There is insufficient engagement with and supports for farmers to assist with reducing the average cattle finishing age to 21.6 months under Ireland’s Climate Action Plan by 2030, a new report has found.
Under the plan, by 2030 the average finishing age of cattle is to be 21.6 months.
In 2024, the average age at finish was 26.5 months. For bullocks, this figure increased to 27.3 months and for heifers it was 26.4 months.
An action plan was to be published by the Department before the end of 2025. However, this has not come to fruition yet.
The report looked at the barriers to achieving this target and other targets under the Climate Action Plan 2030 and was carried out by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy.
The committee also found that there was insufficient Government supports to assist farmers to transition to more sustainable farming practices. It noted the “high cost of approved feed additives and slurry amendments needed to reduce methane emissions from livestock”.
Forestry
There has also been an insufficient shift in forestry policy away from monoculture towards ‘the right tree in the right place’ and incentivising the most appropriate use of land from a climate and biodiversity perspective, the report said.
“For example, landowners who previously engaged in monoculture but wish to move away towards native forestry, rewilding or rewetting more appropriate to peaty soil can face obstacles and penalties rather than supports,” it added.
Another area that the committee examined included the anaerobic digestion (AD) sector. It found that there were delays in biomethane production via AD, attributed to prohibitive capital costs, a lack of information and uncertainty of Government supports.
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