Public Consultation on the Environmental Assessment of the Draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030

In accordance with EU Directive 2001/42/EC and the European Communities (Environmental Assessment of Certain Plans and Programme) Regulations 2004 (SI 435 of 2004), as amended, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been carried out on the draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 and its findings are presented in an Environmental Report. A Natura Impact Statement has also been prepared pursuant to Article 6 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora as transposed into Irish law by S.I. the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 (477/2011) as amended.

The documents listed below are now published and members of the public and stakeholders are invited to make a written submission or observation with respect to the draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 and associated Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement.

It should be noted that the Government is committed to overall greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 51% from 2021 to 2030 and to achieving climate neutrality no later than 2050, taking into account the special role of agriculture and the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane. This stakeholder-led strategy is a significant milestone which will feed into the Government process for establishing sectoral emissions ceilings under the Climate Action Bill. When finalised this summer, the strategy will need to be consistent with the ambition set out for agriculture in the Programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan 2021, and the sectoral targets to be adopted under the Climate Bill. In this context, the public consultation also affords the public and stakeholders the opportunity to give their views on how climate ambition might be further increased.

Documents:

• Draft Agri-Food Strategy 2030 - a new ten year strategy for the agri food sector

• Draft Agri-Food Strategy 2030 - a new ten year strategy for the agri food sector: Executive Summary

• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Environmental Report

• Appropriate Assessment (AA) Natura Impact Statement

• Appropriate Assessment Screening Statement and determination

• SEA Non Technical Summary

Due to current working arrangements associated with COVID 19, documents can be made available for inspection on request at the Department’s offices during office hours by contacting 2030StrategyEnvironmentalConsultation@agriculture.gov.ie

How to get involved?

The consultation will open for an eight-week period from 19 April 2021 to mid-day on 15 June 2021.

A questionaire will be available from the 19th of April to facilitate your feedback here .

This survey does not operate correctly using Internet Explorer. To participate in this survey you should use a different browser .

Alternatively, submissions can be sent to 2030StrategyEnvironmentalConsultation@agriculture.gov.ie or by post to the following address:

Draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 Environmental Consultation

Climate Change and Bioenergy Policy Division,

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,

Pavilion A, Grattan Business Park,

Dublin Road,

Portlaoise,

Co Laois,

R32 K857

Please indicate which document your submission relates to.

Submissions or observations made with respect to the draft Agri-Food Strategy to 2030, the Environmental Report and/or the Natura Impact Statement will be taken into consideration before finalisation of the Strategy.

In order to facilitate further consultation on the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment, a webinar will be hosted by RSK Ireland Limited at 3pm on Tuesday 8th June. The registration details for the SEA/AA webinar can be found at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1479700074024653067

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is collecting this data to inform the Environmental Assessment process as part of the development of the Agri-Food Strategy to 2030. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, will be shared with our external consultants who are conducting the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment on our behalf. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, will be published on the Department’s website, however, if you wish to make a submission but not be identified publicly this can be accommodated provided it is clearly indicated when the submission is made.

All submissions and comments submitted to the Department for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2014 and the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007- 2014. Submissions are also subject to Data Protection legislation. Personal, confidential or commercially sensitive information should not be included in your submission and it will be presumed that all information contained in your submission is releasable under the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is collecting this data to inform the Environmental Assessment process as part of the development of Agri-Food Strategy to 2030. All submissions, including the name of the person or organisation making the submission, will be shared with our external consultants who are conducting the Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment on our behalf. This data will be processed in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR EU 2016/679), the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018, the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and the DPER Consultation Principles and Guidance. Any additional personal data received as part of your submission will not be processed, shared, or retained and will be destroyed upon receipt. Further information on Data Protection can be found on our website.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and employs appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. The Department will not process your personal data for any purpose other than that for which they were collected. Personal data may be exchanged with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law. The Department will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and subsequently processed. When the business need to retain this information has expired, it will be examined with a view to destroying the personal data as soon as possible, and in line with Department policy.

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