Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tell them to stop heckling me.

At EU level recently there has been much discussion on plans for CAP 2020 and beyond. There is a great deal of focus on food sources and protection of the environment. There is no focus on the importance of rare or native breeds. The increasing threat of climate change and its impact on food security means that maintaining the genetic integrity of our native breeds is even more important. These native breeds are suited to farming on this island. They naturally help to protect the biodiversity of areas in which they are farmed. Not only are we seeing an increasing number of non-native breeds introduced into Irish agriculture, but our native genetic resources are also being exported, leaving us very vulnerable. I ask that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine should include this point in any future negotiations on the CAP.

I also ask the Minister to examine the genetic resources grant aid scheme. According to the Department's website, the effects of the grant aid awarded by the advisory committee are far-reaching and play a vital role in fulfilling Ireland's international obligations on the conservation of plant and animal genetic resources.

I understand this important fund is disproportionately limited within the €4 billion RDP budget with an annual competitive process sharing out €50,000 between five sectors. This fund is heavily oversubscribed and was in 2017 for native breed-related projects alone. Vital research and collaboration projects were declined due to the lack of funding. This appears to be out of sync with the current efforts to support native breeds. Given the objective of the national strategy and the importance placed within the EU and the UN on animal breeds, the limited funding is discouraging research and conservation, and deterring future applications to carry out vital work in this field.

I therefore ask the Minister to respond positively to recent locally led initiatives that need further support by elevating this important agriculture and food component to the forefront of relevant national policy and CAP reform, and make immediate tangible measures to enhance support measures under the RDP for stakeholders and societies in this important field.

I wanted this taken as a Commencement Matter but was unable to do so. I ask for the Minister to come to the House at the earliest possible time to discuss the importance of native breeds, in an EU and national context.