Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The tillage sector is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a really significant contribution to overall agricultural output. This Government recognises the importance of the sector and wants to grow the area under tillage crops in the years ahead.

The report of the Food Vision 2030 tillage group, which was set up to set out a roadmap for the growth and development of the sector, identifies opportunities to grow the sector and to further improve its environmental footprint. My Department continues to engage with stakeholders to progress the actions in the report through collaboration with all stakeholders.

My Department has provided significant support to tillage farmers in recent years. The budget for protein aid has increased to €10 million annually since 2024. Applications for over 66,000 hectares of cereals and oilseed rape straw were submitted for chopping and incorporating in 2025 under the straw incorporation measure. I have committed to paying all farmers who have applied under the scheme. I have made this decision early to give certainty to farmers while also giving them an economic boost.

In financial terms, €10 million per year was budgeted for straw incorporation as part of the CAP strategic plan, CSP, but the applications this year amount to over €15 million. It is not an insignificant decision for me to make in regard to managing my budget, but I wanted to do it to be able to provide that certainty and support. I am a major supporter of straw incorporation. I believe it does great work and provides a number of great benefits to our farmers.

In February this year, I announced €32.4 million of payments under the tillage and horticulture support scheme, which was the Government’s response to the difficult position tillage and horticultural farmers found themselves in due to exceptionally poor weather and continued high input costs last spring. This exceeds the €30 million provided for in last year's budget. I had to try to find extra money within my budget and made that decision to prioritise because I was anxious that we be able to make the payment on every hectare of eligible ground. The extra €2.5 million was part of that.

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