Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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422. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to address the carbon footprint of the livestock sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40714/16]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Irish agricultural production is independently and internationally recognised by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre as one of the most climate and resource efficient systems in the world. However, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is not complacent in this regard; we continue to seek improvements and opportunities to implement the latest innovative sustainability research and practices.

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 provides the statutory basis for Government policy on climate change. As required by the Act, the development of a National Mitigation Plan (NMP) is being led by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment and represents a whole-of-Government approach, involving this Department, which is responsible for inputs in relation to the agriculture and forest sector.

In addition, a range of actions are currently being undertaken to make Irish farming more environmentally sustainable, including measures under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) which is worth almost €4 billion over 7 years. The RDP is strongly targeted towards environmental benefits, including the Beef Data and Genomics Programme which is directly targeted at the climate emissions of 30,000 beef farmers. The objective is to lower the intensity of GHG emissions by improving the quality and efficiency of the national beef herd.

The Pasture Profit Index, the Carbon Navigator Tool and the Agricultural Catchments Programme also help to reduce carbon emissions per unit of output produced and help protect our rivers.

We are a world leader in areas such as sustainable auditing and carbon foot-printing under the Origin Green programme. Origin Green is a strategic priority in Food Wise 2025, the ten year strategy for the agri-food industry which includes a strong commitment to measure and monitor the sustainability credentials of the sector. As part of the implementation of Food Wise, an Environmental Sustainability Committee has been established. The implementation process will include evaluation and assessment of the delivery of sustainability and mitigation actions.

We will continue to pursue our ambition to move towards carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production.