Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

One issue that farmers are concerned about is that they are not getting any credit for the carbon they sequester through pasture, crops and hedgerows. There is also a need to establish a carbon measuring, reporting and verification process which farmers need to work with. It is in place in Northern Ireland.

Farmers wonder how the baselines are being set out and how they will be supported in putting in place measures to help reduce the carbon footprint. Things seem vague at present. Farmers are examining the various processes in place. There are pilot schemes and so on. In Northern Ireland, the ground on every farm is tested to a depth of 30 cm. Here, only one in every 20 units is tested, to a depth of only 10 cm. Therefore, we are behind the curve and not being fair to our farmers. Perhaps the Minister will comment on that.

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