Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett):

As Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, I welcome the agriculture budget for 2022. It is fair, it is friendly to the climate and biodiversity, and it will protect farm families, farm profitability and farm safety and sustainability. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has secured a healthy gross budget of €1.858 billion for our Department. This is in addition to almost €1.2 billion in EU-funded direct payments and represents an increase of 2% on last year's allocation. Between retaining last year's extra funds and securing a further 2%, it is fair to say that, in this time of transition towards a new CAP, we have delivered for the agriculture, fishing and food sectors.

Our priority as Ministers was to ensure that farmers could have confidence that they would be protected and we have done that.

From my perspective, I have good news to deliver on forestry, organics, horticulture and farm biodiversity, and on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, I will also highlight the provisions made in the areas of farm supports through the rural development programme, RDP, the soil sampling scheme, animal welfare, multi-species swards and Brexit supports.

Let me begin with the RDP. As I mentioned, we have guaranteed funding of all schemes to 2022. An allocation of some €872 million for the major schemes and forestry will ensure that there will be no gap in the run-up to the introduction of the CAP strategic plan in 2023. All of the key rural development programme and forestry supports will remain available through the transition, supporting schemes which provide key income supports and measurable public goods.

Of the €872 million, more than €100 million will go on targeted supports for the beef and sheep sectors, including the beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, the beef environmental efficiency programme-sucklers, BEEP-S, the sheep welfare scheme and the dairy calf programme. A total of €80 million of the funding, meanwhile is provided for on-farm investments through TAMS. Some of this will be to specifically grant aid solar panel installations on farms.

Forestry is key to us achieving our climate targets, but we must do it in a new way. The €100 million allocation to forestry will help us to progress the programme of reform we started earlier this year under Project Woodland. We must develop a close-to-nature model of forestry, which benefits rural economies while also recognising the climate-friendly role timber can play in infrastructure. We must also plant many more trees, which is why the Minister and myself are working on legislation which will allow us to incentivise small-scale native tree planting by large numbers of farmers.

I also want to support those farmers who want to farm organically and I am delighted with the big increase in the allocation for this sector, with funding increasing from €18 million to €23 million. That includes €5 million extra for the organic farming scheme. This will allow many more farmers to make that transition, and I am determined to work with all stakeholders and advisory services to ensure farmers are fully aware of the opportunities going organic can provide.

We have allocated an extra €5 million for investment in new on-farm biodiversity initiatives. We funded 24 such projects this year. The extra €5 million I have announced will fund more exciting initiatives. We are also putting aside a further €500,000 so that farmers can get information and expertise to help and protect and increase on-farm biodiversity.

In horticulture, there are challenges and I want to acknowledge that. While the sector retains a 50% increase secured last year, I intend to act quickly on an independent report due back to me early next year. I also hope the sector will secure significant additional investment from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund in 2022. To elaborate a little on that fund, its purpose is to counter any adverse consequences of the withdrawal of the UK from the EU. It is being managed by our colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and will be available outside of the Department's allocation. We will work closely with him to ensure that the fisheries and agrifood sectors secure funding from it and we expect the findings of the seafood task force will be of vital assistance in identifying proposals that could be eligible for funding under this reserve.

Access to flexible finance is another key part of the Government's response to Brexit's challenges. The 2022 Estimates will provide for ongoing access to the loan schemes through the Strategic Bank Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, for farmers, fishers and food and drink SMEs. In addition, €7 million has been made available for next year through Enterprise Ireland's capital investment scheme to support our food industry. That should help the meat and dairy sectors to invest in greater product and market diversification.

With regard to animal welfare, the programme for Government committed to a doubling of the ex gratiafunding for animal welfare organisations within two years. Funding has been provided to meet this commitment in 2022, while funding is also provided to support food safety systems, traceability, contingency planning and responses, animal disease surveillance, controls and eradication and supporting the wind-down of the fur farming operations in the State.

A sum of €50 million has been allocated to the soil sampling programme. This increase, on top of the €10 million allocated when we announced the programme in last year's budget, is a direct result of the great demand from farmers to avail of the scheme. I thank them for applying for the scheme in such numbers and thereby nudging us to up our sampling capacity. Doing so is important because this programme puts soil carbon, health and fertility at the centre of our future agricultural model. It will also help with day-to-day management of farms by providing farmers with information they need to better adapt to climate and nature friendly practice. For example, healthy active soils are less dependent on chemical fertilisers.

Speaking of chemical fertilisers and the way and means of reducing their use, I also want to highlight that we are planning a multi-species sward scheme. It is at an early stage and will need to pass state aid rules, but our aim is to support reseeding programmes that combine complementary grass, legumes and herb species. A more diverse sward can provide greater resilience to climate extremes and bring benefits for animal health and soil quality and biodiversity. This is a scheme we are keen to progress.

I will conclude by saying that when it comes to farming we have to change how we do things. Farmers know that, and from what I have seen they are up for the challenge. They know we must lower our carbon footprint, protect our environment, improve our biodiversity and protect our air and water quality. This Department is with them as they strive to do that and this budget will help. I commend this budget to the House.

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