Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Aird and I attended the Irish Grain Growers AGM earlier this year, where we heard at first hand the challenges and opportunities for the tillage sector, which is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a significant contribution to overall agricultural output. The Government recognises the importance of the tillage sector and wants to grow the area under tillage crops in the years ahead.

The report of the food vision tillage group, which was published in May last year, sets out a roadmap for sustainable growth and development of the sector. It is a comprehensive report that identifies opportunities to grow the sector and further improve its environmental footprint. Work is ongoing to progress the actions in the report. That work was discussed at a meeting on 7 February of the food vision tillage group. My Department will continue to engage with stakeholders to progress the implementation of the actions in the report. This will require collaboration and commitment from many stakeholders across the sector.

My Department has provided significant direct supports to tillage farmers. The financial allocation for coupled support under the protein aid scheme was increased to €10 million annually from 2024. The straw incorporation measure, which was first introduced as pilot scheme in 2021 and 2022, is now included in the current CAP strategic plan, with an allocation of €50 million over five years. The tillage incentive scheme was introduced in 2022 in response to the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, with €20 million allocated over the lifetime of the support measure. The tillage capital investment scheme under TAMS provides support for a broad range of investments to support farmers to achieve improved competitiveness, increased efficiency, growth and environmental benefits.

The 2023 and 2024 growing seasons were challenging for growers. In response to those challenges, the Government provided additional direct financial support. More than €14 million was paid out in January 2024 to support growers with unharvested crops in 2023 by way of an unharvested crop support scheme as a one-off flat-rate payment. In February this year, I was delighted to announce €32.4 million of payments under the tillage and horticulture support scheme, which was the Government's response to the difficult position in which the tillage and horticulture sector found itself.

See this speech in context