Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am pleased to have secured more than €1.8 billion of funding in budget 2020 for the overall sector. This is in addition to almost €1.2 billion in direct payments annually. Farmers can have confidence that this budget protects family farms and their income and supports action to improve safety and sustainability on farms. I have succeeded in maintaining all of the crucial schemes for farmers. The budget provision will also allow us to provide additional funding for several policy priorities. I am committed to supporting our suckler and sheep sectors now and into the future.

More than €100 million will be provided in targeted supports for the beef and sheep sectors, including the beef data and genomics programme BDGP, the beef environmental efficiency programme for sucklers, BEEP-S, the sheep welfare scheme and the dairy calf programme. Other measures relevant to the livestock sectors include €7 million for Enterprise Ireland capital investment schemes to support the meat and dairy sector to invest in greater product and market diversification; €4 million for the establishment of the office of the food ombudsman; €80 million for on-farm investments through the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, including specific supports for solar energy installation; a tax package that protects the stamp duty relief for young, trained farmers, as well as stock relief; and an additional €2 million to support farm safety initiatives.

Within the 2022 provision, some €872 million allows key rural development programmes and forestry supports to remain available through the transitional period between the two CAP programmes. Of course, we cannot do new schemes this year, as the Deputy is aware. We are working hard on delivering the new schemes that will be in place in January 2023 but we cannot do new schemes at the moment. We are certainly determined to ensure all the schemes that are available are fully paid for and that there are no gaps in farmers' incomes.

I have worked closely with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, to finalise a financial package for the new CAP which I announced yesterday. Overall, in the context of fully supporting farm family incomes this year and next year as we transition to the new CAP, we have delivered very strong support for farm families.

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