Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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584. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he remains satisfied regarding the future of the dairy industry here, with particular reference to the need to reduce carbon emissions while at the same time ensuring the development of the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35528/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I remain confident that the outlook for the Irish dairy Industry remains positive - the long-term fundamentals of the dairy sector are really strong. We produce safe, nutritious and sustainable dairy products that are in demand across the globe.

The Irish dairy industry is one of our largest and most profitable industries. In 2022, Irish farmers produced over 8.8 billion litres of milk, an increase of 0.7% on 2021. Irish dairy exports reached almost €7 billion in value in 2022; we exported over 1.6 million tonnes of dairy products to over 130 different countries, making dairy the largest food and drink export category. Strong market returns across the core categories of butter, cheese, and powders, coupled with diversification efforts into new markets, have led to a sustained increase in value.

Climate action is a priority across for our country as a whole. Irish dairy farmers and the dairy industry are no less conscious than other sectors of society of the need to play their part in driving down emissions. The sector came together last year in the Food Vision Dairy Group with the first priority of the Group to chart a pathway to achieving the legally binding target of a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 2030, set in mid-2022 through the Climate Act process.

The report of this Group published in October 2022, identified a number of measures which will contribute directly to emissions reductions associated with dairy production including reducing chemical fertiliser use; replacement of ammonium-based fertiliser with protected urea; development of methane-mitigating feed technologies and breeding strategies.

The publication was timely as it then served to inform the Climate Action Plan 2023 which was launched in December 2022. The implementation roadmap for actions outlined in the Plan is contained in a supplementary annex of actions which was published in March.

My Department will work collaboratively with all other Departments and agencies involved to implement these priority actions.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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585. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he remains satisfied regarding the future of the beef industry here, with particular reference to the need to reduce carbon emissions while at the same time ensuring the development of the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35529/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am satisfied that the Irish beef sector is well positioned to balance future development with the need for reduced carbon emissions.

Beef farm enterprises contribute significantly to the economic sustainability and social fabric of rural areas. Food Vision 2030, the overarching agri-food strategy, contains several actions to guide stakeholder efforts in the sustainable development of the beef sector.

These include recognising the suckler herd as a key agricultural asset, supporting dairy calf-to-beef systems, and continuing to improve cattle breeding strategies by focusing on the contribution of genomics to environmental and economic efficiency.

Earlier this year, I announced the opening of vital new suckler and beef support schemes worth €265m. The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme targets bovine emissions through enhanced use of genetics, genomics and performance metrics. It will improve the environmental and productive efficiency of the national suckler herd and enhance the reputation of Irish beef on the global stage. The National Dairy Beef Welfare Scheme will improve calf health and welfare while facilitating the further integration of the beef and dairy production systems. I also announced funding for a major genotyping programme for Irish cattle, run through a strategic public-private partnership model.

Irish beef exports continue to compete effectively in overseas markets. According to the CSO, Irish beef exports averaged over 500,000 tonnes in the period 2018 to 2022 and were worth, on average, €2.5 billion annually.

To continue ongoing collaboration with stakeholders, I established the Food Vision Beef and Sheepmeat Group last year to advance the actions identified in the overall strategy, taking account of the requirement for those sectors to contribute to achieving the targets set for agriculture emissions in the Climate Act process.

The group submitted its report on mitigating emissions from the sector in November 2022, which has been published on my Department’s website. The report identified direct and enabling measures which could contribute to reducing emissions. The publication was timely as it served to inform the Climate Action Plan 2023, which was published in December 2022, and its annex of actions published in March 2023.

Putting the beef sector on a more sustainable footing is a key priority of mine. Working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders and across government, I believe that we can build a more resilient beef sector for the current and future generations of farmers.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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586. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he and his Department continue to encourage the fishing industry, with particular reference to ensuring that the industry here can compete with all others; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35530/23]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I can assure the Deputy that my Department constantly monitors the needs of the fisheries sector. I will be meeting next with industry representatives on 19th July. Along with regularly meeting with representatives of the sector, holding formal consultations and attending public forums, we monitor developments in key economic indicators. My Department prepares and publishes an Annual Review and Outlook (ARO), which provides up-to-date information and statistical analysis from a variety of sources, to give a detailed overview of Ireland’s agri-food sector and an outlook for the future. The most recent Annual Review and Outlook report was published in November 2022.

I established the Seafood Sector Taskforce in March 2021 to examine the impacts of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on our fishing sector and coastal communities and to make recommendations to me on a mitigation strategy. I received the Report of the Seafood Task Force in October 2021 and, based on its recommendations, I have announced over €271 million in supports and development strategies to date.

Included in the schemes announced to date are short term supports and longer-term restructuring initiatives for the fishing fleet, capital supports for both processing and aquaculture sectors, funding for entrepreneurial initiatives in coastal communities and investment in marine infrastructure. Combined, these schemes contribute to sustaining employment in the seafood sector as a whole, providing new career opportunities and ensuring those transitioning within the sector are supported.

In addition to the measures recommended by the Task Force, my Department’s €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Programme 2014-20 has been operating since 2016, supporting the sustainable development of our seafood sector. The Programme is now coming to an end and will be succeeded by the new Seafood Development Programme under EMFAF 2021-27 which was adopted by the European Commission in December 2022. The new €258 million programme will continue the provision of a wide range of financial supports to fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises and to enterprises, groups and individuals in coastal communities. These will include supports for capital investment, innovation, professional advisory services and marketing.

Despite the challenges, Ireland’s fishing industry has remained resilient. BIM's Business of Seafood report for 2022, published in April 2023, indicates that the value of the overall Irish seafood sector increased by 13% to €703 million, while the overall value of Irish aquaculture products increased by 10% to €196 million.

I can assure the Deputy that this Government is committed to addressing the challenges facing our seafood sector and I continue to pursue all opportunities to increase the fishing opportunities for Ireland’s fishing fleet.