Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has moved to give further assurances that a reduction in farm herd sizes is not on the cards for the sector as part of climate change mitigation.
He was speaking at the Fine Gael Special Conference on Agriculture and Rural Development, which took place today (Saturday, May 7) in Tullamore, Co. Offaly.
Taking questions from Fine Gael members and other invited guests, the Tánaiste addressed the issue of farmers feeling unfairly signalled out in the climate debate.
“I hear that from farmers in my own family; I hear it at Fine Gael meetings; I hear it when I meet the farm organisations; and that’s a real problem, and if that feeling or perception exists, we have to turn it around.
“I know a lot of farmers feel they are being climate shamed, and being made to feel bad almost for the work they do and the job they have, and that’s totally wrong,” Minister Varadkar said.
He added: “Nobody should be climate shamed, and we’re not going to get anything done in terms of climate action if people feel that way, and that’s why it’s important to engage with people and design solutions with them.”
However, the Tánaiste also noted that, under the emissions reduction targets in the Climate Action Plan, the agriculture sector has the lowest targets to meet.
It’s also important to be honest about the fact that the emissions reduction that we’re looking for from agriculture is between 20% and 30% over the next 10 years.
He highlighted that in other sectors – including industry, electricity generation and transport – the targeted reductions in emissions are considerably higher.
Minister Varadkar did note, however, that “there is a very good reason” why agriculture was being asked for the lowest reduction.
He said: “It is so important because it is about food production, because it is so central to rural Ireland and making sure we have a balanced country in terms of development.”
However, the Tánaiste argued that, because the targets for agriculture are that much lower, it puts pressure on to meet them.
Notwithstanding that, he stated that a reduction in cow numbers was not going to be pursued to achieve the targets.
“I don’t know how we are going to get a 50% reduction in industry, but if we can’t get a 50% reduction in industry, we’re not going to be shutting down pharmaceutical plants; and we’re not going to be telling Apple to leave, and we’re not going to be telling businesses to shut their doors,” he outlined.
“The same applies to agriculture. We do have to try and meet these targets to reduce our emissions, but we’re not going to be telling anyone to reduce the numbers of cows they have, or to stop farming, any more than we would tell someone to shut down their factory, or shut down their business. I want people to be assured of that,” the Tánaiste said.