Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Let us consider the average income for the schemes when they first started in 1992. Under the rural environment protection scheme, the average income was €5,000. By this measure in today's terms the average should be between €10,000 and €15,000 but that is not the case. Farmers are highly dependent on the environmental schemes and whatever schemes come their way. They are happy to work with the rules and regulations that must be adhered to. Is there a possibility that schemes can be raised considerably?

What about the climate action Bill that has been brought before the Dáil? If it is agreed to by the Government and the Dáil, it will bring major falls in the numbers of dairy cattle, cows and animals in the suckler herd. That will have serious consequences. Farmers will fall back on these schemes and will be more dependent on them.

I wish to comment on the environmental organic scheme. A budget was set aside last year or the year before. Many farmers did training for it. They did everything they could but could not get into the scheme. We are talking about providing plenty of money to have farmers on an organic scheme. Yet, at the end of the day, even though they ticked all the boxes and did everything they could, they could not get on it. I was talking to farmers who travelled the country to do courses over weekends so that they could qualify but they never qualified afterwards. Most were left outside the scheme.

It is great to be able to come back and say there is plenty of money left in the budget because farmers did not take it up. However, they cannot take it up if they are not allowed to qualify. Are the qualification criteria the same? Is there some easing of the qualification criteria whereby genuine organic farmers who want to join the scheme could at least be allowed avoid a situation where an announcement of 500 might result in only 200 taking up the scheme?

I would appreciate if we could focus in on the environmental schemes and the schemes coming forward. At the least they should compensate farmers correctly, something they have not been doing down through the years. We have seen only a small percentage of increases. Farmers who were getting €5,000 ten or 15 years ago are getting very little ten or 15 years later.