The government has published a new progress report which outlines the actions taken or completed as part of the Climate Action Plan for the first quarter of 2025, including those related to agriculture.

In total, four of the six new Q1 actions have been delivered on time, according to the progress report.

High impact actions delayed from 2023 and 2024 are also included in the report to retain accountability to their completion, according to the government.

Of the 64 legacy actions remaining, 10 of these were completed in Q1 2025.

The report states that the Programme for Government makes key commitments supporting a sustainable transition in agriculture including:

Reducing emissions and improving sustainability;
Helping farmers adopt practical measures to cut emissions;
Offering sustainable income diversification options;
Promoting carbon reducing activities like forestry planting;
Partnering with farmers and rural communities to embrace opportunities in energy efficiency, renewables, and nature-based solutions.

The report acknowledges the launch of the 60% grant-aided Nutrient Storage Scheme in Q1 of 2025 to "support reduced reliance on chemical fertiliser".

This was one of the scheduled actions which was on the list for completion.

The Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme (NISS) is aimed at improving the production conditions on farms, improving competitiveness and contributing to the improvement of agricultural incomes and helping farmers on the storage of imported animal excreta, soiled water and other farmyard manures and related facilities.

The scheme is open to farmers with at least 5ha of owned, leased or rented lands which has been declared under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) or equivalent in the year of application or preceding year, or in the case of intensive enterprises, generate a minimum of 20 production units from farming.

The associated investment ceilings are €90,000 for individuals, or €160,000 for Registered Farm Partnerships.

It is a standalone scheme and does not impact other Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) 3 investment limits and multiple applications per tranche are allowed.

Other "legacy" actions in agriculture, which are listed in the report include:

Establish a group and finalise an implementation report for a just climate transition in agriculture - completed;
Review maximum nitrogen (N) limits - completed;
New/updated measures from the Teagasc Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) included in the Climate Action Plan - completed;
Publish draft carbon farming framework - delayed;
Industry agreement for tracking the use of methane-reducing ingredients - delayed.

An action which had previously been suggested has now been ruled out altogether, and that was the cow reduction scheme.

Other actions scheduled for completion before the end of 2025 in relation to agriculture include developing an action plan on reducing the age of slaughter, as well as the implementation of the Lisheen Bioeconomy Scaleup Initiative and the Circular Bioeconomy Aquaculture Demonstration Initiative projects.

In terms of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), the report states that this sector has been an emissions source in Ireland since 1990.

"It has a challenging future profile for emissions generation due to the ageing profile of existing trees, continued low planting rates and large areas of drained emissive peat soils used for farming, forestry and peat extraction," according to the progress report.

The government has stated that emissions from land use are expected to rise between 5.5 and 7.8MT CO₂eq in WAM (with additional measures) and WEM (with existing measures) scenarios respectively by 2030.

The progress report states that the projected increase in emissions may be moderated through planned interventions such as expanded afforestation, improved water table management on organic soils used for agriculture, and the rehabilitation of peatlands.

There is a target of 8,000ha per year until 2030 for afforestation, however 2024's figure only reached 1,573.

One action included in the Climate Action Plan which has been delayed is a review of proposed Teagasc MACC measures to determine which actions are possible to deliver sustainably across all land use types.

As part of this, providing a detailed mapping exercise to achieve the EU LULUCF regulation target has also been delayed.

The report outlines that while agriculture is the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector in Ireland, emissions decreased by 20.7Mt CO²eq in 2023.

This was driven by reductions in fertiliser use, liming and decreased milk production due to poor weather and grazing conditions, according to the progress report.

The report said that delays in climate action delivery stem from several factors including:

Technical complexity or data gaps;
Dependencies on other actions or policies;
Issues caused by problems resourcing areas requiring specific technical expertise;
Time required for legislative responses, including parliamentary time;
Staff resourcing supply problems;
Delays regarding public consultation;
Administrative hold-ups such as approval processes;
The need for additional analysis.

These delays threaten Ireland’s ability to meet binding emissions targets and risk increasing future pressures, costs, and reputational harm.

All delayed actions will continue to be reported as a part of the 2025 reporting process, maintaining commitment to their delivery alongside new measures, according to the government.