Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address the benefits that can be generated by genotyping the national herd. Anyone with an understanding of the sector will agree on those benefits.

In recent years, this House has spent a great deal of time debating emissions reductions and our battle against climate change. I have been a stout defender of the agrifood industry. While we must face up to the reality of climate change, we cannot hinder our ability to produce food sustainably. We must be able to protect our production base.

We have an emissions reduction target of 25%. Research shows that genotyping can play a large part in achieving that reduction. The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, ICBF, has conducted a great deal of research into this matter, as have other bodies. It is estimated that we could reduce our emissions by 10% by genotyping our national herd. That would go a long way towards meeting the targets to which we have committed.

How could such a reduction be achieved? Just before Christmas, I was on a research farm with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It was run by a meat processor. We were shown animals that were fed the same, born roughly at the same time and were at the point of being ready for slaughter. On average, there was a difference of 120 kg liveweight between one bull and another. If we can get that genetic improvement into our beef animals with the same feeding, same carbon footprint and so on, it will have a major impact on reducing our emissions. The same would be true in dairy, where cows with the same feeding could produce extra kilograms of protein and butterfat. This could be of significant benefit. One upside of this increased efficiency is that it could bring economic gains for the farmer. We would also be the first country to do this with our national herd, which would give us a significant advantage in the marketplace. Having emission-efficient animals and being able to show that we were producing food sustainably would help our green image. By genotyping our herd, we could tailor our breeding to make vast improvements as well as significant reductions in our emissions.

This will not be an easy task. I urge the Minister to make decisions on the matter quickly. Genotyping the herd will be a physical job. Doing the adult bovine population will take time. Even if we started soon, we would only get 50% of the herd done this year. It will cost money as well, which needs to be committed to, but it would be money well spent.

There will be other debates in the House about climate change and some of us will argue different approaches to it, but whether one is the staunchest environmentalist or a staunch defender of the agrifood industry, genotyping the national herd ticks all the boxes. We can protect our production base and reduce our emissions. To paraphrase a TV sitcom, everyone would be a winner.

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