Mattie McGrath Questions 2050 Climate Neutrality for Farmers

I'm happy to speak on this issue here this afternoon. Ministers, as I understand it, in line with its June conclusions, the European Council will return to the issue of climate change with the aim of finalising its guidance for the adoption and submission of the EU's long-term strategy, with the focus in particular on the target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. I want to ask for a bit more detail, Minister, on what exactly this proposed climate neutrality would look like, especially with respect to the implications it would have for Irish agriculture and the beef sector and indeed the dairy sector and all agricultural sector. These are very important questions and many, many farm families out there are watching in quite aghast as to what may be coming down the tracks and are very uncertain about their futures and they are a vital part of our rural economy, as you know. I remember here when I talked to Deputy Wallace, who was here, who has now gone to greener pastures in Europe, in this chamber one day he spoke about climate neutrality and our meat and dairy herds, and to quote him, at the time he said that our meat and dairy herds are to Ireland, and I quote, which the coal industry is to Poland and the fracking gas industry is to the United States, namely a short-sighted cash generator, the expansion of which is undermining the chances of survival of the planet and of the people of the global south, and in less than a generation, the people of the global north. But how can anyone take this stuff seriously, Minister, and that's why I'm worried certainly, and many people are worried as to what role you're taking, and what view you're taking in those kinds of statements and those kinds of issues at the EU level. Apparently, the EU does agree with what Deputy Wallace was saying by insisting that we all move to carbon neutrality. Apparently, the appearance is given that Irish farmers are not doing their bit, and I think, in fact, they're doing a lot, and are grappling to do a lot, and in the teat of terrible poor prices, huge imports of beef and pork and other commodities, not only all over Europe, but from Mercosur countries and everything else, and they're scared stiff. And we saw them here in the streets in Dublin only today, two weeks, and they had to come up because they weren't being listened to by your government. MII are trying to crush them into the ground in Meat Industry Ireland, and Minister Creed just rubs his hand and sets up a task force that is toothless, useless, and fruitless, because that task force is headed up by a retired Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, who was in place when all the regulations that were brought in that are now crippling the farmers, the 30-month rule, the altered adventures of the factories and the meat producers, were put in place by this man. He is by no long... I'm nothing against the man personally, but he's in no way independent. Couldn't be even envisaged as any bit of independent chairperson. We needed someone out there that knew nothing about farming, and knew nothing about the meat industry to come in there to chair this openly, honestly, and level the playing field, but that didn't happen, of course. As I said, Minister, the EU seems to be agreeing with what Deputy Wallace had to say, and this is despite the fact that, and this is very important, the European Commission's giant research centre report found Ireland was the most carbon-efficient beef producer in the European urine per unit of dairy, solid solid production, and the fifth most carbon-efficient producer of beef per kilogram, and that comes, not from us, that's not us saying it, that is from the European Commission's giant research centre report found these figures, and I repeated that per unit of dairy production were the best, and as the fifth most carbon-efficient producer of beef per kilogram. So what does all this talk about? Why are we being so scaremongering, and why are we accepting this cat-blanch attitude? Why aren't we defending our rights and preventing, and a lot of effort has gone in, in farming and agri-industry, to be that good, and to keep it green, and traceability from the farm to the fork, but to have that kind of recognition at the EU level. And then, Minister, we're concerned about what is the policy position of your government, or guidance that you will be giving to the EU when it comes to outlining the ways in which we approach carbon neutrality by 2050. So there's a lot of questions, a lot of worries, Minister, and we will lecture at the moment for the new IFA President, and I hope the temporary candidate, Tim Cullinan, is successful, but whoever is successful, and the other farm obligations as well. Well, they are worried and concerned, and so what message do you bring to the table? Are you quoting that to them, that you have these figures? I hope you are, that we're top of the class as regards carbon-efficient dairy, and fifth, as regards efficient producer of beef per kilogram. Those are huge facts that are independent, I hope, I expect, from the European Commission, so we must be maintaining that and protecting our most important industry, I call it, agricultural industry, because the last number of recessions that we had, and I've lived through three of them, it was agriculture that recovered our economy, and you should know that from a rural constituency yourself. So, Minister, I want to know what the policy position, and what you're going to, your teacher and minister, I reckon he's going to be saying, I'm disappointed or not here, I know the teacher was here earlier, but what messages are they going to be clearly giving to our farmers here at home? Will you and this government be agreeing with the assessment of Deputy Mick Wallace? I certainly hope not. That the national herd is a threat to the survival of the planet. Did you ever hear the reason? When we have those independent assessments, and maybe we need extra independent people to come in from abroad, what happened to you, to prove those figures, and have them up there, have them out there fair and play. And listen, we take our actions and we have to, take our medicine and we have to, but when we have those standards recognised through the EU Commission, which represents the 27, 27, why shouldn't we defend our position with gusto and with pride, albeit having interest all the time and concern about the climate change? Of course we have to, and deal with it, but stand the ground as regards our most valuable national herd, and there is the most important part of that, and indeed exports, and indeed beef is second, and pig meat is third. And if I digress a small bit, Chair, you might let me. I have raised huge concerns, huge concerns, about shipments of pork coming in here from areas close to where the African swine fever is raging. And I have serious questions about checks at the ports and the airports. They're non-existent. They're close, I understand, from 6 o'clock on the evening to 9 in the morning. So we're sleepwalking into something that could be as catastrophic as the foot and mouth disease. And the pig industry was on its knees for 30 years. Thankfully at present, due to issues in Poland, in other countries, it's doing well. But this is reckless, reckless for MII and the meat industry to be bringing in these shipments from these areas, adjacent to the swine flu, because it's wiped out whole hells of pigs. So are we sleepwalking, and what are we doing? What's our department doing? The farmers are persecuted every day with regulation. And there are many, many pig farmers coming to me, Ronan families and different people. They're a long-term pig industry, giving great employment. And they can't get assurances, and they're hugely concerned. And we can't even get an answer from the chief. He said he'd pass it on to Minister Creed. But it's hugely concerning that that would come in here, and it could come in overnight in one piece of meat product. So will the UN government be agreeing, as I said, with Deputy Mick Wallace's position, or will you be standing up robustly and defending our rights here? We've been good Europeans for long enough. We've been the good ones in Europe, and we found out in the bank crisis what it thought of us. So now's the time to accept our authority, that we are green and clean in this industry. Okay, there's more to be done. A lot done and more to do. But nonetheless, we're starting from a very good pint, and we're not going to be wiping out any planet with our agriculture industry. Because it's becoming a kind of a... And since the Chiefs were up here and said we're going to eat less beef, there's been an undermining attack on the beef and other products here in Ireland with many of our issues. And it's not merited, and it's not proven in science. And if not, you don't do that, Minister, to mean that. What exactly will you be saying to the European Commission in terms of protecting the interests of Irish farmers and the agri-food sector when it comes to the EU implementing measures aimed at reducing the carbon footprint within the sector? I want to know what you're going to be telling them, and I hope I get answers from you, because the facts speak for themselves. We are recognised, as I said, of what we recognise. So we need to have a clear answer, Minister, on this, from the Taoiseach and, indeed, Minister McEntee. When Minister Queen was speaking recently, in specific context of carbon neutrality, which is on the Council agenda, he said that higher ambition on environmental land climate action is part of the new cap, post-2020, and he's proposed that 40% of the overall cap budget will contribute to climate action. So where's that going to leave us, Minister? That's what he said. So why aren't people worried out there? You're the elected government of the day, albeit a lame duck government, now on your last legs. But nonetheless, you're expected to defend our prime industry. However, he said also that what is alarming is that this will require, what Minister Queen said earlier, this will require farming to achieve a higher level of environmental ambition through both mandatory and incentive-based measures. I don't like the word mandatory in here, because we are doing it already. So why should and more be mandated here? We have enough over-regulation and over-regulation. What mandatory measures are this government supporting at EU Council level? And I want answers, Minister, because we don't want to take any more of them. We have to put our shoulders on the wheel and play our part with climate change. Yes, but we have a good standard. We have good quality beef and dairy products and pork products, and they are clean and recognised as so by independent people from Europe. OK, it says I'm from world experts, but don't be kowtowing and having these threats with mandatory regulations on our farming industry. They need support. They're not to be attacked and undermined and threatened with more mandatory regulations. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.