Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for being here this morning. Attendance of members is low but there is a lot happening this morning, including the fact that people are moving between Leinster House and the convention centre, which is never easy. I thank the Minister for his clear outline of the contents of the Revised Estimates but I seek clarification on a number of matters. The Minister referenced upcoming farm support payments. I ask him to clarify if there are moves afoot to issue those payments earlier in the year. Is it possible to provide full payment under any of the schemes much earlier in the year? As we know, once the autumn arrives, many farmers are badly in need and many have been repeatedly checking their bank balances in eager anticipation of their payments. The fact that most of these payments came through this week is very welcome but they would have been just as welcome, if not more so, a number of weeks ago.

In reference to the basic payments scheme and the beef data and genomics programme and the 2021 payments, it appears that at least one of these is accounted for as a Covid-19 measure. I ask the Minister to clarify which one that is and whether the intention is to treat them as Covid emergency measures as opposed to payments in their own right, which I would have understood to be the Minister’s intention, in terms of them being long-standing payments.

One never likes to see a situation where money for a scheme like TAMS is unspent. I ask the Minister to give an assurance that the money not spent in 2020 will not be lost to his Department. Will he outline his intentions vis-à-visTAMS during the transition period? What level of funding will be required and what changes, if any, does he propose to make to the scheme? The Minister’s predecessor in the last Dáil, Deputy Creed, indicated in February that he intended to increase the ceilings for the pig and poultry sector. When we discussed this previously, the Minister said he would examine the scheme in advance of the next tranche of payments. Where are those examinations at? This is a demand-led scheme and if the ceilings are increased, there are many operators in the pig and poultry sectors who would be all too willing to ensure there is no underspend on TAMS.

I support the Chairman’s proposition with regard to forestry. I do not want to repeat the long-running debates we have had with the Minister and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, regarding the failures which cannot be put down to a fall-off in interest on the part of farmers. Farmers will be interested in what makes sense and at the moment it does not make sense for them to engage in forestry. All they see is a mountain of bureaucracy that they need to overcome and the fact that supports are not in place. Does the Minister accept that the exclusion of marginal land from the scheme has played a role? Is he willing to quantify that? Is he going to include marginal land in any new forestry policy and what cost is associated with that?

I welcome the Minister’s highlighting of the World Food Programme which will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize next week. Ireland’s role in that programme is incredibly important and I welcome the Minister’s proposal to ensure our 2021 contribution is paid early, which is an appropriate signal. I ask him to provide an outline of his Department’s efforts to ensure Ireland’s contribution to the programme is spent effectively and well and is having the desired impact.

I am being very positive this morning because I also want to welcome the response I received to a parliamentary question yesterday regarding the potential for financial supports for agriculture students attending Teagasc colleges. In his response the Minister indicated that Teagasc is examining ways in which financial supports can be put in place. Our agriculture students are essentially the future of Irish farming and they need support. It is very disappointing that Covid-related measures and other financial supports that are in place for all other students have been denied to our agriculture students. I note that there is no reference to that in the Minister’s opening remarks and I cannot see any reference in the Revised Estimates. According to the written response I received, the intention is to put measures in place by the end of the year. Is it also the intention that the supports will be in place by the end of the year or should students expect to wait until next year? I ask the Minister to give an indication of the level of support that will be available. Will it be the same as what is available to other students? Is it intended that this will just be a Covid measure or will the Department use the fact that this issue has been highlighted during Covid to put in place a permanent financial hardship scheme for students in agricultural colleges?