Minister Simon Coveney says the approach to climate change in the agriculture sector can't be to just run people off their land.
The former Agriculture Minister says they need to find a way to secure farm incomes while, at the same time, delivering environmental change.
Speaking at the MacGill Summer School Minister Coveney says the way forward will be tricky:
"How do we give farmers the incentive to stay farming, to stay financially viable, while at the same time making a real and measurable difference in terms of biodiversity, water quality and emissions? And we can do all three.
It will cost money to do that, but we can do all three."
