A significant drop in the national cattle herd would be needed to achieve a 30% reduction in agricultural emissions, an independent TD has claimed.
“There is talk that agriculture could be expected to cut its carbon footprint by 30%.
“There is no scenario where this number could be achieved without culling a significant portion of the national herd,” Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice said.
“This would be detrimental not only to farm incomes but the entire rural economy.
“Every element of the food production process would be hit hard. From farmers and meat processors to marts and butchers. The knock-on effects would be the death knell for rural Ireland,” he claimed.
“Farming in Ireland is grass based, that is totally different to other countries and the figures being used to justify the proposed cuts are not correct.
“If you start building a house the foundation has to be right, so, if the figures being used to calculate the targets are wrong, so too will the objectives be skewed,” the Roscommon-Galway TD outlined.
“We have to be very clear on this, not a single tree outside the manicured forests are known to state, and therefore are not included in the current carbon offsets.
“There are technological solutions coming down the line that can assist not just agriculture but the entire economy, in terms of achieving significant carbon footprint reductions,” Fitzmaurice said.
“Some rural TDs are willing to compromise and agree to a 22% reduction. To me, that is them turning their backs on rural Ireland.
“Regardless of the number, one thing must be made clear to the government. Any carbon reduction plan that involves the culling of our national herd will effectively be a lethal injection for rural Ireland,” he continued.
“All TDs, both rural and urban, must voice their objection to Minister Ryan’s plans. And if the government does not listen, then I think the time has come for the people of rural Ireland to stand together and protest that their future is being undermined.
“We cannot and will not accept such a plan and the pain and suffering it would inflict on hundreds of thousands of people across Ireland,” Fitzmaurice concluded.
On April 6, the Oireachtas approved the carbon budget, which provided for a ceiling of 295 million tonnes of carbon emissions up to 2025. However, the accompanying sectoral ceilings have not yet been published.
An emissions reduction target will be set for the farming sector which will be somewhere between 22% and 30%, relative to emissions in 2018.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has suggested that they may be published by the end of this month.