The Climate action bill which was passed through the Dáil last night (Wednesday, June 16) “did not receive proper scrutiny”, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has claimed.
The farming organisation was giving its reaction to the vote last night (Wednesday, June 16) – which saw the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021 passed with 129 votes in favour, and 10 votes against.
Commenting this morning, IFA president Tim Cullinan said that he was very disappointed that the climate action bill was passed by the Dáil last night without any amendments being accepted by Minister Eamon Ryan.
“There were 111 amendments to be decided – but the debate was guillotined as the second amendment was being discussed. It’s an affront to democracy,” he said.
“Over the last few days, the IFA has received assurances from government TDs that the concerns we have raised are addressed implicitly in the bill.
“We believe the bill would have benefitted from the further clarity that our proposed amendments would have brought.
“However, we will hold the minister and government deputies to undertakings they have given, particularly in relation to carbon budgets taking account of sequestration as well as emissions,” he said.
“This is the best country in the world to produce food. We will continue to fight to ensure that every farmer can continue to earn a living and not have their livestock numbers cut or restricted,” he said.
“Farmers will continue to play our part on climate action by adopting technologies which reduce methane and contribute positively to water quality and biodiversity.
“But targets for our sector must be realistic and achievable,” he said.