William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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It is a great honour for me to be here today and speak for the first time in this Chamber. As a representative for the people of Laois, I thank my constituents for their trust and my family, friends and supporters for their unwavering encouragement. I waited a long time to get here. I was first elected in 1979, the then youngest person ever elected to public life at 19 years of age. As an admirer of Nelson Mandela who said "A winner is a dreamer who never gives up", I am the dreamer. I never gave up and I am a winner speaking here this morning representing the people of Laois.

I wish to ensure that County Laois gets its fair share of investment and opportunity. Our county is at the heart of Ireland, yet too often it has been overlooked. We need real investment and infrastructure; better roads, reliable public transport and broadband to support businesses and communities. Housing remains a huge challenge. Too many young people in Laois are struggling to buy or rent a home. We must cut the red tape, build more houses and ensure that rural families can build in their own communities.

Supporting working families is essential. The cost of living is putting people under pressure and we must ease that burden, whether through lower childcare costs, better healthcare access or tax relief for those who work hard. Safer communities must be a priority. Crime and anti-social behaviour are on the rise and we need more gardaí and stronger protections for our towns and villages.

I came here to deliver for Laois and for our country and to fight for investment, fairness and opportunity. I will work every day to ensure my county's voice is heard loud and clear. A strong message from rural Ireland means strong long local services, schools and Garda stations. Agriculture is the backbone of rural Ireland and farmers need fair prices, practical supports and policies that work with them, not against them.

On the proposals for peat soils, it is unacceptable that an important issue, one that will directly impact the livelihood of thousands of farmers, has been discussed behind closed doors without any farmer representation at the table. Farmers' representatives have rightly pointed out that these proposals, which include the rewetting of 80,000 ha of peat land, were discussed at a meeting of so-called invited stakeholders; a meeting from which farmers were absent. How can the Government justify this? How can we claim to support engagement and co-operation when the very people affected by these decisions were excluded from the discussion?

Let us be clear; the top-down approach that is taken by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is completely out of touch with the principles of fairness and transparency. If we are serious about tackling climate change and enhancing sustainability in agriculture, we should be serious then. We must also be serious about working with farmers and not against them. Imposing decisions without consultation will only lead to resistance and resentment, which serves no one's interests. Farmers are the custodians of the land and understand better than anyone how to manage and care for it, yet farmers are repeatedly facing increasing regulations, restrictions and bureaucracy. Farmers feel abandoned and disrespected by those in power.

The Government is committed to the principles of engagement and co-operation and we must start by listening to farmers. I call for immediate transparency regarding these proposals. The Department must engage with farming representatives to hear their concerns and ensure that any future decisions regarding peat soils are made in full consultation with those who actually work the land. We cannot allow a situation where farmers are simply dictated to by bureaucrats and policymakers who will never experience the economic and emotional burden of changes that decide their future.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge Deputy Aird's first contribution in the Dáil. It is a great honour and privilege to have him as a colleague here. We first served together on a regional health forum with the HSE back when were we councillors. To be serving with the Deputy here now is a great honour and I look forward to working with him. I do not doubt his passion in representing the people of Laois but also representing those in the agricultural community, which he has raised here as well.

I am absolutely committed to working to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of family farms. The issue Deputy Aird has raised is an emotive one, and I want to reassure farmers who work with peat soils. Land use has a key role to play in the achievement of our climate targets. As custodians of the land, farmers will be central to delivering on those targets. Nothing will be achieved in this area without their buy-in and support. I reassure Deputy Aird that farmers will not be dictated to while I am in this position. There will absolutely be engagement and transparency all along the way.

Ultimately, my Department is examining the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through reduced management intensity of grasslands on drained organic soils. This work is at an early stage and any potential future actions from this analysis will be entirely voluntary. I cannot be any clearer than that. Anything farmers want to do here, they will only do it if they want to and if they are financially incentivised to do it. It is voluntary. It is in the programme for Government, and it is a commitment which Deputy Aird voted for and I will uphold. He has my word on that. I want to be clear from the outset that my two guiding principles are the voluntary and well-funded elements of this. If some farmers decide to adopt measures that involve low-intensity management of their ground, it will be because they have chosen to do so, and that will be fine too.

There are also initiatives at different levels. Deputy Aird talked about the workshop that was referenced in media reports last week. There was an exploratory workshop that happened to consider this. That meeting was about was the experience of practitioners who had worked directly with farmers on the likes of EIPs and locally led projects. It is absolutely appropriate that those meetings happen. There are 4,000 people working in the Department of agriculture. Meetings happen every day of the week and farmers' organisations are not always at them. They are about scoping out and getting key learnings to inform an approach that is taken and to ensure that when I am looking to make financial decisions and put proposals to farm organisations and engage with them on it, I will have clear information on what the experiences have been on the ground.

There is nothing sinister here. There is nothing untoward. It is absolutely the type of work that should be happening with my officials and key practitioners who are engaging and working with farmers and getting their experience back in order that we can make informed decisions when the time comes. Proposals would never be agreed without being put to farm organisations for consultation and engagement. Ultimately, I am the senior Minister in the Department of agriculture and I will make decisions after that consultation and taking on board all those points. That will not happen without having engaged with the farm organisations, the environmental pillar and all the key stakeholders who have skin in the game. I will work with them but I will make sure we are making an informed decision. That is what these workshops are about. It is making sure that any decisions we make are informed. It was always intended that, as this work progressed, there would be opportunities for engagement, discussion and input by farmers, farm organisations, the environmental pillars and all other stakeholders.

I reassure Deputy Aird that I understand the concerns he has highlighted. They are valid concerns, particularly in the light of media reports. I reassure him that this is a process that is absolutely as he would expect it to be, as we scope out and get the learning from farmers' experiences of previous locally led projects. This will help inform any key discussions we have with all the key stakeholders.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted the Minister said everything will be voluntary from the farmers' point of view but he must accept where I am coming from as well. At that meeting where there were no farmers involved, it was announced that 80,000 ha of land were going to be rewetted. Whether we like it or not, a lot of soils throughout this country are peat-nature soils, so it will affect probably every county in the Twenty-six Counties of Ireland. Farmers need support, not mandates. They need incentives, not penalties. Above all, farmers need to be respected as equal partners in shaping agriculture and environmental policy.

If our Government fails to address these concerns, it risks isolating the entire agricultural sector, a sector which is vital to our economy and rural communities and to our national identity. I urge the Minister and all relevant authorities to take immediate action to engage with farmers, include them in decision-making, and ensure that no policy is imposed without farmer input. Anything less would be an insult to the hard-working food producers - I am one of them myself - who feed this nation and many more.

While I have the Minister, I wish to talk to him about the ACRES payments. In County Laois, the number of people being paid under the scheme is 427 but the active participants on day one for ACRES were 599. That means that 172 people, or 29% of the applicants in County Laois, have not yet been paid. All my life, I have been in discussions with the Department of agriculture to the effect that no matter what in an application has to be referred back to the person, a minimum of 85% of the money owed to the farmers should be paid out, with 15% held back.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Could the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach imagine anyone in this building being told on a Wednesday that they would not be getting paid? That is what is happening to us in the farming community.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. The climate action plan has provided a pathway for reducing our land use, land use change and forestry emissions since 2021 and commits to the implementation of reduced management intensity on a portion of Ireland’s drained organic soils. This is a relatively new area of work in Ireland, with much uncertainty and complexity. If we are to reduce emissions from drained peat soils, it is important we consider how this might be achieved.

Those at the workshop referenced by Deputy Aird included people involved in projects with expertise of working with farmers in this area, including the European Innovation Partnership programmes, ACRES co-operation and the LIFE projects. There is no question of imposing solutions on farmers. Addressing this challenge will require a national approach involving all stakeholders. I am fully committed to working with farmers, farm organisations, the environmental pillar and other stakeholders to develop a pathway forward that is based on the principles of it being voluntary and well-funded, as I have outlined.

I believe farmers have a positive role to play in this space, and I know the Deputy thinks so too. They have already demonstrated their real commitment to action and 2024 is expected to deliver a third year in a row of reductions in agricultural emissions. Farmers have turned the trend and changed the narrative. I am confident we will do the same in the area of water quality, where we have seen positive early indications from the EPA for the first half of last year. That is what can be achieved when we back farmers and work with them in a spirit of co-operation rather than confrontation. That is the point the Deputy is highlighting. The role that our farmers play in producing safe, quality food is recognised at home and abroad but they also have a role in protecting biodiversity and water quality. Farmers can do more than one thing at the same time. They are up for that challenge, as well as contributing to climate action, and that must be acknowledged and adequately supported. I am really clear on that. It is only fair that, for measures which go beyond baseline requirements, farmers receive adequate financial support if they voluntarily agree to take them on. Farmers cannot go green if they are in the red.

On the point about ACRES, we are making progress. I was down in Wexford last week visiting the officials in Johnstown Castle. We cleared almost 1,700 last week and we are down to 10,400. I am determined that we will improve communication, clear the backlog as quickly as possible and provide long-term solutions that are not just a quick fix for this year but will mean we will not face these problems again next year.