Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

They stated what was happening here was not acceptable and that we had to change and make progress. It is their future we are putting in danger and that of other young people all over the planet.

It is no excuse to say this is a small country and what we do is just a drop in the ocean. We must show leadership and take responsibility for our own actions. We must reduce our carbon emissions, not because we have signed the Paris agreement but because it is the right thing to do. We have a responsibility to future generations, but we have been failing miserably. Prior to Christmas, a queue of Ministers, came to the House, one after the other, including the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to make five minute speeches. That is not good enough. It is welcome that the Minister has returned to the House and is taking the time to listen, but we need to do more than listen. The 600 children who were here yesterday were demanding action. In a couple of months' time there will probably be 6,000 here. They are not coming to overthrow a Government but to ask us to make adult decisions to protect the planet and tell us that we need to get on with it.

Members have spoken eloquently about hedgerows. I totally accept that farmers deserve credit and to be rewarded for it. They protect hedgerows which is an investment in the future, but they receive no acknowledgement for it. Do not forget that the Government took away legal protections for hedgerows in the Heritage Act. I see Senator Lombard's little smile, but I remember his comment that what else would people do in August with the machinery but go out and cut hedges. Is that a serious approach to the environment? It is disappointing. There was protection for hedgerows, but it was removed under the Heritage Act. Senator Norris argued eloquently for the protection of the biodiversity in hedgerows.

I am arguing for a just transition to a low-carbon economy. I am speaking about the people who must be protected in rural Ireland, namely, small farmers. When we speak about the Common Agricultural Policy, we must speak about how we protect small farmers and ensure they can maintain their relationship with the land and carry on protecting our heritage, as they have done for generations, while also make a good living. They should not have to live in poverty. They should be able to afford to send their children to college and have a holiday.

As a Dub, I listen to people talk about farmers, but they are usually talking about large farmers. I have often seen large farmers being protected over and over again in this and the other House. I have also heard arguments in favour of protecting their interests. A small farmer in County Cavan does not have much of a say in this House, while a small farmer in County Kerry does not find a great ear in Fine Gael. The view is that it is the party of large farmers. I spent ten years working in rural Ireland, from County Donegal to west Cork and County Kerry, and the conversation in the pub was that Fine Gael looked after big farmers and the guys in the big houses. That is what came across to me in the time I worked in rural Ireland. Small farmers did not think their voices were being heard. The large farmers did well out of what was at the time the EEC, while the small farmers just got by. They got the crumbs from the big table.

On farm efficiency, a study was carried out in 2013 that showed dairy farmers with the smallest carbon footprint were also the most profitable, suggesting environmentally efficient farms were also more profitable. We need to take these studies off the shelf and start to work with small farmers to ensure they will deliver. The Minister outlined this aspect in terms of what was happening, but it must be speeded up and smaller farmers supported in that regard.Afforestation is very important. We need to assist and to educate people. We must also ensure that the right trees are planted. We have not got it right until now, and I believe we have to provide assistance rather than bullying people in rural Ireland on this issue. They have real fears about this.

Substantial gains can be made by changing the diets of cattle, which in turn would reduce the carbon footprint. In the main, however, we have to realign the way in which we are doing things, look at supporting rural communities in a proper, efficient and environmentally friendly way, and stop listening to the voices of wealthy farmers with big farms. We must look at the farmer who has a job, who works all day long and then works on the family farm in the evening. How do we support those farmers? There is a prevailing attitude that Dublin wants farmers to act in a certain way. Dublin wants to see a prosperous rural Ireland, with prosperous family farms operating and working. I will support and assist the Senator in any way I can, but I will be coming at this from the point of view of small farmers. We want it to be possible for families to stay in rural Ireland and earn a decent living.

We do not need to use doublespeak in this Chamber. During the debate on the Heritage Bill, certain people said that they wanted to protect the hedgerows, then passed the legislation that put a horse and four through the legislation that was in place to protect them. The Heritage Bill said it was a pilot scheme, but I have never seen a pilot scheme that covered the Twenty-six Counties. To me a pilot scheme is carried out in a small area and exactly what is happening can be seen. The Heritage Bill allowed hedgerows throughout the country to be destroyed, and it took away the supporting legislation. Thankfully, many farmers who emailed me with their strong concerns about that Bill are not going out to destroy the hedgerows. The fact remains that the legislation protecting hedgerows was taken away. Fine Gael did a bad day's work, supported by Fianna Fáil, in this House on that occasion.