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An all-Government plan to reduce carbon emissions will be finalised in the coming weeks, An Taoiseach Leo Vardkar told his party's national conference in Wexford on Saturday, including an increase in carbon tax to be "given back to you the citizens".
"In particular, we'll work with our farmers to modernise agriculture and reduce emissions from that sector, taking into account the need to protect their incomes and livelihoods as well as the environment," he said.
A carbon tax already exists on fossil fuels and an Oireachtas committee is set to reject its extension to greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and soils next week, favouring measures to improve farming practices and bioenergy production instead.
Broadband
An Taoiseach also said that connecting half a million farms, homes and businesses to high-speed broadband was a "huge undertaking", but promised to "make sure that no part of the country is left behind".
He did not elaborate on the status of the National Broadband Plan (NBP), which is expected to deliver this.
Earlier this month, he had said any decision on the NBP would have to wait until Easter, because funds may be needed to bail out the beef and wider agri-food industry in case of a no-deal Brexit.
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