Reports that the national herd could be cut by 10% is "kite flying and speculative", according to Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) president Dermot Kelleher.

This, he said, is based on nothing more than the fact that the Government has set targets without knowing how to reach them and is now in "panic mode" to gloss over this.

There has been no agreement, he added, to cut cow numbers by a definitive number and the Government proposals do not even suggest a figure for how many cows.

Meetings

"The road to achieving the sectoral targets for agriculture are based on documents discussed at the Food Vision group dairy and beef meetings.

"However, in the absence of any proposals from Government to provide financial support to assist active farming, there was no agreement on any of this," he said.

The ICSA met Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue last week and put forward proposals to support more sustainable, active farming, which would involve new funding for active farmers of €250m per annum for the next seven years.

The reality is that the target for one million electric vehicles by 2030 has been quietly abandoned

"Unless the Government is willing to engage on this, there is no point in meaningless speculation in the media.

"This is not just a problem for the agriculture sector. The reality is that the target for one million electric vehicles by 2030 has been quietly abandoned and there is little sign of additional rail or metro projects being delivered by 2030," Kelleher said.

The buildings sector has zero chance of meeting the target to deep retrofit 500,000 houses by 2030, he argued.

"If the Government was serious about renewable energy, there would already be a strategy with a funding roadmap for renewable gas produced by anaerobic digesters from grass and slurry, but, alas, there is nothing.

Reality

"The reality is that farmers are already working to adopt new technologies and increase efficiencies which will help decarbonise and farming must be properly recognised and remunerated for storing carbon, which is something that other sectors cannot deliver," he said.

In conclusion, Kelleher insisted that the Government work with the sector to help farmers.

"Allowing harmful speculation about destroying the livelihoods of thousands of farmers is not the way to go and will do nothing to move towards carbon reduction in the sector," he said.