Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, Deputy Geoghegan, for the question. I am a great supporter of the farmer markets and organic food markets.

In 2023 the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine awarded €1.1 million to 12 projects to promote and develop the organic sector over 2023 and 2024. One of the successful applications was to hold an organic food fair in Merrion Square, and this was a well-attended event that took place on 31 August and 1 September 2024.

In 2024, the Department held a call to promote and develop short supply chains. There were five themes to the call, one of which was “Encourage and support local authorities to expand the number of farmers’ markets, farm shops and food emporiums, and support the formation of community-owned markets in all towns, showcasing local food produce from local farmers, growers and food producers". There were over 90 applications, and 16 successful projects were announced in January this year. Many of these will be supporting local food markets, but none is Dublin based, unfortunately.

A total of €920,000 in funding has been allocated for 2024 and 2025, inclusive.

Earlier this year, I announced a €3 million call for projects to promote and develop the organic sector over the period 2025 to 2027. The call looked for projects that would align with the EU action plan on organics, and allowed for proposals to develop national and local food fairs. A total of 25 applications were received. These will be evaluated, successful applicants notified and projects published before the end of April. Given the ongoing process, I am not in a position to state whether or not any of the applications relate to national or Dublin-based food fairs but over the past number of years every opportunity has been provided for groups and individuals to apply for funding to support food fairs.

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