124. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports his Department is providing to help farmers meet national and EU climate targets, particularly regarding emissions reduction, biodiversity enhancement and sustainable land use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25747/25]

Sentiment score: 0.22

What support is the Minister's Department providing to help farmers meet national and EU climate targets, especially in emissions reduction, biodiversity enhancement and sustainable land use? Will the Department focus in particular on nature-based solutions? I was very lucky to have worked on an integrated constructed wetland and I would love to hear the Department's opinion on the use of such wetlands as a tool not only to reduce our emissions but also to clean our water.

Sentiment score: 0.55

I am delighted to hear that the Minister is committed to our climate targets. I know he might be surprised to hear a north Dublin TD who cares about agriculture, but it is something I have studied in college. He has just mentioned the sustainability aspect. To what extent are the CAP payments now tied to the measurable climate targets and how is the Department ensuring these conditions drive genuine change? Integrated constructed wetlands, ICWs, are brilliant, especially for farm runoff, using a piggery or any alternative to a wastewater treatment plant. They are really low cost and they filter hydrogen and phosphorous naturally. Not only that, a tiered system of integrated constructed wetlands also adds biodiversity to an area and creates a wetland, which is also a natural hold for carbon. I urge the Minister's Department to look into these as an effective, cost-effective and necessary way to solve this.

Sentiment score: 0.34

I am delighted to hear that, and I thank the Minister for the engagement today. I wish him the best of luck. He has a great brief, and Ireland will definitely be defined and our Government will be defined by how we act in the next four or five years in this regard. I urge the Department to look at integrated constructed wetlands as a cost-effective solution. They store carbon, they boost biodiversity, this week being biodiversity week, they are cost-effective and they have been done very successfully in Sweden and Denmark. The ICW in Grange Castle West is being used as a water runoff treatment, but I was out there recently and it is great to see the native animals now using it as their home. It is great to see a solution to wastewater then benefiting nature. It is killing two birds with one stone, or rather the surviving of two birds with one stone.

Sentiment score: 0.57