are those who vocalise short-term solutions to climate change; those who demand the cutting of the national herd. Their proposals are almost comical in their naivety and do absolutely nothing to support rural Ireland and nothing to ensure a just transition for farming communities. They do nothing more than appeal to their mostly urban bases. Unfortunately, both these sides are vocally and loudly represented in this House. I will not respond to either side's attempts to polarise the debate or force their own agenda through, as both sides will, in my view, do more harm than good. I will passionately hold a centre ground that is sustainable, logical and achievable. It is a reasonable approach that will tackle climate change and protect our environment but will also bring rural Ireland along with it in an environmentally and economically sustainable way.

There are new technologies and new methods of farming which must be adopted to reduce emissions and guide farming towards a more sustainable future. By means of State investment in and support of some of the technologies and methods I will discuss shortly, we can turn the narrative away from rural Ireland being intimidated and a victim of environmental policies and climate change. Instead, rural Ireland and farming communities will have the potential to drive the agenda, benefit from it both environmentally and economically and not be driven by the polarised view some in this House would try to force on rural Ireland, on both sides of the argument. In other words, let us adopt a common-sense approach to this issue. I refer to anaerobic digestion, the installation of solar panels on the acres of roofing on the farm buildings we already have, wind turbines and solar farms. All of these have huge potential for the creation of renewable energy and to meeting our carbon reduction targets. All of these technologies can be rolled out in rural Ireland for the benefit of rural Ireland. Polices that promote and support the production of renewable energies on farms could also have additional positive impacts such as the reduction of electricity bills for farmers. The electricity is a considerable expense, especially on dairy farms, and any way to alleviate this while also benefiting the environment will always be welcomed. My reason for making this point is simple; introducing policies which promote renewable energy production on our farms such as solar, wind or biogas will benefit rural Ireland instead of rural Ireland being intimidated by climate-friendly policies.

I am Chairman of the Oireachtas agriculture committee. We recently invited Teagasc to appear before us. Teagasc is a body with a huge reservoir of research and knowledge in this area and it is being completely underutilised. The short-term utterances we hear from certain people on the cutting of the national herd are comical in their naivety and will do nothing to seriously tackle the long-term global issue that is climate change.

We are the most sustainable producer of dairy produce in the world and of beef in the EU. Management of climate change must be sustainable but we must also be able to feed the world. What is the point in cutting the national herd in Ireland and sending the world's population elsewhere to source its food from countries that are over twice as inefficient at producing food as we are? What is the point in tapping ourselves on the back, feeling superior as proud environmentalists, having slashed our national herd, decimated rural Ireland, and having lost billions of euro in export revenues just to drive even more demand to beef production in Brazil where the animals bear the impact, or to other countries where environmental protection or food quality could not be further down the list of priorities?

We must bring this debate on agriculture in rural Ireland back to a common-sense approach. I will not deny that changes must be made but let us look at long-term solutions. Research has been done into the feeding of animals and how this might reduce methane emissions from farm animals. This research should be supported, funded and rolled out as common practice when it is workable.

Low emission slurry spreading and protected urea are seeing huge advances in their respective areas. The fact that contractors cannot avail of grants for low emissions slurry spreading is nonsensical. The vast majority of farms are now using contractors to spread slurry and we want to advance this area. They need grants to improve the machinery and technologies they are using to reduce the environmental impact of this work. Protected urea is significantly dearer than other forms of nitrogen. Again, to encourage its use, it should be subsidised until farmers are in the practice of using it on an extensive basis. This is not a black and white debate and it cannot be us versus them. This cannot be about urban versus rural Ireland. We need a middle ground common-sense approach that supports our moves to a more sustainable future that protects both the environment and our food production.

There is growing evidence of the role that anaerobic digestion technology in producing biomethane and biofertilisers must play across rural Ireland alongside more established renewable energy sources in a transition to low carbon climate-resilient communities and sustainable food production within a high quality environment. Agri-based biomethane and biofertiliser production is uniquely placed as the one viable renewable energy option to decarbonise Ireland’s food production. The effectiveness and commercial viability of this technology has been proven through economic research and scientific advice. Biomethane production could also contribute significantly to decarbonising agriculture without competing or impacting on food production. By using anaerobic digestion technologies we can dramatically reduce our emissions while also continuing to reduce water pollution and considerably cutting the work involved in managing slurry on farms and in piggeries. This can lead to less slurry going out on the land, less time spent managing slurry, lower emissions, the creation of biogas for sale to the grid, and the production of organic fertilisers. The technology is one obvious and sensible way to considerably reduce our emissions, to protect our environment and benefit farmers all in the one go. This agri-based biomethane green energy model not only tackles climate change but also sustains farms, creates rural jobs, and benefits water and air quality, soil regeneration and biodiversity.

There is a serious logjam in the system which needs to be addressed in respect of selling electricity back to the grid, whether it is produced by wind, solar or biodigesters. This has to be removed and the selling of this locally produced energy to the grid must be incentivised and supported financially. Community involvement in these renewable projects is vital going forward. We need community buy-in.

I welcome that the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, opened up certain sections of the power grid to community power sources last year and I spoke on this issue in the House at that particular time. That is what just transition must look like for rural Ireland. These are the conversations that we will voice and that this debate must have. We must develop policies that will make the most of modern technologies and that can assist in our battle against climate change without destroying the industry that is the backbone of rural Ireland.

The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, was formulated as the cornerstone of EU policy to ensure top quality food at lower prices and this has been achieved for the past 60 to 70 years. Now we are fundamentally changing CAP with the taking way of price supports and a significant amount instead being paid into greening measures. We see that the French Government is now calling out for an appraisal of the cost of production for primary producers. If CAP is going to be green-based going forward, this policy must work in tandem with the primary producer getting a fair return from the marketplace. This is a complete change of policy and when the Commission is doing this, it has to ensure that this happens. If this new policy direction happens with an EU-wide evaluation of the cost of primary production, what the French are doing at home must be done by all EU countries. If CAP is to be changed for good then we have to ensure that fair prices are protected for producers.

We find ourselves at the moment in a laughable situation on peat production where we are now importing peat from outside this country. Horticultural peat moss is being imported from the eastern side of the Continent and briquettes are coming in from Germany. By attempting to protect the Irish bogs by ceasing all production, we are doing even more harm to the environment. This is a nonsensical approach to take to climate change. Some 1.5% of our bogs is all that we need to produce the peat moss necessary for the horticultural industries here in Ireland. At the moment, what is more natural and sustainable than using this horticultural product to grow plants that rot back into the soil? We currently do not have a suitable substitute product for this available, so we must use what we have.

The idea of bringing this peat moss across the EU is laughable and does nothing more than give ammunition to those who refuse to acknowledge climate change and gives them a stick to beat the sensible approaches that are out there. The middle ground of common sense needs to be adopted. Common sense has to be part of all environmental decisions and it certainly is not when it comes to peat harvesting in this area. A blanket ban is not common sense. As Chairman of the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine, our committee held a briefing on this issue and we received an assurance from an official in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that a licence would be granted to harvest this summer. We were told that this would happen in April. Unfortunately, it still has not come through. It is completely regrettable that we are allowing our horticultural and nursery industries to be treated in this way where their cost base has been destroyed by the extra costs that have been imposed on them. This is of no environmental or economic sense.

Forestry can play a very significant role in meeting the challenges that we have with climate change. Unfortunately, our forestry sector in this country is grinding to a halt. A timber contractor rang me last Friday and he was in both economic and emotional despair. This man had built up a business over a great number of years cutting trees either for thinning or clear-felling. He had 12 people employed and had invested in significant new machinery and had equally significant repayments to meet on that machinery. On Friday he made a decision that he had to let his men go and try to sell his machinery. This is all because we have a Department which is failing to get licences through the system. We introduced legislation last year to deal with the appeals mechanism that was delaying the process. Unfortunately, the Department is still not functioning in this regard. Our forestry sector is grinding to a halt because of the failure and bureaucracy of the Department in getting licences issued. Last week the Department issued 37 licences. That is to deal with afforestation, roads, thinning and clear-felling. We have 6,500 licences in the system. The public and the people involved in the forestry sector have completely lost confidence in the industry. In 30 years' time people will wonder why Ireland stopped meeting its afforestation targets. In this year of 2021 we will be lucky to hit 25% of the targets in the programme for Government. Last year, again, we only hit approximately 25% of our targets for afforestation. If we are serious about climate change and about tackling the issues around it, we have to have a viable forestry sector.

The blanket ban on planting forestry in designated areas is a significant barrier to having a viable and efficient forestry sector. There is serious evidence that different stages of afforestation growth in these designated areas benefits the creation of habitats for the various species we are trying to protect with these designations.

It has completely devalued the capital value of the land owned in those designated areas. In my time, I have never seen how a ruling can reduce the value of land by 80% without proper compensation for the landowners but that is what has happened in these designated areas. In my view, it was done without any useful environmental purpose behind it. This needs to be looked at. In my view, afforestation on a planned basis in designated areas can benefit everyone. I appeal to the Minister to speak to the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry and get the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to up its game immediately. Issuing 37 licences a week, and the average is only a little greater than that-----

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