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THE AGRICULTURE MINISTER has said the sector will have “really ambitious targets” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
However, Charlie McConalogue said reports that farmers will face emissions cuts of 21% under the Government’s forthcoming carbon budgets are “speculation”.
The minister was speaking at the launch of the Government’s common agricultural policy (CAP) strategy plan for 2023-2027, which will require farmers to participate in eco-schemes in order to get a share of the funding.
Speaking on Wednesday, the minister said the agriculture sector would “play its part” in reducing emissions, and that this will partly be based on “stable herd numbers”.
He added: “We have to significantly reduce the emissions footprint of the food we produce, and that is a reflection of what’s going to have to happen across society in the time ahead.
“Every sector is going to have really ambitious targets and challenges in that regard and agriculture will play a role in relation to that.”
Green party TD and junior minister Pippa Hackett said it is hoped that new technologies will play a significant role in reducing agriculture emissions, but should those fail, reductions in herd size would have to be examined.
She said: “I suppose we’re going to have to. I’ve said before that we’re at the moment, we haven’t been able to the decouple agriculture from rising emissions.
“We have to try and stabilise those emissions, and then see the effects of any of our technologies on breeding programs, and so forth.
“Once we start to plateau those emissions, we’re better positioned to see how we can deliver.
“We ultimately have to start seeing those emissions plateauing. They have to start coming down, we all know that.”
Minister McConalogue also confirmed that farmers will have to participate in eco-schemes to avail themselves of 25% of the funding available under pillar one of the CAP scheme.
He said: “Farmers do have to participate in them to avail of that. There are actions that are required to be delivered to draw down that funding.
“The objective is to keep compliance costs as low as possible, but to ensure that there’s an environmental outcome from the scheme and that that is verifiable.
“There is a significant change, obviously in pillar one, because when previously pillar two schemes delivered significantly from an environmental point of view, and had specific measures, pillar one up until now has been straightforward, direct payment to farmers, as a support for them producing food.
“The fact that 25% is not going to be dedicated to this purpose, it has been changed, is a reflection of the higher environmental condition that is running through CAP this time.”
He said reports of a 21% reduction target in agricultural emissions remain “speculation” at this point, adding: “In relation to our climate action targets, here hasn’t been anything announced or published by the Government in relation to that yet.
“That will be dealt with as part of the climate action plan.”
Today's #CAPreform announcement by Minister @McConalogue shows the Govt is not interested in supporting active farmers. The emphasis on reducing production will be very damaging for the sector overall, and for rural Ireland. https://t.co/3JIgcahlVH
— Irish Farmers' Association (@IFAmedia) October 20, 2021
McConalogue also highlighted the need for farmers to maximise the value of the food they produce, but that it “remains to be decided” if that will mean the end of cheap food.
“I think certainly in relation to consumer attitudes, they are changing now.
“We’ve seen in recent years they’re changing massively, in terms of how people perceive the food they’re eating, they want to know where it comes from, they want to know what’s in it.
“And they want to have faith and confidence in what they’re eating.
“By continuing to develop that, we will deliver a situation where consumers continue to prefer Irish food, where we can continue to develop higher value markets, and bring that maximum profitability back to farmers.”
The CAP announcement was criticised by the president of the Irish Farmers’ Association Tim Cullinane.
He said: “The total emphasis is on rewarding farmers for reducing production.
“The Greens are clearly running the show, with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael being led by the nose.
“The ministers plan to allocate the maximum 25% of every farmer’s basic payment to so-called ‘eco-schemes’ is bizarre, as the minister himself fought to secure flexibility on this at EU level.”
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I hope it can go ahead.
Let 40,000 people at a gaa match, Let 70,000 people at a music festival no problem. But for the love of God don’t let a partner into the labour ward to support a pregnant woman or visit their new born child they’ll infect the country. Give me a break. Priorities people please
@Dan Linehan: He said that something like electric picnic could go ahead with vaccinated people only. Vaccination rates among pregnant women is quite low. Also, hospitals obviously contain a lot of very vulnerable people. So there is consistency in relation to vaccination rates and vulnerability.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: then separate vaccinated women from non vaccinated women its pretty simple.
@Dan Linehan: sounds like some one wasn’t allowed into a Labour ward. Talk about off topic.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: he didn’t even say that. He said that he’d prefer if the people in croke park were vaccinated, given the size of the crowd. EP losing the run of themselves here, again.
@Dan Linehan: Apples and oranges.
@Dan Linehan: unfortunately partners cannot be let in due to the risk of infecting vulnerable new born babies with a killer virus. Have some cop on.
@Dan Linehan: an unvaccinated partner? If so then NO
There’s too much logic being expected here for this to work out.
Super Spreader Event.
@John Lynch: Correct, exactly what the hurling final was but wouldn’t have been had it been confined to the fully vaccinated only.
Can Garth Brooks headline Fri sat and sun too ?
@CAMILA REMONA: Garth doesn’t have enough friends in high places i’m afraid…
Can someone ask Tony
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/23/almost-5000-covid-cases-linked-to-cornish-music-and-surf-festival-boardmasters
5K cases linked to this one. Latitude one of Mr. Benns 500% increase locally., Lolpolooza all local counties around area sent public health that if you were at to get tested immediately. This was vaccine certs, lateral flow tests etc. The fact is it will not nationally cause an explosion but locally people will pay a price, it maybe a vulnerable loved one’s life. If it was my area and my kids I’d march on the local council. Their is no genuine pinimg here for local artists, its let me print money. Get the guitars back into pubs and small venues the lifeblood of an artists life back open. Liam Gallagher will survive, the local wedding band might not.
@Albert Brennerman: EP is proposed to be open to vaccinated people only. The couple or examples you were able to find (out of hundreds) in Europe were not. If you knew anything about EP (which you clearly don’t) you’d know that there are thousands of jobs and millions of euro to the economy at risk.
If EP went ahead it would be soooooooo amaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.
GAA is more PC!!
Tough one for Micheal!!!!
@Chris Gaffney: he made his bed by attending the hurling final. He has to deal with the consequences.
@Chris Gaffney: Houlihan only saving Martin and Coveneys blushes over attendance at final.These scammers and chancers should not be RULING us.Time for change people.
Release the Beast,
The big Cheese Dr Tony has stated its ok for people with vaccines to party outdoors!
Tony Holohan will not allow it because he knows the rate of infection will rise with so many people, being asymptomatic in one place, and they will be infecting each other making for incidences of covid, he knows this but still persists on the vaccines, & he and others like him will call the lady gp from northern Ireland a charlatan for revealing the truth.
There are interests and interests in the world of arts, entertainment and sport.
Just right..
have your say