Fiona O'Malley (Progressive Democrats)

I am glad of this opportunity to discuss agriculture and I want to talk specifically about the future of Irish agriculture. We had a very interesting day last week in both Houses of the Oireachtas and in the committees. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and many farming organisations were in for much of the day, there was a Private Members' motion here and it gave us an opportunity to hear about the future of Irish farming. We on the climate change committee were looking at it from the perspective of climate change and it got me asking what is the future of Irish agriculture.

I listened with interest to other contributors. Coming from an urban centre I am not very familiar with all the grants and schemes, however being familiar with the west I know about the hardship of trying to make a living from small farming. It is most interesting and deserves a little thought. Having a vibrant agricultural base is so important to rural Ireland and it demands that we examine the future of Irish agriculture. I accept that I am not the most familiar with agriculture. There has been a major problem of examining only the short term rather than the fundamentals of Irish agriculture. Farmers have taken much change, such as the CAP reform. We are still in a transitional phase. We need to look beyond this immediate term. That struck me when we had discussions with the Department and the farming organisations. There is no long-term thought going into it. I was glad to hear that Teagasc is involved with a group that is engaging in futuristic modelling for Irish farming. The group in question is looking at the present circumstances and deciding what is needed. Agriculture is definitely going to change. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. We have to accept that it is going to be different. As farmers are very entrepreneurial, they will adapt to that change. There is no point in sticking with something that no longer works or no longer meets our requirements.

As we live in a globalised world, we need to be conscious of what Ireland can do in the agriculture industry. I understand that one of the things Irish agriculture does most efficiently is rear cows. It is understandable that we should focus on that area if that is what we are good at. The threat of the climate change issue is hanging over the cattle sector, however. I find that the agriculture sector is blamed unfairly for carbon burden associated with it. The three main sectors that contribute to carbon emissions are transport, energy production and agriculture. Last week, statistics were published to show that there has been a decline in the carbon output of the agriculture sector. The benefit of such improvements is often transferred to the transport sector. The development of biofuels is a case in point. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has defended the good work that is being done in the agriculture sector. The agriculture sector is getting its house in order, but it is not able to claim the credit for it. That is an important point.

Having said that, we need to think about issues like climate change and the carbon cost of the production of food. If Irish agriculture is to change, we will need to prepare people in advance. This is a sensitive time, as negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy health check continue. We need to look beyond that. Farmers will be involved in a totally different type of work in the future. We need to project ourselves forward by ten years to see what farmers will need to do. We should get farmers to prepare for the change that is to come. I appreciate that a certain amount of work is being done in that regard, but I would love to see more of it. There needs to be a much more open debate on how much change is needed in this sector. There are big opportunities for farming. Farmers have proven in the past that they can adapt to change and we need to give them the confidence to do so again. I would love a big seminar to be organised to address the changes in the agriculture sector. People have nothing to fear from such changes. If change happens in a cold and undercover way, people may get anxious. We need to openly prepare people for it.

I suggest that the name of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food should be changed to the Department of food security. That would focus minds on the role of the Department in providing food for the European and world markets and dealing with other issues like climate change. The term "Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food" is too all-embracing. It needs to be a little more focused. I would like it to be renamed as the Department of food security, as I have suggested. Such a change would ensure that we would know exactly what the Department is about. We should acknowledge that Ireland has to play an important part in feeding the European community. We should not be penalised for the carbon costs we incur in so doing.