Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this important question. I highlight that it is the responsibility of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to prepare the reports on emissions and removals associated with land use activities on an annual basis to the EU and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC. However, there are many projects, as the Senator said, and work that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is undertaking that will benefit the improved reporting of the land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, inventory.

In Ireland, due to a temperate climate and to the prevalence of sustainable farming and forestry practices, we are fortunate to have a wide range of high-quality soils with stable reserves of soil carbon. The many beneficial roles of soil carbon are well known. Soil carbon increases resistance to soil erosion, improves water retention and fertility while also acting as a reservoir for biodiversity. These are all essential ecosystem services that we rely on for our overall health and wellbeing. We are looking at the co-benefits of carbon, soil and water quality. Therefore, increasing the rate of atmospheric carbon sequestration on our mineral soils is a priority of the Minister and our Department in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for which accurate measurement will be important.

Towards this goal, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has provided funding for the formation of a nationwide network of best practice demonstration and research farms under the Teagasc SignPost programme. This network will allow farmers to view novel approaches to carbon sequestration activities such as multi-species swards, liming, clover incorporation and improved fertiliser management. It will involve accurate measurement and baseline setting to allow continuous monitoring and verification.

However, carbon sequestration is only one small part of the overall approach. The reduction of soil-based emissions is important to deliver the reductions in the overall carbon balance and the Department has delivered several projects to address knowledge deficits in this area. The RePEAT project will help to accurately identify the extent of organic soils under agricultural management while investment in European innovation projects in the midlands will seek to develop a results-based agri-environmental model to reward farmers for implementing sustainable management practices on peat soils.

Recent investment in carbon flux monitoring infrastructure, located on a range of soil types and agricultural management systems throughout Ireland, will provide accurate measurements and scientific evidence for both farmers and policymakers on the climate beneficial results of improved on-farm management decisions. This proposal will comprise approximately 30 greenhouse gas flux towers across a range of soil types. The resulting national agricultural soil carbon observatory will place Ireland at the forefront of EU carbon sequestration research.

Teagasc will shortly complete a research project called “farm carbon”, which provides a deeper understanding of hedgerows as carbon stocks - I know the Senator referenced this - in agricultural landscapes and will allow researchers to identify approaches to maintain and enhance this contribution. In addition, the soil sampling programme aims to establish a comprehensive national baseline on the soil organic matter, nutrient and soil pathogen status of our soils across all farming systems and geographic areas.

As the Senator will appreciate, the knowledge gained from research and technological infrastructure establishment activities pursued through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will not only demonstrate the continued viability of our agrifood sector but it will also allow for the refinement of our reporting to the national inventory further emphasising the sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Our Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, work in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine around some of these projects, particularly on carbon-rich soils and peatlands.