Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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145. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support a ban on the advertisement of meat, as in the city of Haarlem, due to its negative impact on the environment; and if he will make a public statement on the matter and take action to implement the measure. [61371/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland has a reputation internationally as a world class producer of high quality sustainably produced meat.

More than 80,000 family farms in Ireland are involved in the production of beef. These families are integral to the maintenance of both the environmental and social sustainability of rural communities, support jobs in the processing sector and make a significant contribution to the wider economy.  

Ireland has an important role to play as a developed nation and a sustainable producer of food to both help to mitigate the impacts of climate change, which are disproportionately impacting on the poorest people in the world, and to support global food security.

Food Vision 2030, our strategy for the sustainable development of the agri-food sector over the next decade, includes a number of actions to help to communicate credible, market relevant environmental and social sustainability credentials of our food, including meat, to trade customers and consumers in both national and international markets, and to develop market opportunities both home and abroad.

Ireland currently has an application for PGI status for Irish Grass Fed Beef under consideration by the European Commission, which, if approved, will contribute to communicating the credentials of Irish beef to consumers.

As the Deputy may be aware, I have recently received a report from the Chair of the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group, proposing direct and enabling measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the beef sector, in line with the legally binding target of a 25% reduction in agricultural emissions by 2030. 

I will consider this report carefully before deciding on next steps.  The Group will now move on to progressing the other important actions for the beef and sheep sectors set out in the Food Vision 2030 strategy.

Under the new CAP strategic plan, beef farmers can avail of the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) with available funding of €260 million. The aim of the Programme which will run from 2023 to 2027, is to provide support to beef farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd and to improve the genetic merit of the suckler herd.

My ultimate aim is to futureproof our beef sector for the benefit of our industry, the environment and our farm families who are the backbone of the sector and rural communities. To conclude, I do not support a ban on the advertising of meat.