Rising levels of methane emissions from cows and sheep will soon exceed EU and UN limitations, a consultant economist and psychologist has said.
Mr Paddy Walley told the Humbert Summer School that the issue had to be addressed by the agriculture industry, because it was cattle feed - the grass on Irish soil - which was responsible for inducing gaseous constitutions in the livestock. It might be necessary to reduce the number of cows in Ireland, he said.
Nearly half of all gas pollution in the Irish air around Ireland is caused by flatulent cattle.
Under the UN/EU "Kyoto Agreement" each country had been allowed certain gas emission levels. Ireland has been allowed to increase emissions by 13 per cent between 1999 and 2010. "But we have already reached that this year and we could be 60 per cent over the limit in 2010 unless we take very radical action," Mr Walley said.