Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I concur with Senator Daly that, taking the Irish statistics in isolation, it does not read well that one third of greenhouse gases come from the agriculture sector. One could be inclined to a knee-jerk reaction to that, but it is important to point out that we have never developed an industrial base in this State. In terms of our industrial base versus that of our neighbouring island, France, Germany or Italy or any of the Northern European countries in particular, there is no comparison and so we zone in on, on a micro level, the impact of the agriculture sector in Ireland. There is a need to see the bigger picture.

I was annoyed by the intervention yesterday of the EU Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan. According to him, we have a challenge in Ireland and we need to step up and deal with these issues; otherwise, we face major fines. The European Commission has cut back targets in terms of biofuel in the transport sector and that has seriously disincentivised investment in that sector. We have heard similar stories in this regard from industry and farming organisations throughout Ireland. The very Commission that is lecturing us on the need to address our challenges in agriculture is blocking a route and solution in that regard. It is important to say that. The message we are getting from the European Commission is almost schizophrenic.

I welcome this debate. We know that climate change has serious implications for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, our country and the world. We will not be seen to be picked off in isolation as this needs to be addressed in the broader context of the global and European challenge. The research indicates that the long-term effects will be significant. Droughts will increase pressure on grasslands from grazing animals and will also increase water demand for irrigation of crops in the east of the country. This will have significant cost implications for some crops, making them economically unviable, particularly the potato. Land use change will see livestock production become more dominant in the west, with cereal production more dominant in the east of the country. Increases in the sea temperature are likely to lead to increased algal blooms, increased infection rates and increased presence of exotic species, which all have negative implications for the aquaculture sector, notably salmon farming. The short-term effects are serious too. We will be facing significant fines for not reaching our 2020 targets. We need to have a balanced conversation on this issue and not ignore it.

The mitigation plan published in July of this year will be yet another dust collector unless we have a real conversation on how to address the issues. As our renewable energy is almost exclusively concentrated on onshore wind, we are reliant on rural Ireland and we will continue to be reliant on rural Ireland into the future. The State has virtually neglected diversifying our renewable energy sources, which are indigenous and will provide cleaner renewable energy and generate employment in rural Ireland. This includes biomass and biogas. Sinn Féin believes that these alternatives can be a direct replacement for some of our fossil fuels, which we import and spend billions of euro on each year. This is also a dispatchable power source as they will act as a complement to the intermittent nature of wind.

We are currently importing biomass to mix with peat to burn at the Edenderry plant. This is being imported from America but could be grown here. Bord na Móna plans to invest €60 million in a plant in North America. It has been importing palm oil husks from across the globe since 2010, to be burned with peat in the Edenderry plant. This makes no sense in respect of the environment and the carbon miles accumulated in travel. It also makes no sense from an economic perspective and from a security of supply perspective.

I note that a biomass scheme to grow willow was established in 2015 by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine but, alarmingly, only four farmers signed up to it. We can and should be providing biomass on this island. We need to know the reason for the low take-up in respect of that biomass scheme. Consultation on this issue is desperately needed. This is a viable solution that could work for all stakeholders, but we need farmers on board. I am asking the Minister to address their concerns and reservations and to respond accordingly. I know that the Department has initiated some initiatives in the area, including the establishment of Bioenergy Ireland by Bord na Móna and Coillte with a view to developing our bio-energy sector but our starting point is unfortunately way behind that of other states. With the phasing out of peat, we must consider converting the current peat plants to biomass, which puts money into rural Ireland and reduces our emissions. We need to get farmers on board and to get this done.

Another viable suggestion for reducing agriculture carbon emissions is diversification towards biogas or anaerobic digestion. This is where we can use by-products such as slurry, mixed with other farm waste, such as crop residues, rotation crops and food industry waste, to generate gas to be either put into the mains supply or used directly to generate electricity. Germany has 8,000 biogas plants and Britain has 600. We have none and only a first pilot scheme coming into operation next April. An EU Commission report has highlighted that Ireland has one of the best resources in Europe for biogas. This is a huge opportunity that cannot be missed. As well as providing an added and long-term revenue stream for farmers, it has the potential to create sustainable jobs in rural Ireland. An SEAI study this year cited the possible creation of 3,000 jobs from biogas in Ireland. These are sources of renewable energy that need to be utilised and have been neglected up until now. There has been a derogation sought recently in respect of spreading slurry. We know the effects this. These could instead be a source of income for the farmer and a source of renewable energy for the State.

Biogas is also diverse as an energy source. It can be used for heat injection into the mains grid, for electricity generation and to replace imported natural gas, on which we are very heavily reliant for the production of electricity. Furthermore, it can also be used as transport fuel, in particular in regard to our commercial transport sector, helping in the shift from diesel. We need to develop sustainable agriculture, including the development of the sugar beet industry which can be used in the process to generate biogas. There are also by-products in the process, including bio-fertiliser, which displaces imported fertilisers. This again reaps a benefit for farmers.

Through consultation with farmers and with proper supports in place, we can play a more important role in the energy transition of this State.To highlight it succinctly, the benefits of diversifying our energy sources to biomass and biogas, as I have argued for, would be reduced emissions, the creation of jobs, revenue streams for farmers and increasing security of supply. We cannot ignore this opportunity. Providing a direct replacement for some of our current energy sources would greatly reduce our carbon emissions without unfairly impacting on one cohort within the sector. I urge the Minister to look at the detail and take these suggestions on board.