Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and I thank Senators O'Reilly, Garvey and Martin for proposing this motion. I would not have expected anything less from those Senators. They have a great slogan and I have a lot of time for green politics, and for the Green Party for that matter. The slogan is "Vote Green, get Green". I think that is an important maxim, not one of which we should lose sight. I try to apply it to everything I do here.

The Green Party is in government and that is important. The people elected representatives from the Green Party, gave them a strong mandate and expected them to go into government. I think that going into government was the right thing to do. However, the Green Party is in government to do something and that is to drive this green agenda, as they have done with other things. I refer to sustainability and sustainable development goals, SDGs. I met the leader of the Green Party on Tuesday, and I was particularly taken aback when he gave me this little gift of an SDGs lapel badge, because I have never had one before. When I left that meeting, I was encouraged to go back and check out SDGs.

I acknowledge that part of the agreement to be in government was that there would be a strong focus on the SDGs and that we would be mindful of that aspect in all our Oireachtas joint committees. We are very conscious of that, and we have discussed the SDGs at the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine. That strong focus has, therefore, taken effect and people need to be constantly reminded of that. I thank the Green Party and its representatives for that.

I am not surprised by this motion. I am more interested in the final part, which calls on the Government to act on its programme for Government. With all due respect to the Minister of State and her colleagues here, in local government and in Europe - because we have Green Party representatives in Europe and that is also great - I have to say that it is incumbent on all of us to pursue the green agenda. The leader of the Green Party, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, referred to not losing sight of that at the meeting I had with him. It is possible to be distracted when in government by many things.

In many parts of Ireland, whether on their own or supported by the State, farmers have led the way in projects to protect biodiversity and species. I want to ensure, as I know the Minister of State does, that farmers are recognised as the custodians of our land and are financially supported in playing their vital role in maintaining and restoring habitats and utilising practices that are ecologically sound. The Minister of State really understands that aspect more than anybody else because she is a farmer and works on the land. I want our Government to ensure that the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, rewards farmers for sequestrating carbon, creating habitats and restoring biodiversity, improving water and air quality, producing clean energy and developing schemes that support results-based outcomes.

The Minister of State and colleagues will also know that we are now planning for CAP policy post 2020. There is a great emphasis on environmental outcomes in that context, and that is very positive. It has taken a long journey of more than 20 or 30 years to get to that point, but the importance of those outcomes has now been recognised. Farmers, however, should not be unfairly penalised for maintaining the land that contributes to diversity principles. I refer to allowing farmers to accrue some form of benefits, financial or otherwise, if they are proactive in protecting and developing wetlands and native habitats. That is important.

What does the Green New Deal say about farmers? European farmers and fishermen are key to managing this transition, but they want a just transition. I acknowledge the just transition group within the Green Party, whose members I have found exceptionally helpful and engaging regarding environmental issues I have had to pursue. It is a really practical advocacy group, as well as being involved and immersed in politics. The members of the group need to be saluted and recognised. They are not antagonistic, but they are concerned and they should be encouraged and supported in civic society and politics.

The farm to fork strategy will of course strengthen efforts to tackle climate change, and that has been repeatedly acknowledged by the Minister of State. It will also help to protect the environment and preserve our biodiversity.However, the European green deal sets out the farm-to-fork targets. They include reducing fertiliser by 20%, reducing antibiotics in animals and reducing pesticide use. There are knock-on effects because when one reduces some of these items, one reduces yields. That is not a bad thing. We are over-producing in some areas, but we must acknowledge there will be a knock-on effect in a reduction in yields. I would prefer to have reduced yields of higher quality, but there are financial implications. One thing that has emerged from the research by the European Commission on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, is that the income of farmers across Europe is approximately 40% of the income received by people in the commercial and industrial sectors. There is a drop in incomes and we must acknowledge that.

In terms of biodiversity, we want higher diversity in our natural landscapes and organic production. I do not doubt any of this from the Green Party as it is very important. I also wish to speak in support of the amendment from Sinn Féin, and I presume Senator Boylan will speak on that. I commit myself to supporting it. To refer to a few more issues, there is some important legislation coming down the track - we shall be known by our deeds and not our words. There is the sustainable water environmental abstraction Bill, which has enormous implications for agriculture and the building and construction sector, particularly regarding concrete. People have wells and others are in local community co-operative water schemes. In many cases, the cumulative effect of two or three sources of drawing or abstracting water will be a challenge. We will have to face up to that and we must support farmers in that regard. There is also a marine Bill coming down the track, which is important. There have been, and continue to be challenges, in the forestry sector. The Minister of State has made a start with her Bill, but there are other issues.

What is this motion about? From my reading of it, we want more funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and for farmers to enable them to implement green practices, to create biodiversity habitats on their land and to pay them not to develop wetlands or native habitats. I support the call for the establishment of a citizens' assembly, a national pollinator plan, a national soil strategy and a national land use plan to conserve and expand native woodlands. We want to cut down on nitrogen fertiliser and pesticide use, and we want to have a national hedgerow survey and a baseline diversity survey. All of this is admirable and I support it. The Green Party is in government. People voted Green to get green. It is early days for the party and I hope it will continue the momentum that is required because it will be distracted in many ways down the line. I sincerely wish the party well.