Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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250. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the EPA report, Ireland's Environment - An Assessment 2016, regarding meeting climate change targets including greenhouse gas emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35683/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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251. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the EPA report. Ireland's Environment - An Assessment 2016; if Food Wise 2025 targets are still achievable in view of the analysis outlined on meeting climate change responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35684/16]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the EPA report, Ireland's Environment - An Assessment 2016, and the analysis on economically viable farms in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35685/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 to 252, inclusive, together.

I welcome the publication of the EPA report "Ireland's Environment: An Assessment 2016", which underlines the vital importance of agriculture, forestry and land use to environmental sustainability.

Food Wise 2025, the ten year strategy for the agri-food sector, identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness; as well as specific sectoral recommendations.

In July this year, I launched the first annual progress report of Food Wise 2025: Steps to Success 2016. Food Wise Steps to Success showed that, of the 330 detailed actions which were due to commence in 2015 or 2016, 28% have been achieved or substantial action has been undertaken; and a further 67% have commenced and are progressing well. I believe that this is a good start and I will press on to get as many actions as possible completed within the next year.

Environmental sustainability is at the heart of Food Wise, which states that “environmental protection and economic competitiveness are equal and complementary: one cannot be achieved at the expense of the other”. An Environmental Sustainability Subgroup was established under the auspices of HLIC to monitor and drive the sustainability actions outlined in Food Wise 2025.

Ireland’s whole of Government approach to sustainability includes development of coherent and cost-effective policies to meet the twin challenges of sustainable food production and climate change in the agriculture and land use sector. The EPA report will help to inform the development of coherent and cost-effective policies to meet these challenges. The national policy position is based on an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production. Officials from my Department work very closely with other Departments and in particular, with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment which is the lead in this area.

Through the deployment of innovative and efficient practices at farm level, combined with the application of emerging scientific knowledge, Ireland is taking the necessary steps towards addressing the challenge of greenhouse gas emissions in the Irish agriculture sector. The Rural Development Programme, worth almost €4 billion over 7 years, is strongly targeted towards environmental benefits, including knowledge transfer programmes, which will bring the latest innovative sustainability research and practices direct to farmers.

My Department is also contributing to the National Mitigation Plan, which is being prepared under the 2015 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. The work on the national plan is overseen by Government through a hierarchy of committees and sub-groups, with independent advice from the Climate Change Advisory Council. These committees and groups include the Cabinet Committee and the Senior Officials' Group on Infrastructure, Environment and Climate Action, a Technical Research and Modelling Group and a Domestic Climate Finance Group.

DAFM is a key stakeholder in the implementation of the National Regulations referred to as the Nitrates or the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) Regulations. These regulations protect water through the implementation of specific controls and are aimed at minimising the loss of Nutrients from Agriculture. Substantial investments has been made both by my Department and the farming community to implement the GAP measures under the Nitrates Action Programme since their introduction in 2006. Additionally, under our Agri-environment scheme, GLAS, farmers in areas of high water status and vulnerable water bodies have priority entry to the scheme whilst measures such as 'Fencing of Watercourses' within the scheme are designed specifically to enhance water quality. The scheme is therefore very much targeted at improving water quality and this objective is supported by both the Knowledge Transfer and the Targetted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes.

The effectiveness of the Nitrates regulations is monitored by the Agricultural Catchments Programme. This is an integrated research/advisory programme established in 2008 with over 300 participating farmers in six catchments, funded by my Department. The Nitrates Regulations provide a considerable environmental baseline which all Irish farmers must achieve. The next review of these regulations will take place in 2017.

With regard to the economic viability of farms outlined in the EPA report, this analysis is based on research by my Department and Teagasc. The overarching emphasis of Food Wise is to support increased competitiveness and profitability on farms with a view to delivering sustainable growth. In that regard the three pillar strategy I announced as part of the recent Budget - comprising payments, agri-taxation measures and the innovative Agri Cashflow Support Loan Fund - is designed to alleviate the difficulties caused to farmers by current market difficulties and the uncertainty engendered by the UK decision to leave the EU, and to provide them with longer-term financial stability.