Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom aird an Aire a tharraingt ar an agóid taobh amuigh den Teach agus tá súil agam go dtabharfadh an Rialtas aird ar sin. I know the Minister is a cabinet Minister and it is hard to sit here without noticing the protest going on outside. I hope the Cabinet takes on board what is being brought forward by the protesters today.

I think sustainability is something of which everybody is in favour, but how to achieve it is a vexed matter when the aims of land use are taken into account. Meeting our agricultural targets and meeting our environmental responsibilities could result in some hard choices on land use. Already we have come up against choices and, as 2020 draws nearer, we might have to take decisions which could have serious implications for our agricultural output and our greenhouse gas emissions and about how to offset these, for example by the use of forestry. If we begin to use forestry in this way, do we damage our biodiversity? If we preserve our biodiversity, will we limit ourselves in terms of being able to reduce harmful emissions? Simultaneously, we must pay attention to water quality, protection of species and the maintenance of soil quality, and none of these things can be left on the long finger. While we are maintaining agricultural production, reducing emissions and maintaining soil quality, we have to be watching the rest as well.

Food Harvest 2020 is beginning to become Food Harvest 2025, as the European Union is developing it. We should be standing up for Irish farmers in that process, rather than finding in another few years that we are not going to be able to achieve its targets without compromising our agricultural output or biodiversity or some other key factor, just because the Government sat back and let Brussels decide rather than energetically involve Ireland in the formulation of Food Harvest 2025. We have seen the EU use incentives in seeking to protect our environment with the help of farmers. It is the farmer, as stakeholder, who is expected to be responsible for maintaining our farmland in its best condition, to be highly productive and also to maintain the environmental quality demanded by the EU, and expected by us too.

We have seen some schemes which have been very detrimental to the Irish farmer because commitments made were not fulfilled. It would be remiss of me not to bring up the issue of the hill farmers who protested again in Castlebar last week. They have serious issues on the GLAS agri-environment scheme and the collective agreement being put forward. I find the Minister to be quite accommodating when it comes to debate. I urge the Minister to sit down at the table with the hill farmers to try to find a conclusion and resolution to this.