Dáil debates
Thursday, 26 October 2023
Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions
Departmental Schemes
11:10 am
Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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65. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for increasing supports to social farming, given the huge and proven benefit to those participating in social farming programmes. [46851/23]
Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I ask if the Minister of State has any plans for increasing supports to social farming given that we all know of the proven benefits of social farming and everybody recognises that. To be fair, agriculture has come up to the mark on this one but we need to look at greater coordination with other Departments.
11:20 am
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. As she and maybe many Members of the House will be aware, social farming provides a planned outcome-focused support placement for people on a farm using the natural assets of the people, the place, the activities and the community to support a person to achieve some of his or her chosen goals. It has been shown to provide benefits to participants such as improved community connections and relationships, increased self-esteem and capacity, improved health and well-being as well as providing the opportunity to develop occupational and life skills from engaging in farm-based activities.
In recognition and in support of all of those benefits, my Department provides funding under the rural innovation and development fund, RIDF, for the development of the national social farming network, known as Social Farming Ireland. In addition, funding is also provided for the development of a number of social farming model projects throughout Ireland.
The organisations currently under contract to provide the services and their associated funding for 2023-2024 are as follows. Under the national social farming network, Leitrim Integrated Development Company CLG - Social Farming Network has received €400,000. Under the social farming model contracts, Leitrim Integrated Development Company CLG has received €100,000, Down Syndrome Ireland Cork branch has received €92,485, South Kerry Development Partnership has received €100,000, and IRD Duhallow has received €84,250. It is anticipated that a similar level of funding will be provided by my Department in 2024 for the extension of all of the above contracts. It is also my understanding that there are additional streams of funding available from other agencies for social farming placements.
Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State, but my question was about any additional supports. I heard what the Minister of State said about the money she has distributed this year. She mentioned the Leitrim development company. It does excellent work. I am very familiar with it. What I am looking at more is the mainstreaming of support for placement and that there would be a level of core funding to train farmers to set up models for social farming.
There is also the idea that if people themselves had access to a disability budget rather than most of it being given to the large providers, people would be able to make choices. That would help us in delivering on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities, UNCRPD, where people with disabilities could make choices as opposed to the system being funded. Will the Minister of State expand social farming beyond agriculture and look at the idea of disability budgets for people?
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Deputy. As she outlines, social farming is continuing to grow. It certainly is growing year on year and its reach is far, and very much into the lives of many people for their enrichment and that whole connection with people. The social farming network funded by the Department is still in development. We are at a stage of growth. It requires substantial support. Certainly, as I indicated, funding for placements comes from a wide variety of sources.
The knowledge of social farming is now being embedded with service providers such as the HSE and other support agencies, and it is very much becoming core to a lot of the services that they provide. That is good. Maybe there is something there to develop those relationships further, not only in these agencies but across government as well.
Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I take what the Minister of State says, but I am talking about greater co-ordination between Departments. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, has given an allocation of €200,000 under a HSE service plan for social farming. Although €2 million was requested, in fairness to the Minister of State, she started the process. That is important. Agriculture has come up to the mark, but it is maybe health and social care. Other Departments need to become involved. This has to be a cross-departmental piece.
I am aware of the value of the initiative. Only recently, I visited Quarryfield in Bunnanaddan near Ballymote in County Sligo where Mr. Gerald Doherty and his family, especially his daughter, Kelly, is very involved in delivering these very valuable services to young people who find themselves in the justice system suffering from mental illness and who generally are vulnerable people with disabilities. I am asking that the Minister of State would do everything in her power to try and ensure greater co-ordination with other Departments.
Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I will take two supplementary questions from Deputies McNamara and Moynihan.
Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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I wonder if the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach would indulge me. At the outset, the Minister paid tribute to Mr. Paul Dillon, who is retiring after a long career. Mr. Dillon taught me a very valuable lesson. Up to that point, I had believed legislation was made by these Houses, but I learnt in the course of the passage of the Forestry Act 2014 that it is, in fact, made in Departments and rubber-stamped by this House. He was very much the driving force behind the Forestry Act 2014, which was revolutionary legislation. It introduced a new definition of forestry, which is 0.1 of a hectare where 20% is under tree crown cover. It also removed the theretofore protection for individual trees in hedgerows. There followed the destruction of many hedgerows in Clare by Clare County Council, but that is not something that could be attributed to Mr. Dillon in any way. How could he have predicted the particular antipathy an area engineer might have for trees in a hedgerow? Notwithstanding the talk about trees by the Green Party - I do not wish to make this an attack on the Green Party - and environmentalists, generally, there has not really been anything legislative done since then. The Forestry Act 2014 is very much his creation rather than that of this House, as is the case with most legislation.
Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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On Deputy Harkin’s question on social farming, first, I have to express an interest in it. I recently completed a course in UCC on practical supports for social farming. It is one of the great enablers. Farming and being close to nature is natural. It has a massive therapeutic value within society. I believe in the cross-departmental piece. The Minister of State outlined where she has given grants. I am familiar with the south Kerry partnership, which I visited on a number of occasions, and with my own IRD Duhallow and the work that it does. That comes from the Department. I chair the Joint Committee on Disability Matters in the Houses of the Oireachtas. We look at all the needs that exist and the unmet needs in society. It is vitally important there is interdepartmental co-ordination and cohesion because the ability of social farming to help so many in society is enormous.
Pippa Hackett (Green Party)
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I thank the Deputies. It is clear everyone places a huge value on the role social farming plays. Indeed, I have had the opportunity to visit social farms in Kerry, Mayo and, most recently, County Laois. The last is a new social farm. It is great to see the spread and the growth. What is also great to see is the value we can place on it because we have seen it in action for a time and the impact it has on people, not only on the participants but on the host farmers as well. There is great value there for people in getting involved in this.
I cannot speak for other Departments, for the Department of Health, the Department of Education, etc., but I am more than happy to co-ordinate with my colleagues across Government and see what more we can do or if there is a better structure that could be in place to support this. I thank the Deputies for their comments.