Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy English, for sharing time. I am very pleased to speak on this legislation relating to the Brexit loan guarantee scheme. This is crucial legislation and a further example of the Government's commitment to supporting our primary producers and businesses in dealing with the many challenges they face. The scheme has been a success so far and it is important that we see it progress as quickly as possible. Farmers are facing some serious and acute challenges at present, of which Brexit is one. As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I see these challenges and pressures at first hand because I hear about them directly from farmers and their representatives. They can often feel isolated and under pressure, especially with regard to climate change and biodiversity.

I wish to reaffirm to this House that our farmers are leading the charge and delivering on our climate ambitions. The current narrative that farmers are laggards is wrong and does not take account of the huge efforts they have made and continue to make to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity. We have one of the most carbon efficient agriculture sectors in the world but we must and can do more. Farmers are determined that agriculture will play its part in improving emissions, enriching biodiversity and addressing water quality, all of which have been trending in the wrong direction in recent times. There is nothing industrial about Irish farms or about family farmers doing all they can to keep their heads above water and survive. As the son of a suckler and sheep farmer from the uplands and lowlands of Donegal, I see how farmers could be forgiven for thinking that the agriculture sector is the only one that must make radical changes in order to tackle climate change but this is not the case. We must remember that all sectors have to play their part. We cannot have a situation where farmers are regarded as the only ones who must contribute.

Farmers are adaptors and adopters. They have listened to the best science for decades and adapted it to benefit their farms. It is fair to say that some of the science from the 1970s and 1980s is now out of date and not fit for purpose but the farmers I know, and stand by, are visionaries. If the science points farmers in a certain direction, they will willingly take the lead and we must deliver financial supports to ensure the viability of those farmers who are at the forefront of delivering on our climate challenges. The results-based environment agri pilot, REAP, project that I launched recently closed on Monday with 11,000 applications for just 2,000 spaces. This in itself is a real example of how farmers are willing to adapt and adopt. They will embrace change for the benefit of the environment.

Agriculture is going through an evolution and is likely to look very different in ten years' time. As we move through this evolution, what we cannot do is undermine agriculture. Now is the time for clear heads and an all-of-society understanding of what farming and agriculture can do to tackle climate change as well as deliver for our economy. Farmers know what the challenges are. They understand where they need to go and are taking clear steps to get there. I launched the Ag Climatise document in late 2020, which puts agriculture on a path to carbon neutrality by 2050. Given the opportunity to adopt and adapt, farmers will get there. Our farmers are not looking for a free pass, they are constantly learning, gaining knowledge, producing top-quality, healthy food and adopting new technologies to meet our climate targets. All sectors in society have to do more and farmers and agriculture are very much central to that challenge. I spoke about the evolution in farming that we are currently living through and I want to look back at all we have achieved in a decade. The sector is delivering more for the environment and for our society and economy, with farm incomes central to all of this. Alongside this, farmers are dealing with the challenge of Brexit. We must continue to work to enable our agriculture sector to prosper and thrive and the legislation before us is very important in terms of supporting farmers to deal with that challenge in the time ahead. I welcome the valuable contributions Deputies have made to the debate on this legislation.

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