Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA)

Background

The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) is a lobby group representing Ireland’s “drystock” beef and cattle farmers.1About ICSA,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S3hig

The ICSA has described itself as “an association of real farmers tackling the real issues” and a “radical voice for sheep farmers, playing a key role in getting sheep onto the national and European agenda”.2Policy,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LlcOw

Headquartered in Portlaoise, County Laois,3About ICSA,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S3hig4 the ICSA claims over 10,000 members and a 110-strong national executive.5History,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived September 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rApLb It was founded in 1993,6About ICSA,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S3hig in response to “flaws and inequities” it identified in the controversial 1992 MacSharry Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).7Seamus Sheehy. “A long, long history of agricultural reform,” The Irish Times, February 22, 1999. Archived February 17, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7j2Uw

The ICSA continues to lobby in Ireland and the EU to maintain and maximise subsidies for beef and sheep farmers.8Lobbying record for Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,” Lobbying.ie, 2024. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zoBNX The group also campaigns against reductions in the size of suckler beef herds (where calves stay with their mothers and the herd until they are ready to be sold for beef).9Rubina Freiberg. “Suckler herd “cannot be sacrificed” for climate objectives,” Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv

The ICSA is opposed to reductions in Ireland’s derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive,10Lobbying record, Nitrates derogation – Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,” Lobbying.ie, May 21, 2024. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/U3Gb2 which aims to limit the livestock sector’s emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and water pollution.11EU Nitrates Directive,” DeSmog.

The ICSA is a member of the Brussels think tank Farm Europe,12The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association, New Active Contributor to Farm Europe,” Farm Europe, December 20, 2016. Archived February 8, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cHCYx and was part of its successful campaign to exclude cattle farms from the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).13ICSA Welcomes Omission of Livestock Farming from Industrial Emissions Directive,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November 23, 2023. Archived August 7, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kzYZf

A growing body of research highlights the high carbon and methane footprint of Ireland’s grass-based meat and milk production system14Paul R. Price. “Agricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,” EU Legacy4LIFE report, An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. – the ninth worst in the EU for beef, according to one 2011 study.15Lesschen, J.P et al. “Greenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors,” Animal Feed Science and Technology, Special Issue: Greenhouse Gases in Animal Agriculture – Finding a Balance between Food and Emissions 166–167, 16–28, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.058. Archived April 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QbMyF Despite this, the ICSA regularly emphasises the “clean, green image of Irish food,” and works on the “development of marketing strategy based on that image”.16ICSA Vision,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived January 13, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Qv5g

Stance on Climate Change

The ICSA includes “delivering on [the] green agenda” as one of the ‘key principles’ listed on its website.17ICSA Vision,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived January 13, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Qv5g

However, the lobby group has repeatedly opposed measures to reduce agricultural emissions in line with Ireland’s legally binding climate targets.18Rachel Donovan. “Emissions reduction target of 30% “complete insanity” – ICSA”,” Irish Farmers Journal, July 19, 2022. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WaCIh For instance, the ICSA has campaigned against proposals to reduce herd numbers,19Louise Hickey. “ICSA calls on govt to “step up” to stop declining suckler numbers,” Agriland, August 16, 2024. Archived August 16, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/m2hki and opposed a reduction in harmful nitrates. 

The ICSA has said that the national herd “cannot be sacrificed” for meeting climate objectives, and that it is “strongly opposed” to what it described as a “suckler herd sell-out”, referring to a large reduction in suckler beef cows to compensate for rising numbers of dairy cows and their emissions.20Rubina Freiberg. “Suckler herd “cannot be sacrificed” for climate objectives,” Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv

A 2024 report by Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that cutting livestock numbers is “likely to be necessary” to achieve Ireland’s climate targets.21Noel Bardon. “Cutting national herd ‘likely to be necessary’ for climate – new report,” Irish Farmers Journal, January 25, 2024. Archived January 25, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hzqAO

The Irish livestock sector accounts for 38 percent of national GHG emissions and 99 percent of ammonia air pollution, while nitrate and phosphate nutrient losses from the livestock sector are the largest contributor to water body pollution.22Ireland’s Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023 [landing page],” Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, July 2024. Archived July 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kf3rB (For more detail, see DeSmog’s background note: Climate, air and water pollution from intensive agriculture).

ICSA’s proposed climate solutions have also included the increased use of controversial crop-based biofuels.23Sylvester Phelan. “Europe “hopelessly confused” on biofuels question,” Agriland, January 18, 2018. Archived January 18, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZhdyW Ireland has already breached its EU limits for treating waste-based biofuel as renewable energy for transport and other sectors.24Sean Goulding Carroll. “Revealed: How Ireland found itself breaching EU limits on biofuels,” Euractiv, September 13, 2022. Archived September 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yfRi4 

Since 2015, the EU has introduced multiple measures to limit the production of crop-based biofuels from farmed land to reduce the conflict between food and fuel, including indirect land use change that can lead to increased GHG emissions.25Special report 29/2023: The EU’s support for sustainable biofuels in transport – An unclear route ahead,” European Court Of Auditors, December 13, 2023. Archived December 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WpOas

ICSA representatives have also frequently made the “carbon leakage” argument – often employed by institutions and individuals to delay climate action – that reducing emissions in Ireland is not worthwhile as other nations will continue to pollute and could replace Irish milk and beef with less climate efficient farming.26Dermot Kelleher. “Farming News – ICSA: Nature Restoration Law – an Example of How Not to Do Policy,” Farming Online, June 19, 2023. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/R1qkz

A 2023 economic study of Irish agriculture concluded that “the notion of leakage is a questionable one” and is “not well founded”.27Alan Matthews. “Irish agri-food expansion: What is its role in feeding the world? (Working Paper No. 24),” Climate Change Advisory Council, November, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/n1MGt In 2020, a parliamentary committee review of the proposed Climate Action Bill recommended removal of any reference to carbon leakage due to Ireland’s failure to meet its own climate targets.28A Significant Step Towards Stronger Climate Action,” An Taisce – The National Trust For Ireland, December 18, 2020. Archived December 18, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jb9yN

September 5, 2024

The ICSA issued a press release criticising29CCAC Advice Must Lead to Greater Financial Supports for Farmers, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, September 5, 2024. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/fW6Ek a report30Stella Meehan. “CCAC: Govt needs to support reduction in agricultural emissions,” Agriland. September 4, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NGbtd from Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) for advising a reduction in meat consumption as part of a strategy to urgently cut agricultural emissions. It quotes ICSA beef Chair John Cleary, saying: 

“Simplistic calls to cut meat consumption ignore the complexities of human nutrition and undermine the vital role of livestock farming in rural economies and sustainable agriculture. Any dietary recommendations must be based on sound science and consider the realities of farming and nutrition, rather than on questionable studies that have been widely criticised and debunked for flawed methodologies and for overlooking the nutritional value of meat in a balanced diet”.

According to a March 2024 paper, which surveyed more than 200 environmental and agricultural scientists, global emissions from meat and dairy production need to decline by 50 percent during the next six years, with “high-producing and consuming nations” taking the lead, to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.31Helen Harwatt el at.Options For A Paris-Compliant Livestock Sector,” Harvard Law School, March 2024. Archived August 25, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/OIzX3

June 26, 2023

In an interview with agricultural news site Agriland, ICSA then-President Dermot Kelleher described Ireland’s national herd as “remarkably stable,” saying:32Aisling O’Brien. “National herd “remarkably stable” – ICSA,” Agriland, June 26, 2023. Archived June 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NvlDj

“There has been a lot of grossly inaccurate comment about the national herd growing exponentially, especially by those trying to put disproportionate blame on livestock farming in the climate debate. Yet as these latest figures again show, our national herd is remarkably stable”.

However, the ICSA’s focus on total cattle numbers omits to note that total cattle and sheep emissions have increased substantially since 2010, driven by increased dairy farming and a corresponding increase in total milk and meat production.33Price, Paul R. “Agricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,” Legacy4LIFE An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

While emissions from beef herds are stable and have decreased slightly, methane emissions from cattle overall have increased by 20 percent due to a 67 percent increase in milk production from 2010 to 2021.34Agriculture_2021_WEM_EPA,” Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, 2023. GHG Inventory Excel spreadsheet. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/22Nuv

October 2022

Following a meeting of the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group of industry and government stakeholders, ICSA Beef Chairperson Edmund Graham said the ICSA had not agreed to any of the proposed measures to reduce emissions and would not do so without “concrete commitments for extra funding”.35Charles O’Donnell. “Beef sheep group: “Impossible” to assess measures without funding,” Agriland. October 25, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/f3yr4

He added that the ICSA would “not accept any attempt to make sucklers [beef cow farming] the scapegoat for climate targets, nor will it accept the suckler sector being treated less favourably than the dairy sector”.

July 19, 2022

ICSA then-President Dermot Kelleher criticised comments made by environment minister Eamon Ryan around setting 30 percent emissions reduction targets for the agriculture sector and reducing the national herd.36ICSA President Calls on Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to Stand up to Minister Ryan on Emissions Reduction Target,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 19, 2022. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YllLd He said in a press release:

 “Agreeing to a target of 30 percent is complete insanity. All it would achieve would be to outsource meat and dairy production to other parts of the world”.

Climate modelling finds that pastured beef production using fertiliser and feed inputs, as is typical of Irish suckler farming, is the least climate efficient beef system even compared to Brazilian pastured beef.37R. T. Pierrehumbert and G. Eshel. “Climate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,” 2015. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 085002.

Previously, Ireland was required to meet an EU emission goal for national emissions, including agriculture, of a 20 percent reduction by 2020 relative to 2005, but agriculture sector emissions increased by nine percent over this period, especially due to dairy expansion.38Ireland’s National Inventory Report 2024,” Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, 2024. Archived April 19, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wyXXj Failure to meet the goal has resulted in compliance costs for Ireland.39Briefing Note: Compliance Cost associated with 2020 & 2030 Climate & Energy Targets,” Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, March, 2020. Archived October 13, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

April 18, 2018

The ICSA strongly rejected the recommendations relating to meat and dairy production made by Ireland’s Citizens’ Assembly on climate change, which was made up of randomly chosen Irish citizens who engaged with experts, including agriculture specialists. The assembly’s report endorsed a tax on greenhouse gases emitted by farms and “rewards for the farmer for land management that sequesters carbon”.40Third Report and Recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly: How the State Can Make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change,” The Citizens’ Assembly, April 18, 2018. Archived March 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cwDnG

In response, an ICSA press release stated that its President Patrick Kent had “slammed the Citizens’ Assembly proposal to tax farmers for food production GHG emissions as a completely daft idea”.41ICSA Critical of Citizens’ Assembly Proposals on Taxing Food Production,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, April 19, 2018. Archived October 22, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NOZMK

He added: “How stupid would it be to reduce Irish agricultural output so that the likes of Brazil could expand at a far higher environmental cost?”

November 15, 2017 

Speaking at the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, Germany, ICSA then-General Secretary Eddie Punch cast beef and dairy growth and expansion in a climate-friendly light when he stated:42Farmers Must Be Financially Sustainable To Play Their Part In Climate Change Targets,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November 15, 2017. Archived November 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/viDbu

“ICSA strongly believes that food production should be promoted in areas where it is done efficiently. We need to stand over sustainable beef and dairy production in Ireland and reject the absurd notion that reducing livestock on Irish farms does anything to help the climate when all we are doing is relocating production to other parts of the globe”. 

A 2024 research paper notes that “contrary to the vague assertions commonly made in industry and advisory documents, if anything, carbon leakage has thus likely been more toward Ireland (as agriculture has consistently ignored agreed emissions goals), not away from Ireland to other nations”.43Paul R Price. “Agricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,” Legacy4LIFE Programme, Task 2.2 Report, May 2024. Archived June 18, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

November 2013

In its submission on the 2013 Agriculture Sectoral Roadmap, the ICSA claimed that Ireland’s grass-based system for livestock rearing produces less carbon emissions, stating that:44Eddie Punch, Gabriel Gilmartin, and Geoff Hamilton. “ICSA Submission on the Agriculture Sectoral Roadmap,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November, 2013. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/29R5H

“Given its predominantly grass-based system for livestock rearing, Ireland has a clear advantage in being able to produce beef and lamb at a lower equivalent carbon emission per kg of end product when compared to other countries within Europe and beyond”. 

However, research suggests that such claims are overblown. 

Based on official reported data, a 2024 report found that the intensive grass-based farming systems of Ireland and New Zealand have relatively high methane emissions.45Paul R Price. “Agricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,” An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

In 2016, an analysis of international food trade and reported emissions data found that Ireland’s agricultural production has a negative impact on global food security and its bovine emissions intensity exceeded the EU average.46Colin Doyle. “Feeding the World Sustainably? – analysis of Irish and EU food nutrition trade balances,” Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway and An Taisce, Ireland. 2016. Archived December 1, 2017.

In 2015, a climate modelling article found that beef from grass-fed systems using external fertiliser and feed inputs, as typical in Ireland, has the highest climate impact – worse than beef from feedlot systems and much worse than beef from systems with very low or no external farm inputs, such as ranching pasture in Brazil or fully organic systems.47R. T. Pierrehumbert, and G. Eshel. “Climate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,” 2015. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 085002.

July 2012

In a submission to the government’s Food Harvest 2020 implementation committee, the ICSA described Ireland’s climate targets as “problematic” due to the country’s high reliance on agriculture.48Punch, E, Gilmartin, G and Hamilton, G. “ICSA Submission on the Environmental Analysis of Scenarios Related to Implementation of Recommendations of Food Harvest 2020,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July, 2012. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/O20cj

It called for Ireland to advocate for a move away from “blunt emissions targets” and argued for agriculture to be treated differently due to “its specific relative importance in our economy”.

The ICSA stressed carbon sequestration and output emissions intensity as climate solutions for agriculture, both of which have been labelled as false solutions by experts.

A comprehensive overview of livestock farming, led by University of Oxford scientists in 2017, assessed the research data on whether grazing ruminants can help sequester carbon to compensate for their emissions. Their summary conclusion stated, “the answer is ‘not much’”.49Tara Garnett et al. “Grazed and confused?,” Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford. 2017. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Yj6BW

Key Actions

March 1, 2024 

The ICSA commented on the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which requires farmers to set aside land for nature recovery. President Sean McNamara said in a press release that it had “created a lot of concern among farmers who see this as heavy on compulsory actions and targets but light on funding commitments”. 

“Overall, this vote drags farmers into an uncertain future,” McNamara said, “and it is clear that food security and Ireland’s vital interests have taken second place to the Green Deal agenda of the EU Commission”.50ICSA Very Disappointed with Nature Restoration Law Vote,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, March 1, 2024. Archived March 7, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HHvw9

February 1, 2024

Farmers in Ireland expressed solidarity with a wave of protests held across the EU in early 2024. The demonstrations were motivated by a range of factors, from low prices at the farmgate, fuel taxes and proposed green reforms, which aimed to limit pesticide and fertiliser use, and protect biodiversity.51Rachel Sherrington. “Are Europe’s Farmers Protesting Green Reforms? It’s Complicated,” DeSmog, February 7, 2024.

At the ICSA annual general meeting in Athlone, newly-elected President Sean McNamara voiced his solidarity. He reportedly emphasised “the need for accurate climate facts, financial benefits for stored carbon, and opposing unrealistic aspects of the EU Green Deal”.52“New ICSA President vows to fight for fairness for farmers at the ICSA AGM and Annual Conference 2024,” The Sligo Champion, February 7, 2024. Archived March 1, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eem4B

November 2023

Following a lobbying push from the ICSA and other farm lobby groups, President Dermot Kelleher welcomed the announcement that ruminant livestock had been excluded from the final agreement of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.53ICSA Demands That Beef Vision Group Focuses on Importance of Farmers’ Income,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, September 16, 2022. Archived October 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/l3vj4

He said that its inclusion would have been “a huge mistake” and imposed “an intolerable and unaffordable level of complex compliance on farms”. He also thanked ICSA’s Brussels-based partner, Farm Europe, adding, “it is very satisfying that our voices have been heard”. 

The European Environmental Bureau described the exclusion of cattle from the directive’s scope as “a major setback” that “fails to address one of the polluting industrial activities in Europe: industrial livestock farms”.54Maria Luís Fernandes. “The EU indulges the largest industrial polluters with new emissions rules,” European Environmental Bureau, November 29, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Lz2IQ

August 2023 

The Irish Farmers Association (IFA) complained about an August 28, 2023 post on X (formerly Twitter) which suggested that reducing red meat consumption could make consumers “healthier, wealthier, and more fabulous”.55Joe Mag Raollaigh. “EPA deletes “eat less meat” tweet following IFA protest,” RTÉ News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh The post by Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency also recommended reducing food waste, cutting meat intake over time, and trying out vegetarian recipes.

The ICSA supported the IFA’s complaint as well as similar criticism from some politicians and asked the EPA to clarify what it called “political campaigning against meat”, according to reporting by RTE. As a result of the farm organisation complaints, the EPA deleted the post.56Joe Mag Raollaigh. “EPA deletes “eat less meat” tweet following IFA protest,” RTÉ News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh

President Dermot Kelleher said the ICSA was “taken aback to see a blatant anti-meat crusade on the EPA social media platforms in the past few days”.

Responding to the EPA’s retraction, Friends of the Earth Chief Executive Oisín Coghlan said that the deletion “could have a disastrous chilling effect” and that “the EPA needs to stand up for basic science”.57Pádraig Hoare and Tadhg McNally. “Activists warn of “chilling effect” of EPA’s deletion of tweet on eating less red meat,” Irish Examiner, August 29, 2023. Archived August 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5AxHB 

February 2023

The release of a draft EPA report on future land use and forestry options sparked strong criticism from Ireland’s farming organizations – including the ICSA and Irish Farmers Association (IFA) – which was then amplified by members of Parliament representing rural constituencies.58ohn Gibbons. “Environmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,” Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO

The published “Land Use Review” report identified alternative future land use scenarios in relation to climate action and biodiversity that included scenarios for a 30 percent decrease in cattle and sheep numbers.59ohn Gibbons. “Environmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,” Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO

ICSA President Dermot Kelleher told the Irish Independent that “the constant trolling of livestock farmers by a small minority of people in government agencies, politics, media, and academia, where there are more and more demands to dismantle meat and dairy farming, will backfire spectacularly”.60ICSA condemns the trolling of livestock farmers,” Irish Independent, February 22, 2023. Archived April 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/irvvJ

Within hours of the report’s publication, he said that “a small cabal of unrepresentative but noisy activists were salivating at the prospect of ripping out the heart of economic activity in rural Ireland”. Farmers, he said, “are not going to engage if the agenda is the insane vision of a tiny minority where wolves would roam a rural wasteland, consumers would be forced to make do with insect protein and fake burgers and rural communities would be economically devastated”.61ICSA Condemns Constant Trolling of Livestock Farmers,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, February 13, 2023. Archived September 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EfHEx

However, EPA scientists have strongly critiqued Irish agriculture’s negative impacts. In June 2021 Sharon Finegan, the EPA’s director of environmental sustainability told the Parliamentary Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action that Irish agriculture’s growth was “happening at the expense of the environment, as evident by trends in emissions, water quality and biodiversity all going in the wrong direction”.62Kayle Crosson. “EPA: significant “step change” needed for Irish agriculture,” Green News Ireland, June 29, 2021. Archived June 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ltjLr 

Noting that agriculture was on course to account for 40 percent of total Irish emissions by 2030, Finegan added that “business as usual scenarios will not reverse these trends. New measures must go beyond improving efficiencies by focusing on reducing total emissions by breaking the link between animal numbers, fertiliser use and deteriorated water quality”. 

Finnegan called for “a significant step-change in what is done” in all sectors, including agriculture, and suggested “that direct payments [from the EU to farmers] be linked to land use” to “encourage increased ambition”.

2021-2022

The ICSA lobbied to weaken targets contained in the July 2021 amended Climate Act, which stipulated that Ireland’s Parliament (the Oireachtas) must set legally binding five-year carbon budgets to direct climate action, and noted that the Government would then set out constituent “sectoral emission ceilings” for different economic sectors, including agriculture.63Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (amendment) Act 2021 (as Approved),” Government of Ireland, electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), June, 2021. Archived January 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ScDtZ

Sectoral emission ceilings” is a term describing the maximum tonnes of CO2 equivalent gases (CO2e) that can be emitted over a five year period by agriculture and different sectors of the economy,64Sectoral Emissions Ceilings,” Government of Ireland. September, 2022. Archived November 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pKHI0 as laid out by the Government to meet Ireland’s legally binding carbon budgets.65Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021,” Government of Ireland, electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), July 23, 2021. Archived January 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ScDtZ

In November 2021, in response to the amended Climate Act, the Government’s Climate Action Plan initially suggested a range for agriculture emission reductions of 22 to 30 percent by 2030.66Climate Action Plan 2021: Securing Our Future,” Government of Ireland. November 2021. Archived November 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cUj75

On July 12, 2022, following a Government debate on this target, ICSA President Dermot Kelleher said that a target of 22 percent was the “absolute maximum the agriculture sector can bear; anything higher would be akin to pressing the self-destruct button on the sector”.67Common Sense Must Prevail In Climate Target Decision,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 12, 2022. Archived date: August 11, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kCTbK

Describing the green agenda as “unworkable”, he added: “We must get this right; It makes no sense to set targets that are unattainable, and it makes no sense to alienate tens of thousands of farmers in the process”.

Also in July, Kelleher responded to comments by former Green Party Climate Minister Eamon Ryan, who had advocated for a 30 percent emissions reduction target for agriculture emissions by 2030, saying: “Agreeing to a target of 30% is complete insanity. All it would achieve would be to outsource meat and dairy production to other parts of the world”.68Icsa President Calls On Fine Gael And Fianna Fail To Stand Up To Minister Ryan On Emissions Reduction Target – Icsa,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 19, 2022. Archived August 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wYllLd

Kelleher added that “farmers are willing to play their part in reducing emissions but there must also be recognition that they can help other sectors such as the energy sector and that they also sequester carbon”.

Agriculture’s ability to sequester carbon on a timescale long enough to address climate change has been refuted by academic research.69Joe Fassler. “Research Undermines Claims that Soil Carbon Can Offset Livestock Emissions,” DeSmog, February 1, 2024.

Other studies suggest Irish beef and milk ­production are not particularly carbon efficient when compared to other EU nations. A 2011 peer-reviewed study found Ireland’s beef carbon footprint to be substantially higher than the EU average,70Lesschen, J.P et al.Greenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors. Animal Feed Science and Technology,” Animal Feed Science and Technology, June 23, 2011. Archived March 13, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/n6lkZ while results calculated71Alan Matthews. “Alan Matthews: Our ‘green’ farming credentials are set to come under greater scrutiny,” Irish Independent, February 13, 2019. Archived September 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. using the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s GLEAM methodology showed Irish livestock emissions to be among the highest in Europe.72Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM),” United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived September 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NaaVq 

On July 28, the Government landed on the lower target of a 25 percent reduction by 2030 (relative to 2018 emissions) for agriculture within the agreed legally binding five-year carbon budgets for 2021–2025 and 2026–2030.73Gráinne Ní Aodha and Cate McCurry. “Government agrees emissions targets with agriculture set at 25%,” Breakingnews.ie, July 28, 2022. Archived July 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6NVYL

Marie Donnelly, chair of Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), described the target as “problematic”. 

According to Donelly’s statement, the emissions ceilings failed to meet the requirements of the amended Climate Act, being insufficient to meet the agreed national carbon budgets to 2030 and lacking five-year emissions ceilings for the Land Use Sector.74Marie Donnelly. “Statement issued on behalf of the Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Marie Donnelly” Climate Change Advisory Council, July 20, 2022. Archived July 29, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

2022–2023

The ICSA was part of a pan-European lobbying push which resulted in the exclusion of cattle and sheep farming from the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).75 Charles O’Donnell. “Industrial emissions agreement ‘recognises specifics’ of farming,” Agriland, November 29, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QWphB

Previously, in April 2022, a European Commission proposal had advocated for the inclusion of industrial farms,76Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) and Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste,” European Commission, April 5, 2022. Archived January 29, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/OcD5q potentially including larger cattle farms for the first time.77Stephen Cadogan. “150-cow farms to be included in proposed EU Emissions Directive,” Irish Examiner, April 20, 2022. Archived April 21, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0cVdM

Following extensive lobbying from farm groups, the EU agreed to exclude cattle farms entirely from the IED, and to define industrial farm thresholds for pigs and poultry.78Industrial emissions: Council and Parliament agree on new rules to reduce harmful emissions from industry and improve public access to information,” European Council, December 29, 2023. Archived April 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WpByW

Welcoming the final agreement in November 2023, ICSA President Dermot Kelleher told farming news website Agriland that including cattle within the IED would have been “a huge mistake”, and that “cattle and sheep farms are not the same as big industrial factories”.79Charles O’Donnell. “Industrial emissions agreement ‘recognises specifics’ of farming,” Agriland, November 29, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QWphB

Kelleher said the ICSA “lobbied on a regular basis in Brussels” on this issue in 2023. He added that the EU decision to exclude cattle from the IED should be a “final determinant” on the issue.80Charles O’Donnell. “MEP vote “should be final determinant” to keep cattle out of IED,” Agriland, January 22, 2024. Archived January 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MtZll

The ICSA also acknowledged “the hard work of our Brussels-based partner, Farm Europe, in strenuously opposing the initial proposal which would have imposed an intolerable and unaffordable level of complex compliance on farms with more than 150 livestock units. ICSA lobbied on a regular basis in Brussels on this issue in 2023 and it is very satisfying that our voices have been heard”.81ICSA Welcomes EU Environment Committee Decision to Exclude Cattle Farms from Ied. ICSA,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, January 18, 2024. Archived September 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/qRlMf

The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) criticised the IED’s exclusion of cattle farming, saying it “maintains protection for the polluting status quo”.82Maria Simon Arboleas. ““Ciao” cows: Cattle excluded from EU’s industrial emissions cut plan,” Euractiv, November 30, 2023. Archived December 1, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/lTkfO

2022

In response to EPA reporting showing increasing negative climate and pollution impacts from livestock farming, then-Minister of Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, established separate “Food Vision” stakeholder groups for dairy, livestock, and arable land (known as “tillage” in Ireland), to consider how best to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient pollution.83Joe Mag Raollaigh. “A year in agriculture that couldn’t have been predicted,” RTÉ, December 28, 2022. Archived January 5, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/uoWHW

The Food Vision dairy group’s final report, published on October 25, stated that the ICSA had not endorsed its proposals, which included a plan to reduce chemical nitrogen use in the dairy sector by 2025 and more by 2030, and a voluntary exit/reduction scheme to reduce dairy herd numbers.84Final Report on the Food Vision Beef & Sheep Group to Mitigate GHG emissions from the Beef Sector,” Government of Ireland, November 30, 2022. Archived July 22, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

In a subsequent press release on December 19, ICSA President Dermot Kelleher described media reports that the national herd could be cut by 10 percent as “kite flying and speculative, based on nothing more than the fact that government has set targets without knowing how to reach them and is now in panic mode to gloss over this”.8510% CUT IN HERD IS KITE FLYING,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, December 19, 2022. Archived March 21, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FirxF

January 2019

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told his parliamentary party that he was changing his diet to eat less red meat “both for health reasons and for reasons of climate change”.86Gráinne Ní Aodha. “The Taoiseach says he’s eating less red meat to stay healthy – but is it healthier to do that?TheJournal, July 29, 2019. Archived July 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wus7xm This prompted outrage from Ireland’s farm lobby, including ICSA then-President Patrick Kent, who called his comments “reckless in the extreme”.

Kent said: “As one of the most important beef exporters in the northern hemisphere, it is very unfortunate indeed that our Taoiseach should be calling into question the sustainability of Irish beef production”.

Varadkar responded to this and other criticisms by saying: 

“I was trying to eat less red meat for two reasons – one health, the other climate change. And it’s not flippant, it is a fact that red meat increases instances of cancer, and also contributes more to climate change. But I can reassure Deputies that I’ve not become a vegan or anything like that”.

June 2012

The “Environment Review 2012” assessed the potential GHG emissions impact of Food Harvest 2020,87Food Harvest 2020: A vision for Irish agri-food and fisheries,” Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF), 2010. Archived January 16, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. the industry-led agriculture policy to expand cattle production which was approved by the Government in 2010.

The review, which was published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI),88Environment Review 2012,” Economic and Social Research Institute, 2012. Archived February 28, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GEVcz found that “emissions from the sector have declined by two million tonnes over the past decade but full implementation of [the] Food Harvest 2020 strategy will reverse that trend” and “could result in an additional 1 million tonnes of CO2eq emissions from livestock, (as well as additional emissions from the food processing sector)”.

ICSA then-President Gabriel Gilmartin agreed with the concerns raised: “On the one hand, Food Harvest 2020 says we must strive to dramatically increase agricultural production,” he said, “but on the other, we are expected to reduce the emissions from farming activities. The two targets are plainly incompatible”.89New Thinking for Agricultural Emissions Policies,” The Cattle Site News Desk, June 11, 2012. Archived February 29, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/D7LOK

EPA data shows that rises in agricultural emissions and nitrogen use by the end of 2020 turned out to be much higher than the ESRI had projected in 2012. Rather than reducing emissions by 20 percent in line with the national goal, agriculture emissions in 2020 had increased by 13 percent (or 2.5 million tonnes of CO2eq) compared to 2010.90Ireland’s Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023,” Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, 2024. Archived July 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kf3rB

Funding

The ICSA does not publish its financial accounts on its website or in any annual reports. 

The ICSA membership page has stated that “ICSA does not take levies” – unlike the Irish Farmers Association and Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, which charge members based on the amount of livestock and milk sold to processors. However, the ICSA offers no breakdown of its funding.91Membership,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived December 11, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2rkFO

Lobbying

The ICSA is a registered lobbying organisation in Ireland, listing 229 individual returns between July 27, 2016 and August 8, 2024.92Lobbying Organisation – Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,” Lobbying.ie, August 8, 2024. Archived March 6, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EaTPa

According to Ireland’s official Lobbying.ie register, the top 20 lobbying organisations submitted 68 percent of the 8,147 returns on food, farming and the environment: agri-food farmers and business organisations submitted 54 percent of the total returns, while environmental groups submitted just 14 percent.93Search: Return submit date: From 01 Jan 2015; Public Policy Area: Agriculture, Food, Environment,”  Lobbying.ie, Accessed August 6, 2024. Archived August 6, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XBCte

The ICSA has regularly lobbied the Irish government and European Union to ensure that farmers continue to receive subsidies for meat production through Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).94ICSA Vision,” Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived September 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cNXRP The ICSA spent €25,000 – €49,999 lobbying the EU in the financial year ending October 2022,95Datacard -Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers’ Association Ltd,” LobbyFacts.eu, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bYVvu and it had two registered lobbyists.96Datacard -Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers’ Association Ltd,” LobbyFacts.eu, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bYVvu

In March 2024, ICSA General Secretary Eddie Punch said he was leaving the ICSA to run as an Independent Ireland party candidate for a seat in the European Parliament in the June 2024 EU elections.97Stella Meehan. “ICSA’s Eddie Punch to run in European Elections,” Agriland, March 11, 2024, Archived March 11, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/UKBkw He was not elected as an MEP, receiving only three percent of first-preference votes.98European Election: Ireland South constituency results,” The Irish Times, June 9, 2024. Archived June 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/xcbto

Affiliations

The ICSA is a member of the Brussels-based think tank Farm Europe, alongside major European farm lobby groups Coldiretti (Italy) and FNSEA (France).

Farm Europe lobbies on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the Green Deal and Farm to Fork strategies, as well as “EU regulations related to sustainable food systems”.

The ICSA is a member of Animal Health Ireland (AHI), a not-for-profit, public-private partnership in the agri-food sector, which counts government and state agencies, farm representative organisations, milk and meat processors, advisory support services, and artificial insemination companies among its members.99Annual Report 2021,” Animal Health Ireland, 2022. Archived May 30, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

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