IT WAS A "myth" that Minister for the Environment John Gormley was in favour of a cattle cull to reduce methane emissions from the agriculture sector, his Green Party colleague Trevor Sargent said yesterday.
Mr Sargent, Minister of State for Food and Horticulture, told the Greening of Agriculture conference on climate change in Dublin Castle this myth had been peddled, but was untrue.
"It does a gross disservice to the work Minister Gormley has been doing to help the long-term viability of all sectors, including agriculture," he said.
He said Mr Gormley, who worked closely with Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith on the interdepartmental committee on climate change but was the lead Minister on the issue internationally, had achieved flexibility in the European deal agreed before Christmas.
"This deal will ensure that Ireland did not face higher costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and that we would not be forced to reduce our national herd," he said.
"Minister Gormley and the Government have ensured that the issue of carbon leakage in agriculture and sustainable food production in the context of climate change is for the first time on the international political agenda for discussion," Mr Sargent said.
Michael Barry of Food and Drink Industry Ireland addressing the conference, which was organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs, called for a balanced approach to reducing emissions.
"Ireland must not sacrifice its sustainable food production systems for the attainment of climate change targets," said Mr Barry, who said it would be unfortunate if policies to improve the global climate undermined sustainable agricultural practices here.
Teagasc director Prof Gerry Boyle said Ireland's profile of greenhouse gasses was unusual in the developed world due to the importance of agriculture in the economy. Methane, he said, was the main agricultural greenhouse gas produced in Ireland, mainly from enteric fermentation or digestion in cattle and sheep and was a byproduct of digesting fibrous feeds.
He warned that reducing emissions in Ireland by reducing food production would cause leakage to whatever country increased food production with no net benefit to the global environment.
He also argued that there was no logic in the agricultural sector not gaining the benefit of credits for afforestation and biomass production for bioenergy, as farmers would be altering their land use practices if energy crops were produced.
There were "economic, social and moral implications" in reducing the livestock herd to reduce emissions and Teagasc was looking at abatement strategies to reduce emissions.
A range of Irish and international speakers outlined the work to bring about reductions in greenhouse emissions while retaining sustainable agriculture.