Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that I am not the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine or indeed a Minister of State in that Department but I hope the statement I give will be of assistance to the Deputy. The Government fully recognises there has been exceptional flooding in the Shannon Callows during late summer, which has prevented some farmers from completing their normal traditional harvesting of silage and-or hay. This has left affected farmers in a serious situation requiring them to purchase fodder to maintain animal health and welfare during the winter months. It is in that context that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced a new scheme on 7 November 2023 called the Shannon Callows flood scheme to support affected farmers in the Shannon Callows.

The Department has announced funding of €800,000 to assist farmers who have been affected by fodder loss in the Shannon Callows. The scheme will be operated from within the Department and given the urgent nature of the assistance required, it is planned that payments will commence issuing to applicants in December 2023. The expression of interest letters include the application form issued on 17 November 2023 to approximately 230 farmers. These farmers were identified as being impacted by fodder loss on dates between 2 July 2023 and 29 September 2023 by the Department's area monitoring system.

In returning the application and applying for the scheme, the farmer is declaring that he or she lost fodder as a result of the exceptional flooding and that he or she has read and understand the terms and conditions of the scheme. The closing date for receipt of applications from the approximately 230 farmers is 27 November 2023 and as of 22 November 2023, applications had been received. I would, however, encourage those farmers who have received an expression of interest letter to return it to the direct payments section of the Department as soon as possible.

In addition to this new Shannon Callows flood scheme, the Department paid out approximately €56 million in funding to farmers across the country under the 2022 fodder scheme in response to the Ukraine crisis. A further €30 million was paid out to farmers under the 2023 fodder scheme in an advance payment in December 2022. The Department anticipates paying a balancing payment for the 2023 fodder support scheme in the coming weeks. That is likely to amount to approximately €15 million to €20 million in total.

Approximately 71,000 farmers were in the 2022 fodder support scheme with approximately 67,000 of them also applying for the 2023 fodder support scheme. These schemes have supported the production of fodder on Irish farms across the country in both 2022 and 2023.

The Department estimates that approximately 2,500 ha were impacted by flooding. These are grassland and in terms of financial support under the Shannon Callows flood scheme, the Department does not differentiate between whether the grassland was utilised for saving hay or silage exclusively or was used only for grazing. Some parcels along the River Suck and Little Brosna River are included within the figure of 2,500 ha. In terms of the overall fodder situation within the country, the latest study by Teagasc on the fodder situation shows that winter feed stocks are relatively secure and that there is surplus fodder on 75% of farms nationally.

Turning to the wider issue of flooding in the Shannon region, the Department is represented and participates fully in the Shannon flood management working group led by the Office of Public Works. The Department has no direct role in the management of water levels along the Shannon waterway. However, senior officials within the Department participate on the Shannon flood risk State agency co-ordination working group. This working group was established in early 2016 by the Government to enhance ongoing co-operation across all of the State agencies involved with the River Shannon.

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