Minister Kelly Must Stand on Government Support for Agriculture when Legislating for Climate – IFA

IFA Environment & Rural Affairs Chairman Harold Kingston has called on Environment Minister Alan Kelly to stand on the Government’s commitment that climate legislation would not impact on the future development of Ireland’s carbon efficient agri-food sector.

Reacting to inclusion of a climate change bill in the Government’s priority legislative list he said “IFA does not support divisive climate legislation that focuses on notional and unachievable targets. It is more worthwhile to focus on resource efficiency measures which contribute to long-term emission reductions, such as a well-funded GLAS environmental scheme and the wider roll out of the voluntary farmer initiative Smart Farming”.

IFA has also called for the completion of full regulatory impact assessment before any new climate laws are enacted.

“The agri-food sector is Ireland’s largest indigenous sector, with significant sustainable growth potential. The sector supports 300,000 jobs in every part of the country and exported almost €10bn worth of food and drink in 2013. Therefore is essential that a comprehensive impact assessment is completed which sets out the full economic impact of proposed legislation. It must be balanced and in line with our EU obligations”.