Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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10. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagement he has had with Teagasc and other Ministers on the need for recognition of carbon removal on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49992/21]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Following the passage of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, we now have to take into account the issue of sequestration. There is great anxiety among the farming community regarding what they will be asked to do as a result of carbon budgeting. We now have reports that agriculture will be asked to reduce emissions by up to one third, which, as the Minister knows, is a monumental task that will not be possible without some account being taken, in a practical way, of sequestration.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am very much aware of the important role on-farm carbon removals and carbon pool protection will play in meeting the sector's challenging climate change targets going forward. Teagasc, along with private sector agricultural consultants, is an essential component in providing best practice advice to the farming community on measures necessary for the increased sequestration and storage of atmospheric carbon through making better on-farm management decisions.

It is important not only that the increased removal and storage of atmospheric carbon brought about through the activities of our farmers be recognised in the national inventory reporting accounting system but also that farmers receive recognition for their efforts in this area. This recognition, however, needs a solid scientific basis backed up by country-specific data. Towards this end, I recently provided funding through Teagasc for the establishment of a national agricultural soil carbon observatory, with supporting technology for the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from a range of soil and farm types. This will place Ireland at the forefront of EU carbon sequestration research. This infrastructure, which will be located on a number of Teagasc Signpost farms, is a new initiative that aims to support farmers by acting as a demonstration and research resource for best practice on farms.

In tandem with the soil carbon observatory infrastructure, I also recently launched the pilot soil sampling and analysis programme, which will provide a baseline assessment of soil organic carbon throughout the country. Teagasc also recently commenced a research project called “Farm-Carbon - Farm Hedgerows and Non-forest Woodland Carbon”. This project will provide a deeper understanding of hedgerows and non-forest woodland as carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes and will allow researchers to identify approaches to maintain and enhance this contribution. The knowledge gained from these activities will place Ireland at the forefront of research in this area, while also allowing for the refinement of our reporting to the national inventory, further emphasising the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I welcome the commitments the Minister gave in respect of scientific research in this area. He is absolutely correct; without having a scientific basis, we have no opportunity to move forward. In 2016, this was made very clear to me, as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, from my engagement with colleague ministers throughout Europe and my Scottish counterpart. It was clear at that stage that that research should have taken place; we are a decade too late in doing it now. The outputs the Minister is talking about will take a considerable time to filter down to the ground, into the farming community. We need urgent measures that can be taken by farmers and be reflected in their on-farm sequestration. What are we doing and what funding has been ring-fenced in the carbon tax budget to ensure that will happen?

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will know, the funding from the carbon tax budget is very specific in that between now and the end of 2030, €1.5 billion will go directly to farmers. It is targeted specifically to get to farmers' pockets through the new agri-environmental scheme, which, as I outlined earlier, will deliver up to €10,000 for 20,000 participants and up to €7,000 for 30,000 participants. That is where the carbon tax is going.

Since my appointment as Minister, I have been working with Teagasc and investing in how we can develop the science and research to contribute to meeting our emissions reductions in the time ahead. Overall, in the context of our emissions reductions, the most important issue is that the targets that are set for us will not only continue to enable us to do what we do really well, namely, be a world leader in producing sustainable and healthy nutritious food, but they will also ensure we can drive down overall emissions in the agricultural sector in as strong a fashion as possible. Ultimately, that will only strengthen our overall agricultural model by delivering to consumers what they want, namely, food that has been sustainably produced.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Let us put this in practical terms. We could be looking at an ask for the agricultural community of between 7 million tonnes and 8 million tonnes of a reduction between now and 2030. Teagasc has in place a roadmap that could achieve 2 million tonnes of that and, with a tailwind behind it, it might get up to 3.5 million tonnes. As an example, delivering on that target, however, would involve the use of protected urea, but protected urea cannot be got for love nor money at the moment.

Parking the issue of forestry, what funding is going into carbon sequestration on farms throughout the country? The research is welcome and it is a positive development, but what does it mean in practical terms between now and 2030? Is it not the case that the vast majority of carbon tax being generated, whether in the Minister's Department or other Departments, is only replacing direct Exchequer funding?

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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If we are going to reduce carbon emissions, we will obviously have to measure them. One of the many failings of the carbon action plan was that it did not even set out how we were going to measure emissions but rather that the Government will decide how will do so, presumably by way of a statutory instrument. Will either the Minister or his colleague the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, tell me how we are going to measure emissions? Has that been determined by the Government? Whether we use the global warming potential, GWP, measurement criterion of GWP100 or GWP* will have a strong bearing for the purposes of agriculture, given that methane is treated very differently depending on whether one measurement criterion is used rather than another. Methane is a relatively short-lived gas compared with CO2 and how it breaks down. Either way, the environmental lobby will say there is a strong argument for reducing methane because we can get a quick hit with it.

However, the obvious corollary of that is that if one is reducing agricultural methane as a means to get a quick hit, one is not treating the problem.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I concur with other Members. It is vital to measure the carbon sequestration that is taking place in the agriculture sector. It is impossible to say that there is an obligation relating to carbon emissions if we do not also recognise the level of carbon storage. Does the Minister agree that we have to compile a report on a farm-by-farm basis so each individual farm is aware of the carbon that is stored on its land, the carbon sequestration that is taking place and the carbon that is being emitted, so that targets can be set on a farm-by-farm basis and rewards can be achieved for people who can shift the balance on that level? My fear is that if this is done on a State-wide or sector-wide basis the people who are providing the greatest benefit in respect of carbon sequestration and reducing emissions would not get the financial rewards for doing so.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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First, in response to Deputy Naughten, the key basis and platform on which we can monetise carbon sequestration and pay farmers for it is by having the measurement tools in place. I am giving significant funding to Teagasc to develop that. With regard to carbon tax replacing direct Exchequer funding, that is certainly not the case. A concern that has been raised over the last year or so by farmers is that they did not want to see it replacing direct Exchequer funding. The massive package I delivered yesterday is an increase, before carbon tax is included, on what was available in the last CAP programme in national co-funding. Indeed, the carbon tax on top of that represents a 60:40 ratio, whereby 60% of Pillar 2 will now be State funded versus 40% coming from Europe. The outgoing CAP was 47% from the State and 53% from Europe. It is additional, therefore, and is seriously delivering income directly to farm families.

Deputy McNamara asked about the measurement of it. Obviously, that will be clarified as part of the climate action plan. The key principle and objective at all times is ensuring that we can continue to produce the food we currently produce while driving down the emissions footprint of its production. That is the bottom line, in my view, with regard to setting feasible targets.

Deputy Carthy spoke about farm-by-farm measurement. The soil sampling scheme that I launched a few weeks ago is doing that farm-by-farm in terms of assessing what the benchmark is in each farm to enable farmers to see their current position and so they can build on and develop that in the years ahead.