A number of issues have continued to be raised by both the IFA and the ICMSA in regards to agricultural emission as the Climate Action Bill continues to make its way through the Dáil.

IFA president Tim Cullinan said that the bill was flawed and said Minister for Climate Action Eamon Ryan should take on board IFA suggestions instead of trying to force the bill through the Dáil.

“I would call on fair-minded TDs, including those in Government parties, to vote against the bill in its current form to allow for more time to discuss drafting,” Cullinan said.

“Yesterday in the Dáil, a number of deputies raised concerns about the order of business and the ramming through of this bill. Yet the Government pushed on to ratify the order of business. They only won that vote by 24 votes to 19, which indicates growing levels of disquiet about the process.”

Rushing it through like this does the bill a disservice

He was speaking an at IFA protest outside the Convention Centre in Dublin today, Wednesday June 16, against the bill.

“IFA supports climate action and this bill is a very significant piece of legislation that deserves serious debate. It will have ramifications for the future of the entire economy. Rushing it through like this does the bill a disservice,” he said.

Farmers not looking for free pass

ICMSA president Pat McCormack has also been vocal in his thoughts on the bill and said that it is not fair on farmers.

“Farmers are not seeking a ‘pass’; we understand the climate challenge and are already engaged in the transition to lower emissions and more sustainable practices,” McCormack said.

“However, the unique position of agriculture and food production needs to be recognised, as acknowledged in the Paris Accord. The bill as currently structured most assuredly does not recognise the unique role of Irish agriculture and will have a completely destructive effect on Irish farming families – and on the rural communities that those families backbone.”

(TDs) must ensure that adequate protections for our farming and wider agri-food sector are included in the Climate Action Bill

He outlined three main concerns, that the bill was travelling in an anti-farm direction, that there was an absence of any clear economic analysis of highly probable effects and its proposal to effectively hand over the decision making on this critical matter to an unelected council.

“It is simply unacceptable that Ireland’s biggest and most successful indigenous economic activity: farming and food production, is casually endangered in the way it most assuredly is by this Climate Action Bill. You (TDs) must ensure that adequate protections for our farming and wider agri-food sector are included in the Climate Action Bill before it is passed through the Oireachtas,” he said.