Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. It is so important that we capture carbon removals and sequestration in this Bill. I am delighted that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have come together, fought to include this issue and put forward an amendment for the Minister's consideration. I understand that on earlier Stages he took on board many of the amendments that were submitted. We have such valuable land in Ireland but there are regional differences. We have particularly valuable land in the west, in Galway and Roscommon. We have extensive farming systems, which are mostly grassland, dry stock and sheep farming. We need to value our land when it comes to carbon capture. There is so much in our peatlands and that is valuable. In accounting for removals we will be calculating and measuring how valuable our land is, and that does not solely involve livestock. There are sections of peatland in Pollboy and Kellysgrove, close to Ballinasloe where I am based, that have never been industrially harvested by Bord na Móna. Can the Minister imagine the value of that land and the sphagnum mosses that are there? We need to measure this in a clearly defined way that will show that farmers are giving back, along with all other parts of the community.

I recently spoke to someone from Lahinch.I remember speaking to her about the sea and surfing and everything they had in Lahinch. She pointed to the amazing trees in our countryside in east Galway. Her area is a little bit more barren because of the seascape. This shows we have such greenery and all of our hedgerows need to be accounted for. We need to recognise the regional differences in Ireland and this includes the west.

Farming is the backbone of our communities. Farmers are driving the changes we need to see for climate action. We know there is more than just livestock emissions. Energy-related areas of transport, housing and retrofitting are all crucial also. As spokesperson for Fine Gael on research and innovation, I would like to see the investment. I know there has been good investment to date, and Senator Lombard has also spoken about investment in farms in Cork that are looking to be carbon neutral over the next five years. I would also like to see how we invest in measurement of the land and the value of land and types of land we have. We need to look at it in a broader way and not just at livestock numbers.

I appreciate the amendment and I support it fully. I am very proud the amendment has come from Fine Gael, a party that has represented the interests of agriculture and farmers in this country. In taking this into account, the Minister is acknowledging from the heart that farmers have a part to play and will have a part to play in driving climate action in our country. I thank him very much.