Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector; the reduction achieved in the sector to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases attributable to the agriculture sector for each year between now and 2010; the estimated annual cost to Ireland if greenhouse gas emissions from this sector remain at their current level; the steps he is taking to ensure the 2010 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37137/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 221: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector by the total reduction of CH4 from the national herd by 2012; the reduction achieved by these measures in the sector to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases due to the total reduction of CH4 from the national herd for each year between now and 2012; the steps she is taking to ensure the 2012 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37138/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 222: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector by the reduction of CH4 from the national herd by the use of lower emissions feeding regimes by 2012; the reduction achieved by these measures in the sector to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases due to the reduction of CH4 from the national herd by the use of lower emissions feeding regimes for each year between now and 2012; the steps she is taking to ensure the 2012 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37139/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector by the reduction of fertiliser use by 2010; the reduction achieved by these measures in the sector to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases due to the reduction of fertiliser use for each year between now and 2010; the steps she is taking to ensure the 2010 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37140/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 225: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector by reducing the national herd by 2010; the reduction achieved to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases due to the reduction of the national herd between now and 2010; the steps she intends to take to ensure that the 2010 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37142/05]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 226: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy by which the national herd is to be reduced by 2010; the reduction in the national herd achieved to date in 2005; the target for reduction of the national herd between now and 2010; the steps he is taking to ensure the 2010 target is achieved; the proportion of the total reduction of the herd which will be achieved by direct reductions in stock numbers; the proportion which will be achieved by other measures through existing REP schemes and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37143/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 220 to 223, inclusive, 225 and 226 together.

The national climate change strategy sets out Ireland's approach to meeting its target under the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Ireland's target is to limit growth in greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels in the 2008-12 commitment period. The target is not set on an annual basis but relates to the average for that period.

Overall responsibility for the strategy lies with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It sets targets for various sectors of the economy including agriculture. The target for the agriculture sector is to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 2.41 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent below business-as-usual projections by the end of the commitment period. The target for the sector includes a reduction of 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent for methane, corresponding to a reduction in livestock numbers of 10% below business-as-usual projections. However, around 0.5 million tonnes of the methane target is allocated to reductions arising from changes in feeding regimes in a longer term perspective, depending on the outcome of a research programme. This research programme is scheduled for completion shortly. Current indications are that voluntary reductions in stocking levels, arising mainly from the effects of decoupling and decisions taken by farmers in response to the market for livestock, will enable the target to be reached.

The target for the agricultural sector also includes a reduction of 0.9 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent for nitrous oxide, which equates to a reduction in nitrogenous fertiliser use of 10% below business-as-usual projections for the commitment period. The strategy provides that Ireland will support appropriate proposals at EU level seeking necessary adjustments to CAP mechanisms to pursue climate change abatement action through further integration of environmental considerations into agricultural policy. Following the Luxembourg agreement on CAP reform, Ireland chose the option to decouple aid fully from production and introduced from 1 January 2005 the single payment scheme with its requirements for farmers to observe cross-compliance with various environmental regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for the compilation and submission of inventory data, in the form of the national inventory report, to the UN on an annual basis. The latest year in which information is available from this source is 2003. These reports show that from 2000 to 2003, greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector fell from 20.22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to 18.75 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a fall of 1.47 million tonnes. During the 2000 to 2003 period, methane emissions fell from 11.35 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to 10.64 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a fall of 0.71 million tones. Nitrous oxide emissions fell in the 2000-03 period from 8.17 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to 7.44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a fall of 0.73 million tonnes. The figures for sales of nitrogenous fertilisers in the 2004-05 fertiliser year — the latest figures available to my Department — fell by 55,433 tonnes from 1999-2000 to 2004-05, a drop of 13.6 % and were lower than the sales figures for the 1989-1990 fertiliser year. REPS is an acknowledged major contributory factor to fertiliser usage. A significant increase in funding to a level of €323 million has been provided for this scheme in 2006 and the measure will be continued under the new rural development regulation from 2007.

The compilation of the national inventory by the EPA used UN default values, known as tier 1 methodology, to calculate emissions of methane from livestock. However, based on the results of a dedicated research programmed on methane emissions in Ireland, the EPA will use tier 2 methodology, which is country specific to Ireland, for calculating methane emissions from cattle in all future data sets.

The FAPRI-Ireland partnership, which produces and publishes objective analysis of agricultural policy options, conducted an analysis of the Luxembourg CAP reform agreement in October 2003, which included projections for greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector for each year up to 2012. These projections show emissions from the sector falling by 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to 15.1 million tonnes between 2004 and 2012. Nitrous oxide emissions are projected to fall by over 1 million tonnes during the 2004-12 period while methane emissions are projected to fall by almost 1.6 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent in that period. The projected reduction in methane emissions is underpinned by predicted reductions in livestock numbers during the 2004-2012 period. During that period cattle numbers are projected to fall from 8.37 million to 7.22 million in 2010 and 7.06 million in 2012. Sheep numbers are projected to fall from 8.5 million in 2004 to 7.17 million in 2010 and 6.88 million in 2012. The analysis was based on the assumption that all EU 15 countries would opt for full decoupling. However some EU 15 countries opted for partial decoupling instead and ten new countries have since joined the European Union. The FAPRI-Ireland partnership is currently revising its projections to take account of these factors, but significant changes to the projections are not expected.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 224: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the target which Ireland has set in the national climate change strategy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the agriculture sector by on-farm forestry sequestration by 2010; the reduction achieved by these measures in the sector to date in 2005; the target for reduction in greenhouse gases due to on-farm forestry sequestration between now and 2010; the steps he is taking to ensure the 2010 target is achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37141/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The target set out in the national climate change strategy for carbon sequestration by on-farm forestry is 0.25 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, per annum, by 2010. The strategy also indicated that an additional 0.76 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be contributed within the national forestry programme, giving a possible total of 1.01 million tonnes of carbon dioxide sequestered per annum by 2010. Estimates of carbon sequestration are based on current knowledge and practice and are continually updated as new information becomes available. The latest estimates indicate that the level of sequestration in Kyoto-eligible forests, which are mainly those newly established since 1990, will actually reach 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005 and is anticipated to rise to 2.13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2010. The anticipated level of sequestration by 2010 is based on the unprecedented levels of afforestation achieved since 1990, as a direct result of grant aid and premium support by successive governments and the EU. The Government is committed to supporting an active afforestation programme and the required supports will continue to be available to ensure that Ireland maximises the potential of its forestry programme for carbon sequestration.