Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for giving us the opportunity to debate this important point in the House. They are not mutually exclusive points. I am in agreement with the Deputy that we can do this. This Government will support farmers to continue to produce safe, nutritious and top-quality food - nutrient-dense food that is needed around the world for our growing population. We will support them to do that with a reducing emissions profile that is a more environmentally friendly way of producing that food into the future. However, we will also support them in terms of their incomes by making sure it remains economically viable for them to do so and for the rural communities in which they live. Our goal in Food Vision 2030 involves taking a food systems approach and being a world leader in sustainable food systems. Its aim is to grow the value of our exports even further. At present, exports of Irish agrifood and drink are worth €16 billion. We want to grow that to €21 billion but to do so in a way that differs from the past. We are not talking about doing that necessarily on quantity, where the hamster wheel for the farmer gets faster but he or she is not necessarily better off. We are focused on quality and the top-quality markets that will give the greatest return because that is the type of food we are producing. Only by farmers being economically viable will we be in a position to support farmers to support our climate change targets.

See this speech in context