Background
The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA) is a lobby group representing Irelandโs โdrystockโ beef and cattle farmers.1โAbout ICSA,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL:ย https://archive.ph/S3hig
The ICSA has described itself as โan association of real farmers tackling the real issuesโ and a โradical voice for sheep farmers, playing a key role in getting sheep onto the national and European agendaโ.2โPolicy,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LlcOw
Headquartered in Portlaoise, County Laois,3โAbout ICSA,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL:ย https://archive.ph/S3hig4 the ICSA claims over 10,000 members and a 110-strong national executive.5โHistory,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived September 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rApLb It was founded in 1993,6โAbout ICSA,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL:ย https://archive.ph/S3hig in response to โflaws and inequitiesโ it identified in the controversial 1992 MacSharry Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).7Seamus Sheehy. โA long, long history of agricultural reform,โ 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.8โLobbying record for Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,โ 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. โSuckler herd โcannot be sacrificedโ for climate objectives,โ Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv
The ICSA is opposed to reductions in Irelandโs derogation from the EU Nitrates Directive,10โLobbying record, Nitrates derogation โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,โ Lobbying.ie, May 21, 2024. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/U3Gb2 which aims to limit the livestock sectorโs emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas nitrous oxide, and water pollution.11โEU Nitrates Directive,โ DeSmog.
The ICSA is a member of the Brussels think tank Farm Europe,12โThe Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmersโ Association, New Active Contributor to Farm Europe,โ 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).13โICSA Welcomes Omission of Livestock Farming from Industrial Emissions Directive,โ 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 Irelandโs grass-based meat and milk production system14Paul R. Price. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ EU Legacy4LIFE report, An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. โ the ninth worst in the EU for beef, according to one 2011 study.15Lesschen, J.P et al. โGreenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors,โ Animal Feed Science and Technology, Special Issue: Greenhouse Gases in Animal Agriculture – Finding a Balance between Food and Emissions 166โ167, 16โ28, 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 โclean, green image of Irish food,โ and works on the โdevelopment of marketing strategy based on that imageโ.16โICSA Vision,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived January 13, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Qv5g
Stance on Climate Change
The ICSA includes โdelivering on [the] green agendaโ as one of the โkey principlesโ listed on its website.17โICSA Vision,โ 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 Irelandโs legally binding climate targets.18Rachel Donovan. โEmissions reduction target of 30% โcomplete insanityโ – ICSAโ,โ 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. โICSA calls on govt to โstep upโ to stop declining suckler numbers,โ Agriland, August 16, 2024. Archived August 16, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/m2hki and opposed a reduction in harmful nitrates.ย
The ICSA has said that the national herd โcannot be sacrificedโ for meeting climate objectives, and that it is โstrongly opposedโ to what it described as a โsuckler herd sell-outโ, referring to a large reduction in suckler beef cows to compensate for rising numbers of dairy cows and their emissions.20Rubina Freiberg. โSuckler herd โcannot be sacrificedโ for climate objectives,โ Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv
A 2024 report by Irelandโs Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that cutting livestock numbers is โlikely to be necessaryโ to achieve Irelandโs climate targets.21Noel Bardon. โCutting national herd โlikely to be necessaryโ for climate – new report,โ 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.22โIrelandโs Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023 [landing page],โ Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, July 2024. Archived July 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kf3rB (For more detail, see DeSmogโs 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. โEurope โhopelessly confusedโ on biofuels question,โ 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. โRevealed: How Ireland found itself breaching EU limits on biofuels,โ Euractiv, September 13, 2022. Archived September 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yfRi4ย
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.25โSpecial report 29/2023: The EUโs support for sustainable biofuels in transport โ An unclear route ahead,โ European Court Of Auditors, December 13, 2023. Archived December 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WpOas
ICSA representatives have also frequently made the โcarbon leakageโ argument โ often employed by institutions and individuals to delay climate action โ 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. โFarming News – ICSA: Nature Restoration Law โ an Example of How Not to Do Policy,โ Farming Online, June 19, 2023. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/R1qkz
A 2023 economic study of Irish agriculture concluded that โthe notion of leakage is a questionable oneโ and is โnot well foundedโ.27Alan Matthews. โIrish agri-food expansion: What is its role in feeding the world? (Working Paper No. 24),โ 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 Irelandโs failure to meet its own climate targets.28โA Significant Step Towards Stronger Climate Action,โ 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 criticising29โCCAC 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. โCCAC: Govt needs to support reduction in agricultural emissions,โ Agriland. September 4, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NGbtd from Irelandโs 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:ย
โSimplistic 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 dietโ.
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 โhigh-producing and consuming nationsโ taking the lead, to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.31Helen Harwatt el at. โOptions For A Paris-Compliant Livestock Sector,โ 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 Irelandโs national herd as โremarkably stable,โ saying:32Aisling OโBrien. โNational herd โremarkably stableโ – ICSA,โ Agriland, June 26, 2023. Archived June 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NvlDj
โThere 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 stableโ.
However, the ICSAโs 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. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ 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 2021.34โAgriculture_2021_WEM_EPA,โ 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 โconcrete commitments for extra fundingโ.35Charles OโDonnell. โBeef sheep group: โImpossibleโ to assess measures without funding,โ Agriland. October 25, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/f3yr4
He added that the ICSA would โnot 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 sectorโ.
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.36โICSA President Calls on Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to Stand up to Minister Ryan on Emissions Reduction Target,โ 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:
โAgreeing 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 worldโ.
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. โClimate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,โ 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.38โIrelandโs National Inventory Report 2024,โ 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.39โBriefing Note: Compliance Cost associated with 2020 & 2030 Climate & Energy Targets,โ 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 Irelandโs Citizensโ Assembly on climate change, which was made up of randomly chosen Irish citizens who engaged with experts, including agriculture specialists. The assemblyโs report endorsed a tax on greenhouse gases emitted by farms and โrewards for the farmer for land management that sequesters carbonโ.40โThird Report and Recommendations of the Citizensโ Assembly: How the State Can Make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change,โ The Citizensโ 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 โslammed the Citizensโ Assembly proposal to tax farmers for food production GHG emissions as a completely daft ideaโ.41โICSA Critical of Citizensโ Assembly Proposals on Taxing Food Production,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, April 19, 2018. Archived October 22, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NOZMK
He added: โHow stupid would it be to reduce Irish agricultural output so that the likes of Brazil could expand at a far higher environmental cost?โ
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:42โFarmers Must Be Financially Sustainable To Play Their Part In Climate Change Targets,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November 15, 2017. Archived November 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/viDbu
โICSA 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 globeโ.
A 2024 research paper notes that โcontrary 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 nationsโ.43Paul R Price. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ 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 Irelandโs grass-based system for livestock rearing produces less carbon emissions, stating that:44Eddie Punch, Gabriel Gilmartin, and Geoff Hamilton. โICSA Submission on the Agriculture Sectoral Roadmap,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November, 2013. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/29R5H
โGiven 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 beyondโ.ย
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. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ 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 Irelandโs agricultural production has a negative impact on global food security and its bovine emissions intensity exceeded the EU average.46Colin Doyle. โFeeding the World Sustainably? โ analysis of Irish and EU food nutrition trade balances,โ 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 โ 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. โClimate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,โ 2015. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 085002.
July 2012
In a submission to the governmentโs Food Harvest 2020 implementation committee, the ICSA described Irelandโs climate targets as โproblematicโ due to the countryโs high reliance on agriculture.48Punch, E, Gilmartin, G and Hamilton, G. โICSA Submission on the Environmental Analysis of Scenarios Related to Implementation of Recommendations of Food Harvest 2020,โ 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 โblunt emissions targetsโ and argued for agriculture to be treated differently due to โits specific relative importance in our economyโ.
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, โthe answer is โnot muchโโ.49Tara Garnett et al. โGrazed and confused?,โ 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 EUโs Nature Restoration Law, which requires farmers to set aside land for nature recovery. President Sean McNamara said in a press release that it had โcreated a lot of concern among farmers who see this as heavy on compulsory actions and targets but light on funding commitmentsโ.ย
โOverall, this vote drags farmers into an uncertain future,โ McNamara said, โand it is clear that food security and Irelandโs vital interests have taken second place to the Green Deal agenda of the EU Commissionโ.50โICSA Very Disappointed with Nature Restoration Law Vote,โ 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. โAre Europeโs Farmers Protesting Green Reforms? Itโs Complicated,โ DeSmog, February 7, 2024.
At the ICSA annual general meeting in Athlone, newly-elected President Sean McNamara voiced his solidarity. He reportedly emphasised โthe need for accurate climate facts, financial benefits for stored carbon, and opposing unrealistic aspects of the EU Green Dealโ.52โNew ICSA President vows to fight for fairness for farmers at the ICSA AGM and Annual Conference 2024,โ 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.53โICSA Demands That Beef Vision Group Focuses on Importance of Farmersโ Income,โ 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 โa huge mistakeโ and imposed โan intolerable and unaffordable level of complex compliance on farmsโ. He also thanked ICSAโs Brussels-based partner, Farm Europe, adding, โit is very satisfying that our voices have been heardโ.
The European Environmental Bureau described the exclusion of cattle from the directiveโs scope as โa major setbackโ that โfails to address one of the polluting industrial activities in Europe: industrial livestock farmsโ.54Maria Luรญs Fernandes. โThe EU indulges the largest industrial polluters with new emissions rules,โ 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 โhealthier, wealthier, and more fabulousโ.55Joe Mag Raollaigh. โEPA deletes โeat less meatโ tweet following IFA protest,โ RTร News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh The post by Irelandโs Environmental Protection Agency also recommended reducing food waste, cutting meat intake over time, and trying out vegetarian recipes.
The ICSA supported the IFAโs complaint as well as similar criticism from some politicians and asked the EPA to clarify what it called “political campaigning against meatโ, according to reporting by RTE. As a result of the farm organisation complaints, the EPA deleted the post.56Joe Mag Raollaigh. โEPA deletes โeat less meatโ tweet following IFA protest,โ RTร News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh
President Dermot Kelleher said the ICSA was โtaken aback to see a blatant anti-meat crusade on the EPA social media platforms in the past few daysโ.
Responding to the EPAโs retraction, Friends of the Earth Chief Executive Oisรญn Coghlan said that the deletion “could have a disastrous chilling effectโ and that โthe EPA needs to stand up for basic science”.57Pรกdraig Hoare and Tadhg McNally. โActivists warn of โchilling effectโ of EPAโs deletion of tweet on eating less red meat,โ Irish Examiner, August 29, 2023. Archived August 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5AxHBย
February 2023
The release of a draft EPA report on future land use and forestry options sparked strong criticism from Irelandโs farming organizations โ including the ICSA and Irish Farmers Association (IFA) โ which was then amplified by members of Parliament representing rural constituencies.58ohn Gibbons. โEnvironmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,โ Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO
The published โLand Use Reviewโ 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. โEnvironmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,โ Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO
ICSA President Dermot Kelleher told the Irish Independent that โthe 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 spectacularlyโ.60โICSA condemns the trolling of livestock farmers,โ Irish Independent, February 22, 2023. Archived April 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/irvvJ
Within hours of the reportโs publication, he said that โa small cabal of unrepresentative but noisy activists were salivating at the prospect of ripping out the heart of economic activity in rural Irelandโ. Farmers, he said, โare 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 devastatedโ.61โICSA Condemns Constant Trolling of Livestock Farmers,โ 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 agricultureโs negative impacts. In June 2021 Sharon Finegan, the EPAโs director of environmental sustainability told the Parliamentary Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action that Irish agricultureโs growth was โhappening at the expense of the environment, as evident by trends in emissions, water quality and biodiversity all going in the wrong directionโ.62Kayle Crosson. โEPA: significant โstep changeโ needed for Irish agriculture,โ Green News Ireland, June 29, 2021. Archived June 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ltjLrย
Noting that agriculture was on course to account for 40 percent of total Irish emissions by 2030, Finegan added that โbusiness 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 qualityโ.
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 Irelandโs 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 โsectoral emission ceilingsโ for different economic sectors, including agriculture.63โClimate Action and Low Carbon Development (amendment) Act 2021 (as Approved),โ Government of Ireland, electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), June, 2021. Archived January 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ScDtZ
โSectoral emission ceilingsโ 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,64โSectoral Emissions Ceilings,โ Government of Ireland. September, 2022. Archived November 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pKHI0 as laid out by the Government to meet Irelandโs legally binding carbon budgets.65โClimate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021,โ 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 Governmentโs Climate Action Plan initially suggested a range for agriculture emission reductions of 22 to 30 percent by 2030.66โClimate Action Plan 2021: Securing Our Future,โ 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 โabsolute maximum the agriculture sector can bear; anything higher would be akin to pressing the self-destruct button on the sectorโ.67โCommon Sense Must Prevail In Climate Target Decision,โ 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 โunworkableโ, he added: โWe 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 processโ.
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: โAgreeing 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 worldโ.68โIcsa President Calls On Fine Gael And Fianna Fail To Stand Up To Minister Ryan On Emissions Reduction Target – Icsa,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 19, 2022. Archived August 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wYllLd
Kelleher added that โfarmers 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 carbonโ.
Agricultureโs ability to sequester carbon on a timescale long enough to address climate change has been refuted by academic research.69Joe Fassler. โResearch Undermines Claims that Soil Carbon Can Offset Livestock Emissions,โ DeSmog, February 1, 2024.
Other studies suggest Irish beef and milk ยญproduction are not particularly carbon efficient when compared to other EU nations. A 2011 peer-reviewed study found Irelandโs beef carbon footprint to be substantially higher than the EU average,70Lesschen, J.P et al. โGreenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors. Animal Feed Science and Technology,โ Animal Feed Science and Technology, June 23, 2011. Archived March 13, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/n6lkZ while results calculated71Alan Matthews. โAlan Matthews: Our โgreenโ farming credentials are set to come under greater scrutiny,โ Irish Independent, February 13, 2019. Archived September 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. using the Food and Agriculture Organisationโs GLEAM methodology showed Irish livestock emissions to be among the highest in Europe.72โGlobal Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM),โ United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived September 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NaaVqย
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 2021โ2025 and 2026โ2030.73Grรกinne Nรญ Aodha and Cate McCurry. โGovernment agrees emissions targets with agriculture set at 25%,โ Breakingnews.ie, July 28, 2022. Archived July 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6NVYL
Marie Donnelly, chair of Irelandโs Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC), described the target as โproblematicโ.
According to Donellyโs 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. โStatement issued on behalf of the Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Marie Donnellyโ Climate Change Advisory Council, July 20, 2022. Archived July 29, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
2022โ2023
The ICSA was part of a pan-European lobbying push which resulted in the exclusion of cattle and sheep farming from the EUโs Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).75ย Charles OโDonnell. โIndustrial emissions agreement โrecognises specificsโ of farming,โ 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,76โProposal 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,โ 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. โ150-cow farms to be included in proposed EU Emissions Directive,โ 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.78โIndustrial emissions: Council and Parliament agree on new rules to reduce harmful emissions from industry and improve public access to information,โ 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 โa huge mistakeโ, and that โcattle and sheep farms are not the same as big industrial factoriesโ.79Charles OโDonnell. โIndustrial emissions agreement โrecognises specificsโ of farming,โ Agriland, November 29, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QWphB
Kelleher said the ICSA โlobbied on a regular basis in Brusselsโ on this issue in 2023. He added that the EU decision to exclude cattle from the IED should be a โfinal determinantโ on the issue.80Charles OโDonnell. โMEP vote โshould be final determinantโ to keep cattle out of IED,โ Agriland, January 22, 2024. Archived January 22, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/MtZll
The ICSA also acknowledged โthe 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 heardโ.81โICSA Welcomes EU Environment Committee Decision to Exclude Cattle Farms from Ied. ICSA,โ 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 IEDโs exclusion of cattle farming, saying it โmaintains protection for the polluting status quoโ.82Maria Simon Arboleas. โโCiaoโ cows: Cattle excluded from EUโs industrial emissions cut plan,โ 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 โFood Visionโ stakeholder groups for dairy, livestock, and arable land (known as โtillageโ in Ireland), to consider how best to reduce the sectorโs greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient pollution.83Joe Mag Raollaigh. โA year in agriculture that couldnโt have been predicted,โ RTร, December 28, 2022. Archived January 5, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/uoWHW
The Food Vision dairy groupโs 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.84โFinal Report on the Food Vision Beef & Sheep Group to Mitigate GHG emissions from the Beef Sector,โ 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 โkite 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 thisโ.85โ10% CUT IN HERD IS KITE FLYING,โ 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 โboth for health reasons and for reasons of climate changeโ.86Grรกinne Nรญ Aodha. โThe Taoiseach says heโs eating less red meat to stay healthy – but is it healthier to do that?โ TheJournal, July 29, 2019. Archived July 29, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wus7xm This prompted outrage from Irelandโs farm lobby, including ICSA then-President Patrick Kent, who called his comments โreckless in the extremeโ.
Kent said: โAs 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 productionโ.
Varadkar responded to this and other criticisms by saying:
โI was trying to eat less red meat for two reasons โ one health, the other climate change. And itโs 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 Iโve not become a vegan or anything like thatโ.
June 2012
The โEnvironment Review 2012โ assessed the potential GHG emissions impact of Food Harvest 2020,87โFood Harvest 2020: A vision for Irish agri-food and fisheries,โ 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),88โEnvironment Review 2012,โ Economic and Social Research Institute, 2012. Archived February 28, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/GEVcz found that โemissions 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 trendโ and โcould result in an additional 1 million tonnes of CO2eq emissions from livestock, (as well as additional emissions from the food processing sector)โ.
ICSA then-President Gabriel Gilmartin agreed with the concerns raised: โOn the one hand, Food Harvest 2020 says we must strive to dramatically increase agricultural production,โ he said, โbut on the other, we are expected to reduce the emissions from farming activities. The two targets are plainly incompatibleโ.89โNew Thinking for Agricultural Emissions Policies,โ 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 2010.90โIrelandโs Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023,โ 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 โICSA does not take leviesโ โ 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.91โMembership,โ 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, 2024.92โLobbying Organisation – Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,” Lobbying.ie, August 8, 2024. Archived March 6, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EaTPa
According to Irelandโs 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.93โSearch: Return submit date: From 01 Jan 2015; Public Policy Area: Agriculture, Food, Environment,โย 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).94โICSA Vision,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived September 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cNXRP The ICSA spent โฌ25,000 – โฌ49,999 lobbying the EU in the financial year ending October 2022,95โDatacard -Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmersโ Association Ltd,โ LobbyFacts.eu, 2023. Archived October 2, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bYVvu and it had two registered lobbyists.96โDatacard -Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmersโ Association Ltd,โ 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. โICSAโs Eddie Punch to run in European Elections,โ 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.98โEuropean Election: Ireland South constituency results,โ 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 โEU regulations related to sustainable food systemsโ.
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.99โAnnual Report 2021,โ Animal Health Ireland, 2022. Archived May 30, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 1โAbout ICSA,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL:ย https://archive.ph/S3hig
- 2โPolicy,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, 2024. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LlcOw
- 3
- 4
- 5โHistory,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived September 6, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/rApLb
- 6โAbout ICSA,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived December 13, 2024. Archive URL:ย https://archive.ph/S3hig
- 7Seamus Sheehy. โA long, long history of agricultural reform,โ The Irish Times, February 22, 1999. Archived February 17, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/7j2Uw
- 8โLobbying record for Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association,โ Lobbying.ie, 2024. Archived August 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zoBNX
- 9Rubina Freiberg. โSuckler herd โcannot be sacrificedโ for climate objectives,โ Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv
- 10
- 11โEU Nitrates Directive,โ DeSmog.
- 12โThe Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmersโ Association, New Active Contributor to Farm Europe,โ Farm Europe, December 20, 2016. Archived February 8, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cHCYx
- 13โICSA Welcomes Omission of Livestock Farming from Industrial Emissions Directive,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November 23, 2023. Archived August 7, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kzYZf
- 14Paul R. Price. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ EU Legacy4LIFE report, An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 15Lesschen, J.P et al. โGreenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors,โ Animal Feed Science and Technology, Special Issue: Greenhouse Gases in Animal Agriculture – Finding a Balance between Food and Emissions 166โ167, 16โ28, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.058. Archived April 23, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QbMyF
- 16โICSA Vision,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived January 13, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Qv5g
- 17โICSA Vision,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association. Archived January 13, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Qv5g
- 18Rachel Donovan. โEmissions reduction target of 30% โcomplete insanityโ – ICSAโ,โ Irish Farmers Journal, July 19, 2022. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WaCIh
- 19Louise Hickey. โICSA calls on govt to โstep upโ to stop declining suckler numbers,โ Agriland, August 16, 2024. Archived August 16, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/m2hki
- 20Rubina Freiberg. โSuckler herd โcannot be sacrificedโ for climate objectives,โ Agriland, February 18, 2025. Archived July 24, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/8WLSv
- 21Noel Bardon. โCutting national herd โlikely to be necessaryโ for climate – new report,โ Irish Farmers Journal, January 25, 2024. Archived January 25, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hzqAO
- 22โIrelandโs Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2023 [landing page],โ Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, July 2024. Archived July 9, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kf3rB
- 23Sylvester Phelan. โEurope โhopelessly confusedโ on biofuels question,โ Agriland, January 18, 2018. Archived January 18, 2018. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ZhdyW
- 24Sean Goulding Carroll. โRevealed: How Ireland found itself breaching EU limits on biofuels,โ Euractiv, September 13, 2022. Archived September 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yfRi4
- 25โSpecial report 29/2023: The EUโs support for sustainable biofuels in transport โ An unclear route ahead,โ European Court Of Auditors, December 13, 2023. Archived December 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WpOas
- 26Dermot Kelleher. โFarming News – ICSA: Nature Restoration Law โ an Example of How Not to Do Policy,โ Farming Online, June 19, 2023. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/R1qkz
- 27Alan Matthews. โIrish agri-food expansion: What is its role in feeding the world? (Working Paper No. 24),โ Climate Change Advisory Council, November, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/n1MGt
- 28โA Significant Step Towards Stronger Climate Action,โ An Taisce – The National Trust For Ireland, December 18, 2020. Archived December 18, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/jb9yN
- 29โCCAC 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
- 30Stella Meehan. โCCAC: Govt needs to support reduction in agricultural emissions,โ Agriland. September 4, 2024. Archived September 4, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NGbtd
- 31Helen Harwatt el at. โOptions For A Paris-Compliant Livestock Sector,โ Harvard Law School, March 2024. Archived August 25, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/OIzX3
- 32Aisling OโBrien. โNational herd โremarkably stableโ – ICSA,โ Agriland, June 26, 2023. Archived June 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NvlDj
- 33Price, Paul R. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ Legacy4LIFE An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 34โAgriculture_2021_WEM_EPA,โ Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, 2023. GHG Inventory Excel spreadsheet. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/22Nuv
- 35Charles OโDonnell. โBeef sheep group: โImpossibleโ to assess measures without funding,โ Agriland. October 25, 2022. Archived October 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/f3yr4
- 36โICSA President Calls on Fine Gael and Fianna Fail to Stand up to Minister Ryan on Emissions Reduction Target,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 19, 2022. Archived February 18, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YllLd
- 37R. T. Pierrehumbert and G. Eshel. โClimate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,โ 2015. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 085002.
- 38โIrelandโs National Inventory Report 2024,โ Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, 2024. Archived April 19, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wyXXj
- 39โBriefing Note: Compliance Cost associated with 2020 & 2030 Climate & Energy Targets,โ Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, March, 2020. Archived October 13, 2020. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 40โThird Report and Recommendations of the Citizensโ Assembly: How the State Can Make Ireland a Leader in Tackling Climate Change,โ The Citizensโ Assembly, April 18, 2018. Archived March 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cwDnG
- 41โICSA Critical of Citizensโ Assembly Proposals on Taxing Food Production,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, April 19, 2018. Archived October 22, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NOZMK
- 42โFarmers Must Be Financially Sustainable To Play Their Part In Climate Change Targets,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November 15, 2017. Archived November 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/viDbu
- 43Paul R Price. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ Legacy4LIFE Programme, Task 2.2 Report, May 2024. Archived June 18, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 44Eddie Punch, Gabriel Gilmartin, and Geoff Hamilton. โICSA Submission on the Agriculture Sectoral Roadmap,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, November, 2013. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/29R5H
- 45Paul R Price. โAgricultural Methane in Irish Climate Action: greenhouse gas metrics, methane mitigation, and related quantification of livestock numbers,โ An Taisce, June 2024. Archived 18 June, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 46Colin Doyle. โFeeding the World Sustainably? โ analysis of Irish and EU food nutrition trade balances,โ Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway and An Taisce, Ireland. 2016. Archived December 1, 2017.
- 47R. T. Pierrehumbert, and G. Eshel. โClimate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials,โ 2015. Environ. Res. Lett. 10, 085002.
- 48Punch, E, Gilmartin, G and Hamilton, G. โICSA Submission on the Environmental Analysis of Scenarios Related to Implementation of Recommendations of Food Harvest 2020,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July, 2012. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/O20cj
- 49Tara Garnett et al. โGrazed and confused?,โ Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford. 2017. Archived December 15, 2017. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Yj6BW
- 50โICSA Very Disappointed with Nature Restoration Law Vote,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, March 1, 2024. Archived March 7, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HHvw9
- 51Rachel Sherrington. โAre Europeโs Farmers Protesting Green Reforms? Itโs Complicated,โ DeSmog, February 7, 2024.
- 52โNew ICSA President vows to fight for fairness for farmers at the ICSA AGM and Annual Conference 2024,โ The Sligo Champion, February 7, 2024. Archived March 1, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/eem4B
- 53โICSA Demands That Beef Vision Group Focuses on Importance of Farmersโ Income,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, September 16, 2022. Archived October 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/l3vj4
- 54Maria Luรญs Fernandes. โThe EU indulges the largest industrial polluters with new emissions rules,โ European Environmental Bureau, November 29, 2024. Archived December 2, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Lz2IQ
- 55Joe Mag Raollaigh. โEPA deletes โeat less meatโ tweet following IFA protest,โ RTร News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh
- 56Joe Mag Raollaigh. โEPA deletes โeat less meatโ tweet following IFA protest,โ RTร News, August 28, 2023. Archived August 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/fKcdh
- 57Pรกdraig Hoare and Tadhg McNally. โActivists warn of โchilling effectโ of EPAโs deletion of tweet on eating less red meat,โ Irish Examiner, August 29, 2023. Archived August 30, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/5AxHB
- 58ohn Gibbons. โEnvironmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,โ Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO
- 59ohn Gibbons. โEnvironmental debate turns nasty as politicians ratchet up the ugly rhetoric,โ Irish Examiner, February 21, 2023. Archived February 22, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/FxftO
- 60โICSA condemns the trolling of livestock farmers,โ Irish Independent, February 22, 2023. Archived April 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/irvvJ
- 61โICSA Condemns Constant Trolling of Livestock Farmers,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, February 13, 2023. Archived September 10, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/EfHEx
- 62Kayle Crosson. โEPA: significant โstep changeโ needed for Irish agriculture,โ Green News Ireland, June 29, 2021. Archived June 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ltjLr
- 63โClimate Action and Low Carbon Development (amendment) Act 2021 (as Approved),โ Government of Ireland, electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), June, 2021. Archived January 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ScDtZ
- 64โSectoral Emissions Ceilings,โ Government of Ireland. September, 2022. Archived November 25, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pKHI0
- 65โClimate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021,โ Government of Ireland, electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB), July 23, 2021. Archived January 22, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ScDtZ
- 66โClimate Action Plan 2021: Securing Our Future,โ Government of Ireland. November 2021. Archived November 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/cUj75
- 67โCommon Sense Must Prevail In Climate Target Decision,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 12, 2022. Archived date: August 11, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/kCTbK
- 68โIcsa President Calls On Fine Gael And Fianna Fail To Stand Up To Minister Ryan On Emissions Reduction Target – Icsa,โ Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, July 19, 2022. Archived August 13, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/wYllLd
- 69Joe Fassler. โResearch Undermines Claims that Soil Carbon Can Offset Livestock Emissions,โ DeSmog, February 1, 2024.
- 70Lesschen, J.P et al. โGreenhouse gas emission profiles of European livestock sectors. Animal Feed Science and Technology,โ Animal Feed Science and Technology, June 23, 2011. Archived March 13, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/n6lkZ
- 71Alan Matthews. โAlan Matthews: Our โgreenโ farming credentials are set to come under greater scrutiny,โ Irish Independent, February 13, 2019. Archived September 24, 2024. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 72โGlobal Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM),โ United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived September 12, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NaaVq
- 73Grรกinne Nรญ Aodha and Cate McCurry. โGovernment agrees emissions targets with agriculture set at 25%,โ Breakingnews.ie, July 28, 2022. Archived July 28, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/6NVYL
- 74Marie Donnelly. โStatement issued on behalf of the Chair of the Climate Change Advisory Council, Marie Donnellyโ Climate Change Advisory Council, July 20, 2022. Archived July 29, 2022. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 75ย Charles OโDonnell. โIndustrial emissions agreement โrecognises specificsโ of farming,โ Agriland, November 29, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QWphB
- 76โProposal 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,โ European Commission, April 5, 2022. Archived January 29, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/OcD5q
- 77Stephen Cadogan. โ150-cow farms to be included in proposed EU Emissions Directive,โ Irish Examiner, April 20, 2022. Archived April 21, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/0cVdM
- 78โIndustrial emissions: Council and Parliament agree on new rules to reduce harmful emissions from industry and improve public access to information,โ European Council, December 29, 2023. Archived April 8, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WpByW
- 79Charles OโDonnell. โIndustrial emissions agreement โrecognises specificsโ of farming,โ Agriland, November 29, 2023. Archived December 12, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QWphB
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