Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to provide an update on an important issue. The Deputy is right; there is a lot of concern among farmers around GAEC 2. I am happy to have the opportunity to reassure people that the concerns that are there are misplaced for a variety of reasons. I can give the background to GAEC 2. It is a mandatory condition for the payment of BISS. That is a single farm payment where the application deadline is this week, as the Deputy outlined.

EU regulations require all member states to have a standard in place from the start of this year. Up to this point, Ireland took the maximum flexibility allowed to delay the introduction of the standard until 2025. Many other member states introduced it in 2023, when we as a country signed up to this and said we would do it.

A further deferral for 2025 was sought by Ireland, asking the European Commission for additional time. We received a very clear response from the Commission that no further deferral would be approved. If I did not introduce this standard in 2025, Ireland would be in serious breach of the EU regulations governing CAP strategic plans. This would have lead to significant fines that would have directly impacted the budget I have to support the very farmers the Deputy talked about all over Kerry. I could not let that happen. I could not let a fine come in that would have taken away money that I want to spend on supporting our farmers instead.

The standard that has been introduced for 2025 provides a baseline protection for carbon-rich soils, while allowing agricultural activity to continue. That is an important point. Farmers' day-to-day activity in Kerry will not change even if their land parcel is in GAEC 2. They can continue to farm as they have always done in the past.

In Ireland, our grass-based system already provides considerable protection for such soils and they are also protected by existing national planning provisions, for example on drainage. As I said, agricultural activity can continue. For example, ploughing, reseeding and maintenance of existing drains is all still allowed.

New drainage is also possible in line with the existing national provisions, which have been in place for many years. Therefore, the introduction of this standard is expected to have minimal impact on farmers’ day-to-day operations.

Around a quarter of farmers - 35,000 of them, who account for approximately 540,000 ha of peat soils - will have some land that is subject to the GAEC 2 element. In the main, these farmers will not need to take any new actions to comply with the standard. GAEC 2 was subject to final approval by the European Commission and was adopted on 30 April 2025. I could not write to farmers with the maps and exact detail until our proposal was approved by the European Commission. The Commission accepted what was a very significant change from our perspective in what we wanted so we got measures put in place to allow farmers to continue to farm as they do.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has consulted relevant stakeholders, including farm bodies and environmental NGOs, on a proposed standard. We have chosen to use a clear, parcel-based approach based on well understood maps as a fair way to ensure we get the required protection in place and farmers have no uncertainty as to the requirements or where they apply. It is in all of our interests that farmers have certainty.

Once approval of the standard was received from the Commission, my Department published a technical note with detailed information on the standard. It was released to the media in order that the information could be provided in the Irish Farmers' Journal, Agrilandand everywhere else. The Department has also provided direct information to farm advisory services and held meetings with the public and private advisory services to ensure the requirements are fully understood.

A detailed map layer has been available on the application system for all farmers to review since before BISS applications opened. My Department has written to every farmer who has at least one parcel identified as GAEC 2, with a map and further information on the requirements. Farmers have been receiving these letters since last week, but I still encourage all farmers to check the map on the system and engage with their farm advisory service advisers. Department officials continue to attend local meetings on this issue to help explain the conditionality requirements to farmers and to reassure them there is no need for the concerns raised by the Deputy. The key point that I wish to reiterate is that for the vast majority of farmers, this will have no impact on their day-to-day operations.

I understand the concerns raised around the timing but my Department is engaging directly with farmers and advisory services. There was no opportunity to further delay the introduction of GAEC 2. It was not legally possible to delay its introduction and failure to implement the standard would result in significant financial penalties, which I as Minister could not stand over.

See this speech in context