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

Like the Minister, I will also begin by speaking about Ukraine. We cannot forget the thousands of people who are suffering there as we speak this evening. We must also think of their fellow Ukrainians who have been forced to flee to Ireland and across the world to avoid the wanton death and destruction forced on their country by the illegal invasion by Russia. We as a Government are committed to welcoming people fleeing the war in Ukraine and seeking protection I Ireland. Work is ongoing across the Government to provide supports to those who have arrived in the last few weeks and my colleagues continue to plan for further large numbers of people who may arrive. My Department and its agencies are working to welcome Ukrainians here too. To date Teagasc has welcomed over 50 Ukrainians in Ballyhaise college in Cavan and a further 35 in Clonakilty college in Cork.

The war has put further pressure on already increasing input costs across many sectors but particularly agriculture. The Minister has outlined many of the actions taken by the Government to assist farmers across Ireland with the challenges they are facing. Deputy Phelan spoke about grass and our great ability to grow it and he is right but unfortunately the grass types we largely grow are almost wholly reliant on fossil-fuel based fertiliser and therein lies the problem. That is why this Government has supported measures like the multi-species sward scheme and the red clover scheme to promote environmentally sustainable methods of farming thereby greatly reducing the nitrogen fertiliser required while maintaining forage yields. This is an important measure which will help farmers reduce the cost of their fertiliser inputs. Both these measures, multi-species swards and red clover silage, can save farmers money while maintaining production levels and reducing their farm carbon footprint. It is a win-win. This measure is being delivered by my Department in co-operation with participating agri retailers and co-operatives throughout the country. It will support the establishment of approximately 12,000 ha of multi-species swards and approximately 4,000 ha of the red clover silage mix.

On organics, €256 million is earmarked for the organic farming sector over the lifetime of the next common agricultural policy. This compares to €56 million under the current CAP organic farming scheme, which represents a five-fold increase in funding and will help Ireland achieve a 7.5% organic target by 2027. This is something that the European Commission warmly welcomed in its letter. Organic farming is less reliant on costly inputs. Once again, I urge farmers to consider in the coming months how it could benefit not only the farm, but also their farm profitability and their own lifestyle and well-being. The scheme will open again later this year.

We have also secured almost €3 million in support for the critically important horticulture sector. This aid package, as the Minister highlighted, will support high wire protected glasshouse producers of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and field vegetable producers, mushroom producers and commercial apple producers.

The sector like many others is facing huge increases in input costs. We must ensure the long-term viability of the sector. These sectors make valuable contributions to the overall economy as well as playing a key role in producing top-class, safe, nutritious and local food. It is also critical that retailers similarly support native horticulture producers, providing choice to the consumer and valuing our native production base, which is something our consumers expect, and thereby securing the long term sustainable future for horticulture industry.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention forestry. The output of forestry licences was severely impacted from 2019 onwards as a result of a High Court ruling around environmental regulation. Since this ruling, my Department has invested in significant resources in hiring additional ecologists, forestry inspectors and administrative staff to work solely on licensing and to deal with the significant additional workload the 2019 rulings resulted in. I can assure Deputy Sherlock that there is a great sense of urgency around forestry. Last year licensing increased by 56% and my officials assure me that it will increase afforestation licenses by 100% this year. Progress has and will continue to be made. In addition, the passage of legislation recently will enable the development of a scheme to allow up to 1 ha. of native trees to be planted in suitable areas without the need for an afforestation licence. I hope to have this scheme established before the end of the year. Engagement with stakeholders on the design of such a scheme will begin shortly. Alongside this, through the work of Project Woodland, a new forest strategy has been developed which will include attractive financial supports to incentivise afforestation and help meet our climate targets.

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