Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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213. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the recommendations from the Citizens' Assembly regarding GHG emissions in the agriculture sector. [47541/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I have been following the proceedings of the Citizens’ Assembly with interest and in particular the topic of last weekend's session on Climate Change.  I look forward to reading the report of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly when it is received by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I am pleased to see the level of interest among citizens in what is a very serious global issue, evidenced in the huge number of submissions made to the Assembly on the topic of climate change.  Officials in my Department have been engaged in reviewing the agriculture and forest sector elements which have been raised in those submissions.

Many of the sentiments behind the recommendations put forward by the members of the Assembly at the weekend are consistent with our approach to agri-policy.  For example, the recommendations include rewarding farmers for good environmental practices, this is consistent with our Rural Development Programme which is strongly targeted towards environmental benefits. The Agri-Environmental Scheme, ‘GLAS’ has over 50,000 farmers participating, addressing climate and other environmental threats such as biodiversity and water quality.  The knowledge transfer programmes aim to bring the latest innovative sustainability research and practices direct to farmers. Other schemes such as TAMS provide supports for low emission slurry spreading equipment, farm nutrient storage and renewable energy efficiency.  The Assembly also recommended supporting organic farming which is another of our RDP measures.

My Department is also actively supporting the planting of trees and has set an ambitious target to increase forest cover in Ireland from the current 11% to 18% by mid century.  We have supported the establishment of over 300,000 ha of forestry since 1990 and over 9,000 km of forest roads.

Food waste, while not directly within the remit of my Department, is part of the Origin Green Sustainability charter which requires companies to draw up independently certified plans which must include specific targets relating to waste management. The 2016 Sustainability Report identified 4,600 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill and 24,000 tonnes of waste recycled or recovered.

The suggestion of tax on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture should be considered against the context of a range of actions being undertaken in fulfilment of the Government's policy of an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land use sector, which does not compromise sustainable food production.  I am also cognisant of the requirement in the Paris Agreement which places an obligation on Parties to foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development in a manner that does not threaten food production.

The sector is committed to playing its part and to ensuring that growth continues on the basis of sustainability, however, when considering policy options we must consider the multiple objectives of the agriculture and land use sector and their lower mitigation potential, something that has been recognised in the October 2014 European Council Conclusions.