Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. This is a very important topic not only for the agriculture community but for society itself. This debate is very welcome. As Senator Marshall just mentioned, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action is doing extraordinary work going through the various scenarios and where agriculture fits into them. I note that several members of the committee are here today. That work will be very important for the agriculture community, which is fearful of how this work could affect it. It is important in the next few weeks or months, when this report is published, that we take people with us on this journey of change and using technology. We must ensure that rural Ireland and our agriculture beef industries are sustainable.

Many topics have been discussed over the last six or eight weeks in respect of this issue. I will mention just a few. We need to consider how we will progress our energy needs and industry. Anaerobic digestion is one of the key drivers in respect of energy potential and slurry usage in agriculture. We need to consider developing a national plan for anaerobic digestion that would emphasise how the agriculture community can be part of the solution and not just part of the problem, as we have heard so many times. We can be the active driver to ensure that we are a part of producing gas that is economical for the consumer. That would have a positive knock-on effect for the environment and agriculture. A national strategy for anaerobic digestion is one of the key plans we need to drive to get delivery on the ground.

Following on from that, one of the reports I read over Christmas was on food waste, a major issue that we need to debate. We must discuss how to avoid throwing out vast amounts of food. One of the figures I came across over Christmas was that 41% of food does not make it all the way through the process. That is a significant issue for the agriculture community and urban Ireland. We should have campaigns to take people with us on the journey of reducing food waste and ensuring we make better use of food. That is another journey on which we need to take the community.

We need to ensure that the agriculture community has the finance to pay for these changes when they happen. The negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, will be crucial and the Minister referred to how they will fit in. We need a new CAP that is strong for the agriculture community and incentivises it to make changes in technology. The Minister might give us an update on timelines. When does he expect the negotiations to take place? Will it be before or after the European elections and will the outcome go before the European Parliament? The Minister can only give an opinion on this and cannot be definitive. We need to start talking about these key issues because the timelines will indicate to the agriculture community when it must move forward into this new space. The agriculture community is a major part of the solution and will work towards achieving that solution. We have seen great changes in the industry in the past ten years. Farmers worked actively on these issues and I am sure they will do so again but they need to have confidence in the marketplace. That is why the CAP is so important; it can give farmers the confidence to invest for the next period and bring young people into the process. We will then see major change in what will be a very important industry for rural Ireland and the economy.