'Emissions targets for Farmers must be realistic, achievable and fair' says Tipperary TD

'I have been contacted by numerous farmers from across Tipperary in recent times in relation to emissions targets. They have expressed their mounting concern at the level of demands and expectations currently being placed on their shoulders’, Deputy Michael Lowry told the Dáil on Thursday.

‘The underlying message is that they are willing and prepared to make changes. They know changes are needed. They accept and agree that they have a crucial role to play.

‘In order to keep farmers on board the changes required of them must be realistic and achievable. They must be fair.

‘Farmers have made significant progress in reducing emissions in recent years. By improving their efficiency through measures such as improved breeding, grassland management and their use of animal waste, they have proven both their awareness and long-term commitment.

‘It is pointless to set targets that are unattainable and impossible to deliver. To place such demands on the farming community will only serve to alienate them.

‘Ireland needs a thriving agricultural sector. It has and always will be the backbone of our rural economy’ stated Deputy Lowry, asking ‘When do you expect that Government will be in a position to make a decision on these matters?’

Minister of State, Martin Hayden TD, said that discussions are ongoing at a Governmental level across all sectors at this time.

‘What Deputy Lowry has raised is a very valid point. Our farming sector has been on a journey for some time. We continue to produce our food more efficiently and with a better carbon profile – that is our ambition.

‘It is the right thing to do to future-proof the sector so that we can continue to produce the food that we do with a better emissions profile. That is what we want to support the sector to do’