2026-01-29

11. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered the potential use of AI to develop a carbon map for a national audit of carbon sequestration on farmland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6848/26]

It is great to see such collegiality among the Louth Deputies.

Louth and proud.

I thank Deputy McGreehan for raising an important point on the role carbon sequestration can play in agriculture and the opportunities there are in this space. I acknowledge the Deputy is wearing a St. Brigid's cross. Both Louth and Kildare are very proud of Brigid. We are looking forward to the public holiday this weekend in her honour. Innovative technologies to improve our measurement of carbon sequestration on Irish farmland are important. My Department is committed to improving the measurement, monitoring and reporting of carbon sequestration, which is central to both climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. We are actively considering all innovative technologies to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of national carbon assessments. This may include AI in future work, in line with Government guidelines on its use. Initiatives such as the soil sampling and analysis programme, the National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory, and the Teagasc Signpost programme are currently helping to provide a more detailed and spatially resolved insights into carbon stocks and changes over time. This investment in research helps develop the science that shapes and improves the accuracy of our national greenhouse gas, GHG, inventory reporting. The Deputy will be aware that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is responsible for the reporting of emissions and removals associated with land use activities on an annual basis to the EU and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Developing accurate, evidence-based tools to track carbon sequestration is a key priority and my Department will continue to investigate other emerging technologies to support Ireland's climate and farming objectives. In essence, to be able to monetise and give a financial return for farmers on carbon farming down the line, and to ensure we are in line with what Europe is coming with, we have to do our baseline measurement. We have invested a lot of money, through Teagasc and the Department, in flux towers to measure the baseline activity of carbon in current soil types. We will have to be able to prove additionality down the line in order to monetise it with increased land management measures.

We have a real opportunity here. Louth could lead on this. The use of AI to develop a national carbon map for farmland could be a game-changer, not just for our climate targets but for fairness, accuracy and farm viability. Farmers deserve clear, credible data that recognises the carbon they are already sequestering through hedgerows, grasslands, wetland and soil management. I see the potential in Louth. I live in a rural area. I see the biodiversity highway we have in our hedgerows and what it is producing. We are sequestering carbon every single day. That network of hedgerows and field margins is so important. An AI-driven map would be beneficial for Irish farmers.

We continue to monitor the latest technology and the opportunities and the amount of work under way in this area is significant. The National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory is part of my Department's strategic investment in soil carbon research. Funding was supplied to the establishment of the observatory by supplying the scientific infrastructure to measure GHG fluxes from soils under agriculture management. There are 28 flux towers across a range of soil types. The observatory will place Ireland at the forefront of EU carbon sequestration research and enable Ireland to better quantify soil carbon emissions and sinks from agricultural land on peat soils, enable mitigation measures to increase carbon sequestration to be included in the national inventory, participate in the EU Integrated Carbon Observatory System, ICOS, network, and enable Ireland to benefit from the 2018 EU effort sharing regulation. The Teagasc signpost programme has a critical role to play. Our national soil sampling programme has also played a role, as have farm carbon research projects. I mentioned earlier the Department of agriculture has the fourth biggest State Department spending on research. A lot of it is in the areas of climate mitigation and carbon.

I am really glad to hear there is a lot of work going on. AI can make it collaborative, bring the work together and make that carbon map. For the weekend that is in it, we will think of our nature and heritage and what our plants and trees mean to us. St. Brigid's tree was the birch. It is about fertility, new life and rebirth. If you slap the arse of a cow, you would have a fertile cow and a healthy calf. Trees and nature are entwined with our history and our carbon future. Protecting that history and native Irish flora and fauna is really important. Our farmers know this and have known it for thousands of years. We need to appreciate it.

As we head into the weekend of Imbolc and the start of spring, St. Brigid taught us many great things. She might have been connected with the birch but in Kildare she gave us our county name - Cill Dara being "the church of the oak" - where she built her first male and female monastery. She was ahead of her time. As the patron saint of milkmaids and brewers, she had a huge connection to all things agricultural and would very much approve of the work we are doing to improve the sustainability of our agricultural system.