Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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15. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether food production policy in Ireland needs to be revised given the recent report by an organisation (details supplied) on the state of food security and nutrition in the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38602/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report underpins the stark reality on the escalating number of people worldwide who face hunger every day. The latest figures show an increase of 150 million people in 2019 to a staggering level of 829 million people at the end of 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflict and the increasing cost of fuel, fertiliser and feeding-stuff are all impact negatively on the global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 target of Zero Hunger by 2030. This distressing level of hunger will inevitably get worse as a result of the illegal Russian war on Ukraine, its use of food as a weapon, the targeting of food facilities and the blockading of grain exports in the Black Sea.

The UN Food Systems Summit, in which I participated last year, affirmed that foods system hold the power to realise our shared vision for a better world without global hunger, poverty and inequality.

I am committed to pursuing a sustainable food systems approach both in relation both to Ireland’s own agri-food system, and also to my Department’s international development cooperation efforts.

Food Vision 2030 is the strategy for the sustainable development of the agri-food sector. Both the strategy and its recently published implementation plan, have missions and goals aligned with specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.

Food Vision 2030 sets an ambition that Ireland will become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade. The strategy was developed by a stakeholder committee, taking a food systems approach, and recognising the importance of the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability.

Food Vision 2030 sets out four high-level Missions for the sector to work towards:

1. A Climate Smart, Environmentally Sustainable Agri-Food Sector

2. Viable and Resilient Primary Producers with Enhanced Well-Being

3. Food that is Safe, Nutritious And Appealing, Trusted And Valued at Home and Abroad

4.An Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Agri-Food Sector, Driven by Technology And Talent

Each of these missions is well thought out, with ambitious goals rooted in a strongly practical approach to what needs to be achieved.

I am leading on the implementation of Food Vision which is already underway, with many of its actions commenced. I have chaired three meetings of the Food Vision 2030 High Level Implementation Committee which will provide leadership in progressing the missions and actions set out in the Food Vision strategy.

I believe Food Vision 2030 provides a pathway for a dynamic, sustainable and innovative agri-food sector ready to adapt and to embrace change for a more sustainable future.

I am confident that, with Food Vision 2030 as a strategic framework, Ireland’s agri-food sector will achieve its ambition to become a world leader in sustainable food systems.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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16. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way that he can support farmers and the agri-food sector to achieve its carbon emissions targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38519/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, all sectors of the economy will have to deliver on challenging targets in order to achieve the economy wide 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

The agriculture sector will need to reduce emissions by between 22% to 30% by 2030, this will require signficant change across each one of our 140,000 family farms. I have been clear that a whole-of-sector, whole-of-government approach will be needed to achieve our objectives. Regulation, public supports and incentives, in conjunction with private industry supports will all an important role.

In terms of public supports, the CAP Strategic Plan, which is currently going through the approval process, will undoubtedly be a key pillar of the State's climate action support. The CAP Strategic Plan will provide €9.8bn of support the economic, environmental and social sustainability for farmers and rural communities.

Key elements of this plan include:

- a new Eco-scheme. This scheme has a number of climate- and environment-focused farming practices, which will be open to all farmers. These include practices aimed at reducing chemical nitrogen usage, increasing tree planting, increasing nature- and biodiversity-rich land areas and encouraging extensive livestock production;

- an ambitious new Pillar II environmental scheme, the ACRES scheme, targeted at 50,000 participants. This will be underpinned by a greater focus on results-based actionsand on collective actionsaimed at achieving landscape-scale benefits;

- an Organic Farming Scheme aimed at more than tripling the area of agricultural land that is farmed organically;

- A suckler carbon efficiency scheme which will contribute to the objective of early finishing times of our prime beef cattle. This will reward farmers with a payment of €150/cow on the first 10 cows, compared with €90/cow on the outgoing BDGP.

In addition, I established two Food Vision 2030 working groups on dairy and on beef and sheep meat which will set out a clear roadmap to enable the sectors reduce emissions.

I have already committed support, such as through supporting Soil Sampling to measure soil carbon, support for low and indeed in some cases, no Nitrogen crops such as Multi-species and Red clover mixes.

I will work with industry to ensure that their sustainability payment supports fully align with our public supports. By taking this coordinated approach, I am confident the sector will be able to achieve its climate objectives.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which his Department is supporting farmers in the production of biomethane on farms from animal manure and other agricultural by-products by a process of using anaerobic digestion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38531/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a proven science for the generation of sustainable energy and it is a largerly untapped resource in this country. I believe there is potential to develop anaerobic digestion on Irish farms, especially considering the current global energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

It should be noted however, that energy policy formation, including renewable energy, is the direct responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). However, my Department is engaging with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on all energy related matters from an agricultural perspective, as well as a wide range of industry and other stakeholder groupings.

My Department continues to engage with farmers and other relevant stakeholders as part of its regulatory role in the Anaerobic Digestion industry specifically when animal-by-products are utilised as a feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion. There are currently 12 anaerobic digesters producing biogas in operation nationally that are approved and under license by my Department.

The development of an anaerobic digestion industry in Ireland must be based on scientific research and country specific data. To this end, my Department continues to support research, development and demonstration in this particular area.

Two projects in particular which have received part-funding from my Department through the European Innovation Partnerships initiative (EIP), as part of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 will provide this much needed information. The Bio-refinery Glas (small scale farmer-led green bio-refineries) and Irish Bio-energy Association (IrBEA) (small biogas demonstration programme) have both been awarded funding of over €900,000 each.

I look forward to seeing the results of these projects which will provide valuable information of specific relevance to Irish farmers. The development of an AD indsutry could be a strong new income stream for farm families too.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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18. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has undertaken any study to measure the increase in costs for green diesel and the burden that this is having on farmers. [38213/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am very conscious of the impact on the agri-food sector of increased input costs, and particularly price rises in the energy sector, which have been amplified by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. I have worked to deliver measures and supports for our farm families who have been impacted by the increased costs of inputs as a result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.

I meet with stakeholders on an ongoing basis to discuss the impact of the Ukraine crisis on Irish agriculture and supply chains. Since the invasion of Ukraine started, I have announced a number of measures, valued at €91 million, to assist the agri-food sector. These targeted measures will help Irish farmers at a time of escalating costs and build resilience against the expected impact of the situation in Ukraine.

While primary responsibility for the taxation of fuel lies with the Minister for Finance, I continue to work closely with him to ensure that the tax code reflects the Government’s priorities for the agri-food sector.

As the Deputy may be aware, gas oil that qualifies for a reduced rate of Mineral Oil Tax is marked green and is usually referred to as Marked Gas Oil (MGO), green diesel or agricultural diesel.

Mineral Oil Tax is comprised of a non-carbon component and a carbon component. Following reductions applied by the Minister for Finance to the non-carbon component of the tax this year, the current rate of Mineral Oil Tax on agricultural diesel is €111.14 per 1000 litres. This compares very favourably to the current rate applied to auto diesel which is €405.38 per 1000 litres.

It should be noted that those who incur expenses in relation to farm diesel in the course of farming or the trade of agricultural contracting may claim an income tax or corporation tax deduction for these expenses, including any carbon tax charged in respect of the diesel.

I also note that Section 664A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, as amended, provides further relief on expenditure incurred by farmers in respect of an increase in the carbon tax on farm diesel.

I continue to engage with all our stakeholders and continue to work across Government, and with our European partners, to respond to this crisis, using all of the tools at our disposal. I am taking a very proactive approach to the crisis in Ukraine.

We must protect our agri-food sector and farm families through this period of significant upheaval.