Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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98. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to facilitate farmers’ trading carbon credits; if he intends to establish a verifiable framework to record and manage net carbon sequestration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47186/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Frmers must be recognised for their environmental ambition and rewarded accordingly - this is a real exciting area for our sector and one that I am putting farmers at the very centre.

Also, in the context of the recently agreed sectoral emissions ceilings of a 25% reduction for agriculture, the area of carbon farming is in sharper focus.

The Climate Action Plan 2021 commits to the development of an enabling framework for the potential trading of carbon credits, and which rewards farmers for emissions reductions and carbon removals, including through potential private sector investment.

I recognise the development of a carbon farming framework is very much in line with the EU’s policy direction and in December 2021 the European Commission published its communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles outlining a roadmap for the adoption of both nature-based and technology-based carbon storage solutions.

I look forward to the upcoming proposals from the European Commission by the year end on an EU regulatory framework for the certification of carbon removals in this regard.

To gain a deeper understanding of relevant issues, I have recently convened a Carbon Farming Working Group, chaired by officials from the Department and initially drawing on expertise from across semi-state and governmental Departments to explore opportunities for the development of practices which encourage the removal of carbon in line with developments at EU level.

In the development of a carbon farming framework, the establishment of baseline data, auditing, the development of voluntary carbon codes, leveraging of private financing through public/private partnerships, and the putting in place of good governance structures will be required.

I have recently provided funding through for initiatives such as the establishment of the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory, the Pilot Soil Sampling Programme and the Farm Environmental Scheme along with a number of European Innovation Partnership (EIP) research projects, to provide the required data for the development of future policy options in this area.

I strongly believe that Carbon farming is an area that will become a crucial part of the future of farming in this country. I know this will be a real opportunity for farmers to derive a new income stream for their farm and I will drive this very exciting opportunity forward.

The sky is the limit for carbon farming here and I want farmers to benefit strongly in the time ahead.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the agriculture sector was assigned a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 based on a 2018 baseline of 23MT CO2 eq. This reduction in emissions will contribute to the economy wide reduction of 51% by 2030.

This is an ambitous and challenging target but one that I believe our farm families are committed in reaching,

The Climate Action Plan 2021 set out the core and additional measures the sector will pursue to live within its assigned carbon budgets.

Earlier this year, I established two Food Vision groups - a dairy group and a beef and sheep group. The final report from the dairy group is imminent, with the beef and sheep group to conclude its work in the coming period. The reports will contain a series of recommendations to reduce agricultural greenhouse gases, building on the Climate Action Plan 2021 core and further measures.

The challenge now is to have these measures taken up at farm level, and this process is well underway. The Teagasc Signpost farm programme will play a key role in this objective. One of the key measures will be a reduction in chemical nitrogen use, and a change in the type of chemical nitrogen applied. Significant progress has been made in 2022 and this will be positively reflected in the 2022 inventory when published next year.

Other measures include a focus on animal breeding, reduced finishing times for our prime beef animals, and increased levels of organic production. Finally, new technologies, as is the case for all sectors of the economy, along with diversification opportunities such as through Anerobic Digestion will be needed in order to bridge the final gap-to-target.

I am confident also that with appropriate research supports, methane-reducing feed additives will be developed and rolled out on farms by 2030.

The next decade will be one of considerable change for Irish farms but there will be many opportunties too. I will continue to back and support our farm families along this journey.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures in Budget 2023 to support women farmers. [53166/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Budget 2023 provides for a €2.14 billion allocation for my Department, the highest ever level of funding allocated to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This represents an increase of €283m on the 2022 provision, or a 13% increase overall, to support farmers, fishers, and rural and coastal communities.

In addition to supporting farm families, including women farmers, dealing with the immediate and ongoing fallout of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Budget 2023 also lays the groundwork for strategic supports for the sector through the new €10 billion CAP Strategic Plan (CSP).

Gender equality is a key a priority for me and the Government. It is also a core principle of the European Union and the new CAP Regulations place particular focus on promoting the participation of women in the socio-economic development of rural areas, with special attention to farming.

I am proud to be the Minister to brining forward specific measures aimed improving gender balance, gender equality and increasing the participation of women in farming as part of the CAP Strategic Plan. Ireland’s CSP, which will deliver some €10bn to farm families over the next five years, includes innovative proposals to promote gender equality:

An increased rate of grant aid of 60% for women farmers aged 40-66 years under the Capital Investment Scheme;

Women-only Knowledge Transfer (KT) Groups; and,

A call under the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) initiative for proposals to examine women’s participation in agriculture.

In addition, Food Vision 2030, the stakeholder-led strategy for the Irish agri-food sector, includes a number of actions to promote and improve gender balance at all levels. It also recommends the establishment of female farmers’ networks and other supports to better understand and meet the needs of Irish women farmers, fishers and rural female entrepreneurs.

It also proposed holding a national event on women in agriculture and I recently announced that former Tánaiste and Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, will chair such an event next year. This event will be funded by my Department’s Vote allocation under Budget 2023.

Also, since 2015, my Department has provided support for rural female entrepreneurs under the ACORNS programme. This initiative involves the development and implementation of a tailored programme to support early-stage female entrepreneurs living in rural Ireland. I recently launched a new call for applications and approximately 50 participants have been selected for the six-month programme that will run from October 2022 to April 2023. This will be funded through my Department’s Budget 2023 Vote allocation.

In summary, gender equality is a priority for the Government, and I have ensured it is robustly supported through my Department's Budget for 2023 and in the new CSP.