William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)

The Irish tillage sector is in crisis. Two weeks ago, I attended a meeting of more than 1,000 farmers in Naas. They gathered not to protest but to plead for the survival of the tillage sector. Their message was loud and clear: they cannot continue without urgent, targeted financial support.

Poor grain prices, soaring input costs, reduced margins, regulation and the flooding of the Irish market with non-EU cereals are pushing Irish grain growers to the brink. Teagasc has confirmed tillage incomes will again fall in 2026. That is not a warning; that is a forecast for collapse. Farming organisations are united in calling for a €60 million per annum support package for the next five years to be delivered in budget 2026. That €60 million was promised in our election manifestos and that €60 million for the next five years will be a lifeline for the survival of the tillage sector. Without immediate and substantial commitments in the upcoming budget, many tillage farmers will be forced out of the sector.

The Taoiseach gave a commitment in his party's election manifesto and in the programme for Government to back the tillage sector. We cannot expect and accept the demise of a critical part of Irish agriculture.

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