Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I am grateful to the Whip's office for making time in the Dáil schedule to discuss what is a really important topic, namely Ireland's national plan under the CAP. The CAP is one of the EU's longest-standing policies, firmly embedded in the Treaty of the European Union.

The agrifood sector remains one of our most important indigenous industries, employing 169,000 people and supporting €19 billion worth of exports. Experiences over the past few years, from the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine and the current global trade tensions, have underlined the vital importance of this sector. Food supply chains have proved resilient, but we should not take our food, or the people who produce it, for granted. The CAP is crucial to the sector's resilience and competitiveness.

Under the current CAP strategic plan, which started in 2023, we are delivering funding of almost €1.9 billion a year to 120,000 Irish farmers. It is a critical support for thousands of farm enterprises the length and breadth of Ireland. Over successive reforms, the CAP has adapted to changing policy priorities, supporting farmers to achieve sustainability in all its dimensions while ensuring the availability of safe, nutritious food for EU citizens.

I am firmly of the view that agrifood needs to be at the top of the EU political agenda. The sector is a major one for the EU and member states. It is a central pillar of EU policy, relating to food security, rural development, farm incomes, climate and biodiversity, social cohesion, and rural youth. It also contributes to the EU's broader strategic objectives, including competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

While issues such as defence and mitigation have risen up the policy agenda, the contribution of the CAP cannot be overstated. We are currently about halfway through the implementation of the CAP strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2027, and I will open today's statement with a brief overview of the progress to date on this implementation. I will also provide an update on the development of the CAP after 2027 and the recently announced second CAP simplification package.

Ireland's CAP strategic plan, CSP, for the period 2023 to 2027 sets the framework for how the CAP operates at a national level. The CSP has a budget of €9.8 billion over five years. More than 60% of that, which is just under €6 billion, is targeted at supporting farm incomes. Over a seven-year period, the funding is almost €1.2 billion higher - an increase of nearly 30% - than in the previous programme, and since the start of 2023 my Department has paid out over €3.7 billion on CAP schemes.

The Pillar 1 direct payment schemes are primarily area based. The basic income support for sustainability, BISS, provides over 120,000 farmers with a predictable income support, based on the number of hectares they farm and the number of entitlements they hold. Providing a direct income support to Irish farmers underpins their continued sustainability and viability. It provides vital support for farm families across the country and, through the significant multiplier effect, to the wider rural economy. It provides a baseline income and is an essential risk mitigation tool for farmers, protecting them from market volatility.

Environmental sustainability, which was a renewed focus for this period, is supported through a number of environmental actions in eco-schemes, ACRES, organic farming and straw incorporation, among others. The level of engagement with these schemes is a testament to the commitment of farmers to protecting and enhancing the environment. Farmers are custodians of the land and their actions to improve biodiversity, water quality, soil health and fertility are critical. Over 97% of the farmers in Ireland are participating in the eco-scheme, delivering national environmental benefits, such as space for nature. For the 2024 scheme year, over €300 million was paid to farmers under the eco-scheme, with actions covering almost the entire utilisable agricultural area, UAA, of Ireland.

Generational renewal is a strong priority of this CAP strategic plan, and the support available to young farmers has tripled in the current period. Young people are central to the continuation of a vibrant and sustainable farm sector in Ireland. The family farm is the heart of agriculture in Ireland, and I am a strong supporter of assisting the next generation in taking over the farm when the time is right to do so.

We now need to consider how to support and encourage young people in the sector in the future. These efforts will be guided by the commission on generational renewal in farming, which was set up last year. I look forward to receiving the report of the commission in due course. I also expect to see some initiatives from European Commissioner Hansen, as outlined in the EU's Vision for Agriculture and Food.

The Government has provided the highest ever level of cofinancing for Pillar 2 rural development in the plan for 2023 to 2027. Pillar 2 includes interventions aimed at improving the economic and environmental sustainability of livestock farming, for example, the €250 million in annual support for areas of natural constraint, ANCs, the suckler carbon efficiency programme, a sheep improvement scheme and a dairy beef welfare scheme.

There are investment supports available for all types of farms through targeted agriculture modernisation schemes, TAMS, across a wide range of categories to improve sustainability on farms. Higher grant rates are available for women and young farmers – a 60% rate – and for renewable energy and nutrient storage.

In ACRES, the €1.5 billion agri-environmental scheme, we aim to address the more complex environmental issues through targeted actions at farm and landscape level. The scheme has encountered significant issues which I am acutely aware of as it sets a new framework for delivering on more complex environmental actions, in tandem with farmers and advisers. It was not acceptable to me that more than 14,000 farmers were unpaid when I took up this role at the end of January. It has been my focus to resolve these issues, get farmers paid and ensure that these issues do not arise again in future years in order to restore farmers' confidence in the scheme. We continue to make progress on the outstanding files and I am determined to see them resolved as quickly as possible. Issues such as transfer of contracts and alignment with the BISS as well as issues with scorecards have contributed to the delay in the making of payments. Work is ongoing to resolve these issues, progress is being made and there are now weekly payment runs. Payments have been finalised to almost 97% of ACRES tranche 1 participants for their 2023 activities, to a total value of just under €250 million, and 90% of participants have been paid their 2024 advances. The actions of the 54,000 farmers in ACRES will make a significant difference and we have reached some major milestones, including 2,400 km of new hedgerow planted, which is enough to go from Cork to Kiev; 800,000 native trees planted, about the population of Dublin, or a little less; and 6,300 km of watercourses being protected, 17 times the length of the River Shannon.

In other areas, such as organics, we have seen a tripling of the amount of land farmed organically since 2020. With a fivefold increase in the budget, we reached 225,000 ha in 2024 and are over 240,000 ha so far in 2025. This is just a flavour of how the implementation is delivering on the objectives set out in the €9.8 billion strategic plan, which extends to all aspects of agriculture and rural life in Ireland.

We have a strong record in Ireland in maximising the drawing down of EU funding and we are consistently in the top six member states for drawdown, with "leaving no euro behind in Europe" a guiding principle for us.

The implementation of the CAP strategic plan, CSP, has continued with close consultation with all the relevant stakeholders, who regularly have opportunities to comment on the progress. While broadly speaking the plan is performing well, its implementation has not been without challenges in some areas, some of which I have mentioned already. There has been additional complexity for farmers and administrators as the new CAP bedded in in terms of both the new rules and the new approach required to deliver on national and European environmental targets. It has led to challenges and higher administrative costs, as well as delays in some payments. This situation is not unique to Ireland and has been replicated across Europe in recent years. I have been vocal about the need for simplification, particularly in my role at monthly meetings of the council of agriculture ministers, which is known as the AGRIFISH Council. The Commission is listening and has been conducting its own consultations with farmers and farm bodies across Europe.

Last year, the European Commission brought amendments to the CAP legislation that introduced a number of targeted changes. Governments have been given certain flexibilities in the implementation of the conditionality standards, particularly as to how the rules should protect space for nature and what way crop rotation and diversification should work.

Also introduced was a new exemption for farmers who farm on less than 10 ha. This change removed some 20,000 Irish farmers from inspections and penalties for conditionality.

This week, Commissioner Hansen announced a new draft CAP simplification package, bringing forward proposals for some further changes to the legal framework. I welcome any proposals that will simplify and reduce the administrative burden for farmers and national administrations. As with any new legislation, we will need to carefully examine the details of the proposals, and we will evaluate the potential and possible impact for Ireland. The simplification proposal will have to go through the process of co-decision, with input from the European Parliament and the Council. My Department has inputted to the Commission consultation on simplification proposals. On conditionality, my Department asked for the removal of GAEC 2 from the regulations, on the basis of overlap between these requirements and other national and EU legislation. However, the removal of GAEC 2 has not been included in the proposal, so GAEC 2 will remain a conditionality requirement for 2025, as previously announced. The simplification proposal provides that costs arising from GAEC 2 compliance can now be included in the calculation of costs for eco-schemes or agri-environmental schemes. In Ireland's case, all funding is already fully committed to the existing eco and ACRES schemes, and the GAEC 2 standard, as recently introduced in Ireland, is based on existing national legislation and usual farming practices. Therefore, it will have minimal impact on farmers' day-to-day operations.

This is a mandatory condition of the payment of the BISS, and EU regulations require all member states to have a standard in place from the start of this year. Failure to have done so would have exposed Ireland to significant and recurring financial penalties.

There has been much consultation on the implementation of the standard, with many differing opinions. However, now that the European Commission approved our proposal on 30 April, farmers can have certainty on the requirements for 2025.

My Department has written and issued text message alerts to all affected farmers. The Department has also published a technical note and provided additional information to our public and private farm advisory services.

I wish to make some remarks on the future of the CAP. The European Commission is expected to publish the draft Common Agricultural Policy post-2027 regulations later this year. This will likely be shortly after the publication of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, proposals in July, which will set the EU budget over the post-2027 period. The draft CAP post-2027 proposals will be informed by a range of major reports published recently at EU level, including the strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture, published last September; the AGRIFISH Council's conclusions on the future of CAP in December; and the Commission's Vision for Agriculture and Food, which was published in February.

While the exact timing remains uncertain, the Irish Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026 is likely to be crucial in progressing the legislative framework for the next CAP. As set out in the programme for Government, this Government will fight at EU level for a well-funded CAP which can deliver on the multiple objectives of the sector. There will be significant pressures on the EU budget post 2027, arising from issues such as defence and migration. I am working closely with my colleagues in the EU to build a consensus around maintaining a strong CAP budget in order that it meets both new and existing challenges and opportunities. The CAP must maintain a stable income for farmers, support sustainable food production and contribute to climate and environmental ambitions.

My four CAP priorities for the future CAP are a CAP that is more straightforward for farmers; a CAP that is more flexible and responsive; one that has an appropriate balance between all elements of sustainability - economic, environmental and societal; and, crucially, a CAP that has an adequate and dedicated budget, in order that it can retain the full toolbox of current interventions. The CAP has been the bedrock of the European project and has played a transformative role in Irish agriculture. I am committed to ensuring that it is protected and that delivering for farmers remains at its core.

I know that concerns have been articulated by farming organisations about the timing of the CAP proposals and the timing of the MFF. The two of them coming close together is not a bad thing; it allows us to talk about the CAP in the context of the ongoing discussions about the overall financial budget for it. We do not need CAP to be left behind and decisions to be made as part of that MFF process, but either way, whenever Commissioner Hansen comes with his proposals, whenever the EU finalises its proposals on the MFF, I will be ready and my Department will be ready. The Government stands ready, we are engaging already and we have had a very long deliberative process with colleagues. I am putting the foundations in place now, and have been doing so since I was made Minister, to make sure that our European colleagues - my 26 colleagues on the Council of Ministers, the other 26 ministers for agriculture across Europe - are aware of what our key priorities are in Ireland and the type of CAP we want. I have monthly bilateral meetings with colleagues from other countries to understand their priorities, working together on building trust and relationships. I will be in Warsaw next month for the informal meeting of those ministers, when we get to know one another a little better and understand one another's perspectives in order that we can design a CAP that works for our farmers and our food industry that is so important to our economy.

I appreciate the opportunity to address the House on this and I look forward to hearing colleagues' contributions over the afternoon.

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Francis Gorman, president of the IFA, to the Gallery.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I also welcome Francis Gorman, president of the IFA, and his colleague to the Gallery.

The Common Agricultural Policy was launched way back in 1962 as a partnership between Europe and its farmers. Its aims, which have evolved since then, are to support farmers and improve agricultural productivity, ensuring a stable supply of affordable food; to safeguard EU farmers such that they would be able to make a reasonable living from their practices; to help tackle climate change and sustainably manage our natural resources; to maintain rural areas and landscapes across the European Union; and to keep the rural economy alive by promoting jobs in farming, agrifood industries and associated sectors.

The Common Agricultural Policy is for all EU countries. The CAP budget for 2023 to 2027 is €378 billion, or 31% of the total EU budget. CAP's share of the EU budget has been steadily declining over the years and has never been adjusted for inflation over the decades. That needs to be acknowledged. I am sure the Minister will bring it home to his colleagues in Europe because it is a serious issue. The future of the CAP budget and its Pillar 2 structure are under threat with proposals and kite-flying from the Commission about amalgamating the CAP budget with other funds to produce a single funding scheme. That is a dangerous situation about which we have to be very careful. It would have a devastating impact on the future of Irish and EU agriculture, food security and the family farm. It would end Pillar 2 and dedicated CAP budgets for agriculture. This cannot be allowed to happen and must be resisted at every opportunity.

We are living in a time of uncertainty where there is a lot of instability globally and politically as well as the economic challenges of climate change and the threat of trade wars. Food security must be top of the agenda. To ensure we have food security, the CAP budget must be protected and enhanced. The CAP budget is worth €10 billion to Irish farm families. Our CAP strategic plan sets out how to protect family farm incomes, recognise the hard work of our family farms and support Ireland's climate ambitions. This all sounds good on paper but the reality is different for many farm families, unfortunately. There are consistent delays in payments, of which a prime example is ACRES, which the Minister mentioned. Farmers are waiting up to two years for ACRES payments. These delays are for the most part the Department's fault, which of course blames IT issues. We hear the Government talk about simplifying the CAP and reducing the bureaucracy and red tape for farmers. It must have forgot to tell Department of agriculture this because the Department continues to come up with more and more complicated schemes that even its own officials do not understand. Its IT department must have been kept in the dark because it seems to be the number one reason for delaying farm payments.

While we face uncertain times in terms of the CAP budget, farmers north of the Border are already experiencing cuts to farm payments due to Brexit. While I am sure many of them are enjoying sunshine today in Balmoral, they have concerns about the future of farming. I urge the Minister to work with his counterpart in the Assembly and develop an all-Ireland agriculture and food security policy. Agriculture and food production travel North and South. It would be beneficial to farmers North and South to have an all-Ireland agriculture and food policy, including food standards and plans to mitigate disease such as foot and mouth coming to our shores.

Farmers are experiencing high prices for livestock at present as the trade at marts is very strong. This is obviously welcome; it was the opposite for far too long. There is concern that international trade deals will impact this, notably the Mercosur trade deal, and that the announcement last week of a trade deal between the USA and the UK will see US beef imported into Britain. The UK is Ireland's biggest market for beef. Sinn Féin has been consistent in our opposition to the Mercosur trade deal. We will continue to oppose it as it is a bad deal for Irish farmers and European consumers. It is unfortunate that the Government has been so half-hearted in its opposition to that and failed to attend a meeting of EU member states that have concerns about Mercosur. Will the Government support the proposal by France to include a handbrake mechanism to deal with such an impact on EU farmers?

A big issue for farm families is the uncertainty of the future. As we have seen in previous CAP negotiations, they are often rushed at the end and the budget is just agreed as they start talking about the next CAP. We need to stretch the CAP term to eight or ten years and give farm families more certainty to plan for the future.

Farmers have always stepped up to the mark when it comes to protecting our environment. They signed up in record numbers to agri-environmental schemes even though the implementation of the schemes by the Department has caused a lot of disillusionment among farmers. It can be difficult for farmers to understand what is behind some of these schemes. For example, a few years ago, farmers were paid to cut hedges and clear bushes and scrub away from their land. Now, they get payments to plant hedges and leave bushes and scrub where they are. The Minister mentioned GAEC 2. There is a lot of uncertainty and difficulty for farmers in regard to GAEC 2. I accept there may be a certain amount of gaslighting; some people are saying the world is going to fall in and so on, but when there is an absence of clear information, that will happen. A clear pathway needs to be set out as to the consequences of GAEC 2 today and in the future. Many farmers are still uncertain about that.

Forestation is also a huge problem. Many farmers planted small pieces of land and those forests are on the ground now. They have serious difficulty getting a return from them. A lot of work needs to be done on many of these issues.

Generational renewal is a big challenge facing Irish agriculture. The average age of the Irish farmer is 58, with 38% over 65. We need to encourage and provide invectives for the next generation to take on the family farm. There is an opportunity for the next CAP to do this. I hope it will be high on the Government's agenda when it negotiates the next CAP. One of the main objectives is that our young people are encouraged to take up farming, that they can see a future and opportunity to make a living and a reasonable income from farming. We will not have food security if we do not have a next generation of farmers.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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Before I talk to the Minister about the wider CAP agenda, I raise the schedule for the women's farm capital investment scheme, in which women get 60% grant aid for TAMS 3. The normal rate is 40%, so it is attractive for many women farmers. However, when drawing up the rules of the scheme, the Department set a base year of 2022 as the year a woman has to have submitted a basic payment form. It is now 2025 and a woman farmer who took on the herd number in 2023 will have submitted three basic payment forms but will still not qualify for the scheme. It has been normal procedure in the past in various schemes that if a base year for qualification was set, it was moved into the next year as the years progressed. Some women unwittingly have become herd owners when their spouses passed away and so on and are locked out of this scheme due to the 2022 reference year. Will the Minister advise if there are plans to move forward the reference year? It is important that he do so. We need to encourage, not discourage, women farmers.

We drastically need to see an increased CAP budget that takes into account inflation over the past number of years. People in rural Ireland are crippled by the cost of living. Those in agriculture reliant on CAP payments have seen wholesale hikes in the cost of fuel as well as other necessities. The Government must step in and offer some relief in the upcoming budget. It is not acceptable to set its face against hard-pressed families with the cost of all items constantly rising. The delay in the payments, particular for ACRES, is inexcusable and cruel. It is just not acceptable that computer glitches are used as a reason to withhold payments. The Government had no problem signing off on the Arts Council's spend of €7 million on an IT system that has never been used. It is high time the IT issue in Department of agriculture was resolved. The debacle in ACRES runs contrary to three of the aims of the CAP strategic plan: to protect farm incomes, to recognise the hard work of our farm families as food producers regardless of where they live and to play a meaningful role in supporting our climate ambitions. We cannot to do this is we lose farmers' trust as payments are delayed time and again.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome Francie Gorman, president of the IFA. I had a recent meeting with Kevin Sweeney, the local chair, and a number of other IFA members. They are better than most groups at keeping your feet to the fire in respect of the issues. I thank them for that. Luckily for me, they were just back from meetings in Brussels.

We are all aware that the idea of CAP is to ensure a stable supply of affordable food and that farmers can make a reasonable living. The Minister and I have spoken many times about that. It is also about maintaining a sustainable living for family-run farms, which are an integral part of rural Ireland. Their big fear is the loss of Pillar 2 funding. A serious amount of this possible future loss could be due to geopolitical changes and a rearmed Europe. They said that as much as we needed the Government to ensure it fought the good fight on protecting CAP, we also needed to make sure that, if there were necessary mitigations, the Government would be on hand. We know how important CAP is from the point of view of sustainability.

They also spoke of their fear that there would be an element of quid pro quoas regards Mercosur. Both from a farming and a climate change point of view, no one can understand it. It is something that we must remain secure on. There is not much point in us maintaining impressive conditions and quality with our own beef and then taking in Brazilian beef that is not governed by the same set of rules. All of this needs to be dealt with.

Farmers also spoke of other issues and it will not be a shock to hear that maintenance of the derogation was a big one. They also had particular issues with water quality and the fact that Irish Water needs to get its act together in relation to its capacity goes without saying. They spoke about the TAMS grant, with 60% to be put in place to assist farmers with the provision of extra slurry storage. However, the grant was promised with a planning exemption but this was not put in place. Their fear was that the grant scheme would run out before the planning exemptions were in place. They also spoke about the fact there should be a facility under grant schemes such as TAMS to have a shed of the same size allowed for. There was also a wider discussion on the planning exemptions needed and the requirement for a fit-for-purpose system to deal with anomalies and legacy issues relating to sheds and farmyards. Sometimes when people have tried to engage with the planning system from the point of view of retention, they have ended up with huge bills. We have all had dealings with such people and have tried to mitigate some of these issues but this is not the way things should be. This all needs to work a lot better.

The Minister mentioned streamlining systems in the context of CAP. Farmers have said that they are fed up with the fact that they are applying for multiple schemes and are giving the same information to multiple entities at different times and on different systems. If at all possible, they would like to see a one-size-fits-all system. The idea they spoke about was that when a farmer applies for CAP, he or she could apply for a number of the other schemes at the same time. If this could be facilitated in some way, it would make life a lot easier. It would also mean trying to get our timelines together. I know it will not be possible in all scenarios but there is definitely scope to do all of this a lot better.

Some of my colleagues have spoken about the ACRE scheme. The fact that there are still 10,000 farmers awaiting payment is a particular issue that needs order brought to it. That feeds into the wider issue which is that we have to get better in the application and IT processes and the work that needs to be done on due diligence. We probably have a better relationship and a better level of engagement with Departments and other agencies than with farmers. That has been a constant complaint for long time.

We know why CAP is here and understand its absolute necessity. It is absolutely vital from the point of view of maintaining family farms. What we must do, first and foremost, is protect it. Beyond that, we need to simplify it and many of the other grant schemes because we need to ensure we have a sustainable system of family farms in Ireland. Anything else is not acceptable. Unfortunately, we have all heard the complaints from farmers that they feel they are doing a lot more for a lot less. We have to bridge that gap and make it a lot easier for them.

Robert O'Donoghue (Dublin Fingal West, Labour)
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I welcome the IFA president, Mr. Gorman, to the House. The Labour Party's mission, echoing the Tom Johnson minority report from the 1924 Agricultural Commission, is to achieve greater food security by ensuring that everybody has access to healthy, nutritious and sustainable food at an affordable price while also safeguarding our natural environment. Labour is committed to supporting farmers in diversifying and adopting sustainable practices. We also support the sustainable development of farming, fisheries and forestry to protect existing jobs and generate new opportunities across all regions of Ireland. We back CAP reforms and agricultural policies that uphold the family farm and provide meaningful support to small farmers.

I wish to raise with the Minister the deep concerns of Ireland's farming community regarding some of the proposed CAP reforms. The suggestion to merge Pillars I and 2 into a single fund has been met with significant apprehension across the farming sector. The current two-pillar structure in CAP serves a distinct purpose. Pillar 1 provides direct payments to support farmers' incomes while Pillar 2 focuses on rural development and environmental initiatives. Merging these two pillars risks diluting the targeted supports that each provides, potentially undermining the effectiveness of both income support and environmental measures. Farmers are already facing challenges due to increased environmental requirements and the introduction of eco schemes which, while well intentioned, have led to reductions in direct payments and added complexity. The proposed merger could exacerbate these issues, leading to further income instability and uncertainty around future support mechanisms. Moreover, the lack of clarity surrounding the implementation and funding of these reforms adds to the anxiety within the farming community. Farmers need assurances that their livelihoods will not be compromised and that the essential support that they rely on remains robust and accessible.

In light of these concerns, I urge the Minister to maintain the distinct two pillar structure within CAP to ensure targeted and effective supports for both income stability and rural development remain. I also urge him to provide clear and detailed information on how any proposed reforms will be implemented, including funding allocations and eligibility criteria. He should also engage directly with farming representatives to understand their concerns and incorporate their feedback into the reform process. He should ensure that any environmental measures introduced are accompanied by adequate support and do not disproportionately burden farmers financially. I urge him to advocate strongly for a more ambitious and flexible CAP post 2027, one that fully reflects Ireland's unique needs and evolving priorities. In particular, I ask him to support the potential establishment of a third pillar within CAP, distinct from the existing structures, to recognise and reward farmers who voluntarily engage in sustainable initiatives beyond the regulatory requirements. Furthermore, I ask him to seek greater national flexibility within the next CAP framework, enabling Ireland to design and implement agri-environmental measures tailored to our specific conditions, including the integration of emerging funding streams outside of the CAP.

Finally, the Labour Party emphasises the critical importance of generational renewal in Irish agriculture. The next CAP must include strengthened and targeted supports for young farmers. As I have said here previously, in my area of Fingal west, the horticultural heartland of the country, I can only think of two farmers who are under the age of 30. We must ensure that young farmers can access the tools, land and capital they need to build a viable future in farming. I ask the Minister to outline how these priorities will be reflected in Ireland's position as the CAP reform discussions progress.

I also wish to highlight the urgent need for a single, unified farmland mapping system to be used consistently across both CAP Pillars 1 and 2. The current duplication of the systems is causing unnecessary delays, creating administrative burdens and leading to confusion for farmers and administrators alike. Farm families are the backbone of rural Ireland. They are not just economic units but living traditions passed on from one generation to the next. They preserve our landscapes, communities and way of life but today this model is under threat from rising costs, market pressures and climate challenges. I am also calling for an end to redundant inspections. If a farmer has been inspected and found to be compliant, there should be no need for a further inspection unless there has been a material change in his or her circumstances.

In addition, I stress the importance of eliminating double penalties. Farmers should not face CAP funding cuts if they have already been penalised by another State agency for the same issue. This involves clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies to ensure CAP inspections do not overlap with the work of bodies such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service. We need to reform the young farmer payments to make it more attractive and feasible for new entrants to take up farming also and to ensure consistency and predictable communication so farmers clearly understand their requirements and expectations. A principle of no retroactive rule changes should be enforced. Once a scheme is in place, farmers should not face new rules introduced part way through their implementation these changes are not only about reducing bureaucracy but about respecting the time, effort and investment our farmers make every day. I urge the Minister to take these recommendations forward.

In my area of north County Dublin, the horticultural sector is a vital component of both the local and national economy. Often referred to as the market garden of Ireland, Fingal boasts some of the most fertile land in the country. This makes it ideal for the production of high-value crops, including vegetables, salads and soft fruits. I have picked and packed every one of them over my lifetime. The region supports a mixture of traditional farming families and modern high-end agribusinesses and plays a significant role in supplying fresh produce to the Dublin market and beyond. With its proximity to Dublin Airport and key transport routes Fingal is well-positioned for both domestic distribution and export, thereby further enhancing the importance of the agrifood sector.

We must act now to ensure the sector’s long-term viability. This means fair prices, strong supports and policies that value sustainability and tradition hand in hand. Supporting family farms is not just about food production, but about protecting the vital part of who we are as a nation. We need to make food security a national priority. We need a commitment to developing a new food strategy that ensures every person in the country can access a healthy, nutritious and affordable diet. We should support initiatives such as farmers’ market incentive programmes, investing in local food networks and market infrastructure. This will give producers more opportunity to sell their high-end produce to local communities while reducing reliance on imports and strengthening our food resilience.

We need to recognise the growing importance of horticultural and plant-based farming. This will become a stronger focus on the areas as part of strategy for a more sustainable and secure food system. Furthermore, we need to support the growth of our domestic horticulture and tillage sector with a renewed emphasis on grains and pulses. Exploring a tillage incentive scheme to reverse the decline in serial crops and their production alongside a further horticultural incentive would ensure the vital sector has the supports it needs to continue to thrive. We need to build a food system that is secure, sustainable and fair for producers, communities and future generations. Our farmers play a crucial role in rural Ireland in our food production and in environmental stewardship. It is imperative we support them through policies that recognise their contributions and provide the stability they need to continue their vital work.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for taking this very important debate on a critical issue not only to our economy, but also our society. I also welcome Mr. Francie Gorman, president of the IFA. I have had a lot of very close interaction with both Wicklow and Wexford IFA as well as Macra na Feirme and the other farm organisations. I am delighted that the first female deputy president Ms Alice Doyle is of course from my neck of the woods and it is important we address the role of women in agriculture as well.

We are speaking about CAP. I welcome the Minister’s comments but it is absolutely critical CAP remains as a stand-alone policy of the EU that is separately funded and ring-fenced for agriculture. The purpose of CAP, as he outlined, going right back to the early days of the European Economic Community is to support a sustainable future for the farmers of Europe to ensure we had food security and food production and to ensure cheap food, basically, for the citizens of Europe. That requires that we make available the necessary supports for farmers to be able to continue with that policy. It is therefore critical we have a fully-funded CAP in the next round as part of the multi-annual funding framework. A crucial aspect I will be interested in the Minister’s views on is the need to consider the CAP in the context of an enlarged European Union. Ireland has rightly stood, for instance, behind Ukraine’s path to accession to the Union and we continue to strongly support Ukraine. Ukraine is a very strong food exporter, as the Minister knows, but it would be a significant beneficiary under Pillar 2 were it currently a member. If we see the enlargement we support, we must ensure that not alone is CAP sufficient to meet current needs but also to meet the needs of an enlarged European Union.

It is critical also when we come to looking at the issue of convergence. The Minister will be aware of the problem under the current CAP. Productive farms should not be penalised and I am interested in his views on convergence. It is critical we support those productive family farms around the country. We can talk about a fully-funded CAP but this means our taking very serious decisions around the multi-annual funding framework of the European Union as a whole because it is critical as well, and related to agriculture, that the EU has a sufficient research budget. That will include support for research in agriculture. We need to address the European security budget and I think everybody accepts that, but it means the overall EU budget needs to be large enough not just for Europe as it is now but for the Europe we see well into the future.

On environmental issues farmers are the front-line workers in the battle against climate change. They see it first-hand. On the biodiversity challenge, if we provide supports to farmers they will ensure they address it, but they need the supports to be able to do that.

The key point I wish to make is about the biggest challenge we face in agriculture, which is generational renewal. I tabled parliamentary questions on this earlier this year. The farm structure survey that was carried out, which the Minister will be aware of, shows just 4.35% of farm holders are under the age of 35 whereas 64.2% are aged 55 and over. He knows those statistics. In any other sector of the economy or society, we would be talking about a major crisis there. It is critical we get more young people involved in farming and food production. That includes doing so via our budgets but definitely as part of the CAP. I am heartened by EU Commissioner Christophe Hansen’s remarks in this regard. It is important we expand viable sources of finance for young farmers and that there is access to capital. It is useful to engage with Macra and other young farmers on this. I look forward to seeing the commission on generational renewal’s recommendations in its report. I understand that is due to be published relatively soon. This is a critical issue. It is important for the Minister’s party and my own. I thank him for this opportunity and I am now grateful to share my time with my party colleague Deputy 'Chap' Cleere, on HAP.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Chap on CAP is the correct term.

As Fianna Fáil spokesperson on agriculture, I welcome these statements on the Common Agricultural Policy and Ireland's CAP strategic plan. Fianna Fáil believes the Irish family farm is the social, economic and cultural pillar of our rural communities and that is why we are committed to ensuring CAP remains strong. The current CAP provides €9.8 billion to Ireland for the period 2023 to 2027 but a strong, well-funded CAP supports farm incomes and food security while contributing meaningfully to wider EU objectives, including, as previous speakers said, climate, biodiversity and innovation. Strengthening incomes for our 130,000 family farms continues to be an absolute priority for me and for Fianna Fáil. At national level we are trying to support the suckler, beef, dairy, sheep, pig, poultry, tillage, horticulture and organic sectors along with providing vital farm schemes.

At EU level, this Government must prioritise protecting farmers in the new CAP. Ireland will hold the European Council Presidency in 2026, and we have to use every lever available to ensure vital farm payments are protected and expanded beyond the CAP period 2023 to 2027. The agrifood sector is by far our most important indigenous industry, providing more than 170,000 jobs and accounting for more than 10% of exports. A strong CAP will keep the sector strong and allow Ireland to be a world leader in innovation, sustainability and value. As a Government, we must fight as hard as we can at EU level for a fully supported CAP with an increased budget. We need to make sure CAP is simplified post 2027 to ensure simplified payments for farmers along with balance and proportionate controls. We have to ensure the administrative burden and red tape that farmers currently encounter is reduced significantly. We have to make sure there is flexibility in the design of schemes and that there is stakeholder input at all times. We also need to work at EU level to secure new funding streams, which are separate from CAP, to support farmers in meeting environmental responsibilities. We have to ensure access to a farm capital investment scheme. At local level, we also need to accelerate IT capabilities in the Department to enhance systems and avoid payment delays. We were in Naas during the week and there was lengthy discussion of the delays in ACRES payments. We need to make that as simple as possible for our farming community.

Securing a resilient agriculture sector and transitioning to a more sustainable food system will demand an increasingly significant CAP budget. This investment should not be optional. It is absolutely imperative for the survival of our farming community. Supporting small and large farms is not an either-or choice but it does require tailored approaches. Productive farms, whether they are large or small, have to be prioritised for income support, particularly those with the potential for long-term viability. Every farm has a role to play in our food system but it is time for the CAP to be refocused to ensure public money supports those who are truly active in farming. We also have to ensure that future support is targeted towards genuinely active farmers - those who are directly involved in the day-to-day running of their farms, take on financial risk and earn their livelihood primarily from agricultural activity. Supports should prioritise individuals who are clearly identified by national authorities as commercial farmers with adequate experience or training and who contribute to the delivery of public goods.

The issues surrounding generational renewal were also raised earlier. This needs to be treated for what it is, an existential threat to food security and the sustainability of rural communities around the country, including in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. It is one of the greatest challenges facing EU agriculture. This must be recognised in the CAP budget and how member states allocate these funds. We must provide ambitious financing for young farmers, including the higher voluntary complementary income support for young farmers allocations. Support should also extend beyond income support. Access to land, finance, tax exemptions and incentives and training are also absolutely essential.

If the EU is serious about simplification, it must show a greater willingness to address the burdens imposed on farmers by regulations outside CAP. This level of simplification is crucial to improving the economic viability of farms and reducing the administrative burden facing the sector. We need the Minister and our Government leadership team to go into the trenches for Ireland on this one, protect our agriculture sector and get as strong a CAP as possible for Irish farmers. Every single community around the country can benefit from a significant CAP going forward.

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Common Agricultural Policy has unfortunately been viewed as a soft touch by successive European Commissions when they wish to divert funds elsewhere. This is not to say any given projects are unworthy but they have been funded by taking money out of the pockets of farmers. In real terms, Irish farmers received less under this CAP than its predecessor. I always find it frustrating when Ministers laud the budget of programmes such as CAP as the largest ever, as if inflation or other pressures on input prices are irrelevant. In real terms, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael negotiate and sign off on EU budgets that leave Irish farmers worse off and have the gall to tell farmers they are better off when they receive lower payments to do more work under greater regulation.

I am deeply concerned that there is a pattern of disingenuous approach across agriculture where co-operation with Europe is involved and the blame can be shifted. In response to a parliamentary question yesterday, the Minister informed me that the level of financial support from the European Union for Ireland's TB eradication programme "was steadily decreasing in recent years, largely because of other animal disease threats becoming more prominent at a European level". This is simply not true. The Department's 2021 annual report states: "In line with co-funding programme criteria and reflecting consecutive years of deteriorating disease metrics, the EU imposed a 20% penalty on Ireland’s co-funding claim for 2020." Compounded by year, the Government's failure to tackle TB cost the Irish farmer more than €7 million per year in European funds. That is not because the EU had other priorities but because the European Commission thinks the Government's policy and programme is a failure. The Commission thought that by giving Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments any more money, they would be throwing good money after bad. The Government is out of ideas and falls on the old, burdening farmers with greater regulation to cover up its failures. No one wants to see TB eradicated more than the farmers who fear their herd will be breaking down in the next ten years. Farmers are more than playing their part through their labour, financial contributions and compliance with the incredibly onerous regulations the Government has placed on them. Now the Government needs to play its part and put in place a workable framework that actually delivers eradication.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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When I stand up to speak on agricultural issues, it causes great mirth among my colleagues in the parliamentary party but it is an important issue for all of us. The sooner we realise that agriculture affects everybody in this country, not just those in rural communities, but those of us in all constituencies, the better. I come from a constituency where we have farms, even though people do not seem to know about it. Ballyman and the Scalp in the south west of the Dún Laoghaire constituency have a number of farms that are important parts of our agriculture infrastructure. Across Dublin there are quite a number of farms. As I understand it from the CSO, in 2023 some 31,818 ha of land were being farmed in Dublin, which astonished me. Farming and agriculture affect all of us and exist in every part of the country.

The CAP, by extension, something we have been part of for generations now, is a hugely important part of the infrastructure that supports agriculture. It allows agriculture to exist beyond a subsistence level and to be a functional part of our economy. It supports functioning farms that are profit-making and delivering food onto the tables of Ireland and the rest of the world, and delivering money, jobs and resources into communities. That is also hugely important. Improving agricultural productivity and supporting farmers to ensure a stable, affordable food supply is beneficial to us from the point of view of food supply but also in supporting rural and farming communities around the country. The Common Agricultural Policy is a massively important part of a Europe-wide effort to safeguard EU farmers and the manner in which we farm in the European Union.

Comparing the way we farm here to the intensive farming we might associate more with the United States, it is better for the environment, the communities and the animals involved. All of these are supported by the structure of funding that is available to farmers to support them and ensure they are viable. Even within the European Union there are big differences. For example, I will compare the manner of farming in Ireland to that in France. It is much more intensive in France. The quality of food we produce in this country, the grass-fed beef, with animals out in the open, is done with very little of the intensive farming we might find particularly in very large farming operations on the Continent. With no disrespect to our colleagues in the European Union, the result is a much higher quality agricultural product than we might get in any other country in the world. That is something we can be immensely proud of but it is also expensive to render a quality product at that level. It would not possible to do it without the supports we put in place for farmers and agriculture.

It ensures the survival of not just those farms but of the rural economy and all the communities attached to those rural economies. However, perhaps the most important point in the current climate - I use the word "climate" somewhat ironically - is what farmers do to prevent climate change and support the protection of the environment through all the schemes provided by the Department of agriculture and, by extension, the European Union. Those schemes are hugely important for supporting biodiversity on farms and reducing the intensity of farming on farms. We then look at the work that is done by research institutions like Teagasc and the research on different types of grass or swards that can be fed to animals that reduce the carbon emissions. Look at how long the lifespan of an animal that is going to be slaughtered for meat can be. Slaughtering that animal at an earlier age and when it is ready to be slaughtered, means that it is producing less carbon in its lifetime. These are incredibly important academic decisions again being made through the support of the same funds that allow us to reduce the environmental impact that agriculture has in general.

We also have to be cognisant of the fact that when we talk about the environmental impact of agriculture, in Ireland it is less per kilogram of beef or whatever metric you want to use to assess it, particularly compared to countries outside the European Union which do not have the same regulations, the same restrictions and the same measures in place to mitigate the impact of farming on the environment. That is not just in terms of carbon emissions but in terms of the impact it has on a landscape, on biodiversity etc. Irish farmers deserve an awful lot of credit for the amount of work they do to safeguard the environment they farm and the environment around their animals, to ensure they have hedgerows in place, to ensure they rotate fields, etc. They deserve credit for that and they do not always get it because we hear all the time how agriculture is carbon intensive and is a huge source of emissions. Of course, that is true but you cannot just wipe that off the map because you then have a different problem to solve in terms of food supply.

For example, if we decide we are going to reduce our dependence on the national herd in Ireland, you are not going to say to Irish consumers you are going to consume less meat. They are still going to eat meat, but it is just going to come from other jurisdictions where there is much more carbon intensive production and there are much greater emissions from the production of beef - for example, in Brazil or Argentina - than there are in Ireland. There is also the carbon cost of transporting that beef from South America to Europe. These are wider and perhaps nuanced pictures that are very often ignored in the climate conversation but are also ignored in the climate targets for Ireland. The targets are solely nationally based and do not take into account that if you reduce emissions from agriculture in Ireland, the reality is you are going to consume more agriculture products from other countries where there is a more carbon intensive farming model. That has to be a bad thing.

That is a national point but in terms of Dublin, it is important to remember that are 680 farms in Dublin. That is 0.5% of the national number of farms but it is a lot of communities, households and families supported by agriculture. The average size of the farms is 51 ha, so they are not enormous farms, certainly by European standards but even by Irish standards. I have asked that we put in place supports, particularly for farmers in the Dublin area. They often fall between the cracks. I am a member of the Irish Farmers' Association but meetings do not happen in my area. We have to go to north Wicklow, and that is okay. However, the point is that just because there is a small number of farmers in an area does not mean they are less important or they do not deserve the supports. In fact, I have submitted a question next week to the Minister for agriculture asking for specific targeted supports for those farmers, particularly dry stock farmers, in my area in places like the Scalp and Ballyman. These are people who do not have expansive, good land available to them and yet they still produce a fine, very high quality product. They deserve to be recognised in that regard but also supported through funding. I also acknowledge the funding that is there for the Dublin Rural LEADER programme and the work it does in helping Dublin farmers through that programme, as well as the other measures I mentioned already.

I raised this issue but we also have a situation with the gender profile of farmers in Ireland. It is a very male dominated industry, in Dublin anyway. Only 12.8% of farms in this county are owned by women, which is very much less than could be the case. Obviously, traditionally the oldest son took over the family farm. That does not have to be the case anymore and we know there are lots of farmers throughout this country who are women and who are farming excellently. They should also be supported and encouraged wherever that is possible.

I will not recite the statistics in relation to the agrifood sector as they are enormous. However, the benefit of agriculture is not just an economic one; it is a cultural one and a community one. The people in this country and in this county who farm do so in difficult circumstances. It is a lonely and a dangerous job. We know the number of farm accidents that have caused significant injuries and deaths in this country. As a society, economy and as fellow Irish people, we owe a debt of gratitude to people around this country, whether they are in Dublin or elsewhere, who go out every day and look after their animals and their farm and do their job while also looking after the environment.

At the end of the day, they create a high quality product that can be sold abroad but which also feeds our children and is served on our tables and in our restaurants here and across the European Continent. That happens because of the dedication of those people but it also happens because of the funding in place at European and national levels to support them and to ensure they can do what they do, which they do well, competently, effectively and efficiently. They deserve credit but we also have to recognise, at a European level, that funding makes it possible and it makes it possible in a way that minimises the environmental impact, maximises the economic benefit and results in a product that is high quality and, obviously, something that benefits us all.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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As we discuss this today, our farming sector is facing a number of challenges - farm enterprise viability, unfair trade, competition and demographic changes in the farming community. On farm viability, the latest data from Teagasc showed that just 27% of Irish farms were considered economically viable in 2023. This is a startling statistic and recent trends in input costs suggest that 2024 may not be any better. In this context, it is totally unacceptable that we have seen cases of serious delays in payments to farmers, especially within ACRES. The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association, ICSA, estimated that earlier this year, more than 10,000 farmers were still waiting on payments from this scheme, some of whom were waiting on payments from 2023. Many of my constituents have been affected by this. Clearly, there has been poor administration of this scheme. The fact that delays of this length could be caused by an IT issue is not a satisfactory explanation. These delays have left farmers in the lurch, with many questioning whether it is even worth participating in these schemes. At a time when we need to be supporting farmers, the Government and the Department need to get their act together when it comes to schemes and payments.

With regards to CAP itself, we need an increased budget, less red tape and bureaucracy. The current funding for CAP accounts for approximately 30% of the EU budget compared to 73% in 1980. There must be an increased CAP budget that takes into account inflation over the last number of years. We need full convergence of entitlements with front-loaded payments so that CAP is fair to all farmers and that payments are fairly distributed to the enterprises that need them most, not just large enterprises that are often owned by people living abroad. We have seen large corporate entities drawing down obscene payments which demonstrates the inequality that exists in Irish agriculture. These payments should be redirected to the likes of our small suckler and sheep farmers who need assistance. It is crucially important that we support these sectors and these farmers. They spend their money locally and they are vital to the local economy in my constituency.

I mentioned the demographic challenge the farming community is facing. The next CAP must place a greater emphasis on generational renewal to show young farmers, men and women, that there is a future in farming.

Finally, I want to mention the Mercosur deal. While Irish farmers are complying with strict environmental regulation under CAP to produce the best quality of beef in the world, the EU is attempting to sign up to Mercosur to allow South American beef that is produced to an inferior standard on deforested lands into Ireland. This is hypocrisy of the highest order and the Irish Government needs to step up to the plate and do everything in its power to resist this deal.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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First of all, I am delighted that the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Ardagh, is here today because she represents Dublin South Central.

As she knows, farm produce is delivered every morning. I am delighted that she is here for this important debate. I welcome the leader of the IFA, a fellow Laoisman, Francie Gorman. I am delighted he is in the Public Gallery to listen to the debate.

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the CAP and Ireland's CAP strategic plan. The CAP is a matter of vital national interest, not just for our farmers but for the future of rural Ireland, our food security and our environmental responsibilities. The CAP has been a basis for European agricultural policy since its foundation in 1962. For Ireland, the CAP has been transformative. It has underpinned farm incomes, supported rural development and ensured the continued production of safe, high-quality food. The CAP is more than just a funding mechanism; it reflects Europe's strategic priorities, from food security to environmental sustainability and rural development. Up to 2027, the CAP will undergo significant reform, with a strong emphasis on delivering on climate and environmental ambition, supporting generational renewal and fostering the economic viability of family farms. Ireland's CAP allocation for this period amounts to approximately €10 billion, a combination of EU funds and national Exchequer co-funding.

The future of farming supports and the new CAP are essential to the survival and success of all of us who are involved in the agrifood sector. Experience over the Past few years, from the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine to the current trade tensions with the US, has underlined the vital importance of the agrifood sector to Ireland and Europe. We cannot take our food or the people who produce it for granted. The next CAP post 2027 will be extremely important for the agrifood sector in Ireland. The CAP is crucial for the sector's resilience and competitiveness. Across the country, the agrifood sector remains our most important indigenous industry, employing more than 169,000 people and supporting €19 billion worth of exports. Some people in our country find it hard to understand that there are such high figures.

Ireland's CAP strategic plan has a current budget of €9.8 billion, including €2.28 billion of national funding over five years. The future of farm supports for Europe will be shaped by two major policy proposals to be published later this year, namely the EU budget, known as the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and the proposals for a new CAP post 2027.

Regarding funding over recent decades, we have seen the undermining of the CAP as a result of budget cuts, no allowance whatsoever for inflation, which does not happen in any other sector, and forcing farmers to do more for less. It now appears that the European Commission may be pushing ahead with a single fund approach to the MFF rather than having a designated CAP budget. If a single fund budget structure is approved, this would have a negative impact on schemes at farm level, on the rural economy and on generational renewal. Our Government must push back against the single budget approach to the CAP.

Our key priority for the next CAP must be for a more straightforward model for farmers, allowing member states more freedom to target measures to deal with their circumstances and continue with measures that are working well. Time and again, farmers have said to me, as their public representative, that the conditions laid down by Brussels are totally contrary to what they have been used to doing all their lives and to best practice. People who farm the land and work to produce food know their land better than anybody. They regret that they are being told how to farm by people in other countries.

The next CAP must be more flexible and must respond to new and emerging approaches. It must involve an appropriate balance between all the elements of sustainability and economic, environmental and social aspects. There must be an increase in the dedicated CAP budget.

The CAP continues to be central to Ireland's role in the context of agriculture. Issues such as food security and competitiveness will be major features of the discussions relating to the next CAP. To protect the CAP, it is vital that we position agricultural and food as major strategic priorities for the European Union. Our strategic CAP plan must be balanced and practical. It must address the challenge of economic, environmental and social sustainability. Our CAP strategic plan requires partnership between the Government, farmers, communities, etc. It is through our strategy that we can ensure that Irish farmers continue to produce world-class food and that rural communities-----

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is eating into his colleague's time.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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-----are sustained and developed. I am passionate about farming. You have to hand it to me.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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So is North Tipperary.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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We have to play our part in the fight against climate change. I have one question to put to the Minister. Will he oppose the single fund proposal relating to the MFF and protect Pillar 1 and Pillar 2? That is the question every farmer asks me passionately everywhere I go, every day.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I recognise the passion my colleague has just shown. We might work on our five times tables at some stage. I start by welcoming Francie Gorman, who is the IFA president. We met previously. I recently met the chairman of Tipperary North IFA, Baden Powell, and other representatives.

I will speak about the CAP in a moment, but, first, because I know the Minister met the IFA to discuss it previously, I will raise the splash plate ban. This ban is really concerning for many farmers in north Tipperary. It is a national issue. The Minister engaged with the IFA on it during the election campaign. While he is here, I would like him to comment. This is an issue that started in Upperchurch and was driven by the farmers there, but it is now a national issue. What is being proposed is unsafe for them. It is neither environmentally friendly nor economically not viable, particularly for farmers who farm in higher areas. We really need to look at this.

When farming is doing well, rural Ireland is doing well. I come from Nenagh, which is a vibrant town that is doing very well. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy there, from the co-op to the mart to the spin-off that we see. The CAP is essential in this regard. It needs to go back to being what it is was originally supposed to be. The idea behind CAP in the European Union, or European Economic Community as it was previously, was to ensure food sustainability and food security, particularly after the war, in order that we could feed ourselves and not rely on others. We need to move back to talking about that. I recognise that we have major challenges in the context of climate change, but I also recognise that we have a unique farming model in this country, namely the grass-based model that produces some of the best dairy, beef and other produce in the world. We have to ensure that Europe recognises that.

The family farm model needs to be protected. We need to ensure that we have generational renewal. I speak to young farmers regularly, whether it is about planning permission on their farms or their being able to see a viable financial future for them in the context of taking over their family farms. We will not be able to protect that and our green image unless we can convince young farmers that there is an ability for generational renewal and for them to make a livelihood out of farming.

The LEADER programme is important. There are challenges in north Tipperary at the moment because streams are either drying up or have already run dry. That is a major difficulty because we need funding for many projects that have been waiting years to proceed. We might need to look at a stopgap measure until the new CAP comes into being in order that those community groups or organisations that have waited for years for LEADER funding, which is suddenly gone, will have something with which to drive their projects on.

In the time that is left to me, which I can see is not much, I wish to mention the nitrates derogation. This is possibly moving a little bit away from CAP but we absolutely must protect that derogation. Rural Ireland needs it. Finally, we need to get the ACRES payments out.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy's time is up. I call Deputy Ruth Coppinger.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Ireland's agricultural industry is an environmental laggard. Agriculture here and in the EU is based on a capitalist economic model of industrial-scale farming that is hugely unsustainable, produces environmental destruction and fails to provide sustainable and secure incomes for small and medium farmers in Ireland and globally into the future. CAP is part of that unsustainable global system of agriculture. It is a policy that intensifies unsustainability and deepens the crisis.

Environmentally, agriculture is responsible for 10% of the EU's GHG emissions while it is responsible for 37.8% of Ireland's GHG emissions, making it the single biggest polluting sector in the State. There are many factors for this, one being the disproportionately large dependence on dairy and no steps are being taken to really address this. In 2024, changes to CAP pulled back on even modest environmental conditionalities. There is no real link-in with the EU so-called Green New Deal. There is no obligation on member states to bring in provisions. This amounts to a massive greenwashing.

We need a dairy reduction scheme and incentives to empower farmers to transition from animal to vegetable agriculture to reduce intensive monocultural farming and act as stewards of the land. There is a biodiversity crisis and CAP does not do enough to deal with it. The budget for Ireland's CAP strategic plan is €9.8 billion and an estimated 2.5% of that will result in effective action for biodiversity, a tiny fraction.

Security for small farmers is not delivered either by CAP. A thousand a day are leaving the sector across the EU. Small farmers are ripped off in the supply chains by retailers and profits are going to the food industry and the retail sector. There is a drive towards destructive industrial farming and it does not do anything for the small farmer.

CAP is not subject to ecology ambitions of the Green Deal and it is already too little too late. The European Union is extremely dependent, structurally, on imports of food and animal feed from third countries whose production systems are unsustainable and, in some cases, use slave labour. At the same time, the EU subsidises exports to developing countries with the effect of destabilising markets and food insecurity.

I want to deal with some of the changes to CAP that have pulled back on environmental conditionalities and animal welfare improvement. Biodiversity is not a key issue for CAP. The improvements are not significant regarding animal welfare. CAP simplifies measures served to roll back on the limited animal welfare provisions. I want to highlight an example of some of the animal abuse taking place in our industry that has been exposed, in particular, by a report by NARA.

One of the sectors is the pig industry. There are approximately 270 commercial pig farms in the pig industry in Ireland. Annually, they produce an average of 3.5 million pigs that are slaughtered here every year. We have practices that are banned in other parts of the EU, such as sow stalls that are permitted in Ireland for up to four weeks of pregnancy. Usually a week before giving birth, the sows are put into farrowing crates where they are kept until their piglets are about four weeks old. The piglets are then taken away from their mother and put into fattening pens, even though they would naturally still be suckling from their mothers until approximately three months old. It is a very cruel practice. Depending on their weight, they are then slaughtered at about five to six months of age. Pigs are stunned using CO2 gas which is not in any way humane, contrary to popular belief.

The majority of pigs in Ireland spend their entire lives indoors with no comfortable bedding, fresh air or sunlight. Currently, it is a legal requirement that pigs are provided with eight hours of artificial light a day. Enrichment - a form of mental stimulation - is also meant to be provided for pigs. This is a legal requirement but it is not reality. According to Teagasc, the most common form of enrichment is a metal chain that hangs down. Tail docking, although banned in the EU, is allowed if it is necessary for a farmer to do so.

I have a report on an investigation the National Animal Rights Association, NARA, did in January 2024. All this information has been passed over to the Minister's Department and I would like him to answer what is going to be done about it. The farms chosen were picked randomly in an effort to give an honest and unbiased insight into what happens in Ireland. Inside, there were awful sheds - as you will see from the videos on their website - where pigs were in sow stalls, farrowing crates and fattening pens, as I said. There were dead and dying pigs left to struggle in gangways, and many pig and piglets were sick and injured. Some were biting the bars of their pens repeatedly, which is stereotypical stress-induced behaviour. Others were fearful and sadness and stress was displayed and undeniable according to a vet who looked into the findings. There was a stench of faeces, urine and decay on many of the farms. There was blatant cruelty and complete absence of any hint of compassion towards these animals. Somebody is going in there every day and seeing this happening.

Welfare codes usually list five basic freedoms for animals, which I am sure the Minister is familiar with: freedom from hunger, discomfort, pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour which is impossible in those conditions and freedom from fear and distress. None of these five freedoms were upheld on these farms.

Following that investigation, an anonymous call was made to the Department of agriculture's animal welfare unit by the people who took part to report what was witnessed on the grounds of animal welfare and biosecurity. All the footage and details of these farms have been handed in to the Department of agriculture. I am hoping this will be acted upon.

Regardless of any prosecutions, it is very clear the pig industry in Ireland should be shut down because it is not adhering to those most basic things. Something like this would need a transition period. Farmers would need to be financially incentivised to move away from pig production. We also need a system where no animal should be in stalls, crates or pens. They should be content and well cared for. If dogs and cats were kept in any of those conditions, there would be a public outcry - no question - but because these are farm animals, it seems to be acceptable. Nobody should want their food produced in this way.

The pig industry is in decline in Ireland and it remains very intensive. There is a smaller number of farms but they are doing it on an industrial scale. We need to see a move away from CAP grants being 80% livestock farming and only 20% tillage to allow farmers to have financial security so that they can move away from animal production and more into tillage, with Teagasc grants as well.

I would appreciate if the Minister could give a commitment to look into the allegations made, which are backed up by a vet, presented at a press conference a couple of months ago in Buswells Hotel and are on NARA's website as well.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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This is my first chance to welcome the Minister to his new role and I wish him the best going forward. I also welcome the IFA president, Mr. Francie Gorman, who is here with us. I acknowledge the volunteers on the ground in farm organisations, such as Mr. Tadhg Healy and previously Mr. Donal O'Donovan in west Cork. Tadhg is my right ear most weeks on farm issues and Mr. Dermot Kelleher, of the ICSA, is my left ear. I do not know which ear is the best but they are certainly keeping me on my toes when it comes to agriculture.

I acknowledge I have a conflict of interest. I am a farmer. My son is actively farming now. I am not farming anymore, but I still own the farm. As I said during a previous debate, if you want to talk about farming, you would want to wear a pair of Wellingtons first. I have worn a pair of wellingtons, so I think I qualify to speak on behalf of agriculture. I have spent the past five weeks at Business Committee meetings raising concerns. The House needs to debate these issues. I appreciate that the Minister is present to debate, in particular, CAP, ACRES payments, the TB situation, GAEC, derogations, farm retirements, farm inspections, the Mercosur deal, horticulture, organic farming, the fair deal scheme, which is a very unfair deal when it comes to the farming community, and carbon tax. I will not touch on all of those issues because the Ceann Comhairle would have me out on top of my head, since I do not have that much time.

There are serious concerns about the CAP negotiations. Many Irish farmers have raised several concerns and disputes regarding the Common Agricultural Policy. Many farmers feel that CAP payments disproportionately benefit larger and wealthier farmers. Smaller farmers struggle to compete and receive less support. This issue has arisen in my constituency. It was an issue for me when I was farming. It was a serious issue for a lot of people. There was an unfair balance and that needs to be rectified in any new CAP negotiations.

While there is support for sustainable farming, some farmers find the environmental regulations under CAP to be overly stringent and costly to implement. They argue that these regulations can be burdensome and may not always align with practical farming needs.

Farmers are concerned about the lack of adequate measures to protect against market volatility. They argue that CAP should provide better mechanisms to stabilise prices and protect farmers from unpredictable market changes. The complexity and bureaucracy involved in applying for CAP payments or complying with its regulations are often cited as significant challenges. Farmers feel the administrative burden is too high and detracts from their ability to focus on farming. There is a need for more support to encourage young people to enter farming. Farmers argue that CAP should do more to facilitate generational renewal and make farming a viable career for younger generations.

These issues highlight the ongoing challenges and areas where Irish farmers seek improvements in the CAP to better support their livelihoods and the agricultural sector as a whole. Farm organisations such as the IFA and ICSA have expressed several concerns and positions regarding the Common Agricultural Policy. I remember someone advising me once that farming was from the shoulders up. The farming we knew when we were growing up was from the shoulders down. People worked hard on their farms and delivered for the people in this country. When it comes to a debate on agriculture, this whole Dáil should be full to the brim because without Irish farmers and the clean farming they are carrying out, this country would starve. People do not recognise that.

There are lot of serious concerns about the good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC. It will have several implications for land use planning. I am particularly concerned about the management of peatlands and wetlands. GAEC 2 introduces restrictions on activities such as ploughing, planting trees and selling land for forestry. These restrictions claim to protect carbon-rich soils but can limit farmers' land use options. The restrictions under GAEC 2 may lead to decreasing land value, especially where land was previously valued for forestry purposes. Farmers are concerned that the economic value of their land will be significantly reduced. Farmers will need to obtain planning permission for various activities, including draining land, building structures and even ploughing and reseeding. This adds an administrative layer to basic farming practices. GAEC 2 aligns with national EU obligations to reduce land emissions for farmed organic soils and peatlands. This means that land use planning will need to incorporate measures to protect these soils and contribute to climate change mitigation. Farmers have expressed frustration over the lack of consultation and compensation for the new restrictions. There is a call for better engagement with farmers to ensure the policy is fair and implementable.

I am trying to touch on issues briefly, as I do not have much time. There is a TB summit. Restrictions are being piled on farmers and cattle. Badgers are the main problem here, and also deer. They are never tested. Infected badgers will spread TB all over a farm and to cattle as well. Some herds are being tested two or three times per year. There was a statement, and I do not know whether it was from the Minister or the Department, that farmers would be named and shamed. That is a shocking statement. I ask the Minister to address that. It would be as if the Minister for Health told the House she would name and shame everybody who got Covid. TB is not something farmers want on their farms. I do not know of any farmer - I have never met one in my life, at least - who would encourage TB onto his or her land. I have experienced TB myself as a farmer and had to take it on the chin, clear it and get on with life. I know the Minister has a lot of work to do in that regard. A lot of people have emailed and texted me to raise their concerns about naming and shaming. It has terrified some people who genuinely have been locked up and cannot help it. It is out of their hands. Badgers and deer are running wild, but we are not allowed to. Every farmer has to fence his or her land and make sure that animals do not go into neighbours' lands. Nobody has control over badgers or deer.

I do not know if this has happened to the Minister, but a lot of people have been talking to me about the spreading of slurry and the new changes. A lot of slurry stays in the ground for the year.

I would like to talk about ACRES and I have spent ages raising it several times. Some 9,000 people were looking for their ACRES payment for 2024, then 2,000 in 2023. This is a serious issue.

I could be here talking about agricultural issues for an hour. They are of huge importance.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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I welcome the Minister and wish him all the best in the years ahead. I also welcome the IFA president, Mr Francie Gorman, who is here.

There are so many issues we could talk about, from GAEC 2 and the major concerns farmers have about it, to the ACRES scheme and the lack of payments, forestry issues, the Mercosur deal, and the TB issue my colleague referenced.

There are major concerns with the EU's direction on CAP and the removal of its ring-fenced nature. We must remember where CAP came from. It was the policy that would regulate and guarantee food security across Europe post the Second World War.

In many ways, it was EU policy that ensured farmers were removed from the product they produced in terms of profit, making farmers reliant on the postman and the cheque. Now, at this juncture, the EU is seeking to remove the ring-fenced nature of CAP. This is hugely concerning. Ursula von der Leyen is intent on the single-stream model of CAP, which will dilute and reduced the funding going into the agricultural sector across Europe. It will have a negative impact across this country as well. It will dissolve Pillar 2 funding and supports for the sector. Mr. Francie Gorman stated that it was like putting a knife through the Common Agricultural Policy, yet Fine Gael has backed Ursula von der Leyen to the hilt. It will be to the detriment of Irish farmers.

What is the Minister going to do to ensure that the Common Agricultural Policy is ring-fenced for farmers? This situation is particularly worrying when we see the rearmament and considerable additional military spending across Europe. Is that where the money will be diverted to? Will we see a removal of CAP and of spending on the agricultural sector to increase spending across Europe on military activities?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Lawless and I call Deputy Gillian Toole. Will the Deputy be sharing time if her colleague arrives?

Gillian Toole (Meath East, Independent)
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I hope so. Gabhaim búiochas leis an gCeann Comhairle agus an Aire. I intend to share time with my colleague and therefore I have cut my cloth appropriately, so indulge me.

My background is in healthcare, and a maxim of healthcare is "Let food be your medicine". In these times, food production and security, farm families and appropriate balanced land use are of paramount importance to Ireland. We live in a time of increasing ultraprocessed food, chronic diseases and climate challenges from increasing production and globalisation. These challenges require the ability to adapt and change course quickly. In that context, will there be an interim CAP review before 2027 in order that Ireland can pivot, if necessary, in the face of these challenges?

The solutions to these challenges lie within Irish agriculture, practised and lived by Irish farm families. Their future depends on balanced regional development. A subject I have raised here through other mechanisms is the land use review phase 2 and what stage it is at.

We are very much aware of the proliferation and necessity of renewable energy production, particularly solar. In my county of Meath, particularly south-east Meath, we have an unregulated and disproportionate development of what are called solar farms but what I would call solar industrial development. I am not against renewables, but vis-à-vis the point about balance, excellent tillage land is no longer being used for cereal production. It is now under solar. Balanced land use is essential for food production.

It is also essential that we have continuous consultation with the producers and farm families. On diversification and rotation of crops, our history of famine reminds us of the importance of diversification, but if we do not have the land use review and that segregation made known, we are into dodgy territory.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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The Minister of State may have seen recent polling on Irish people's views on the EU. Certainly, they are at historically low levels, due in no small part to what is now almost a cliché, that is, the bureaucratic stranglehold that Brussels has on every single aspect of our lives, particularly agriculture. There is a level of intrusion and often just plain stupidity that is simply eye-watering. Only yesterday, the ICMSA characterised the European Commission's proposals to simplify the CAP as unconvincing, and while they may involve some minor changes or improvements for some farmers, the overall regulatory tide shows no sign of easing.

Let us be clear, in that the CAP is not fit for purpose. It is a one-size-fits-all policy designed in Brussels, far removed from the realities of farm life while leaving Irish farmers drowning in paperwork, compliance costs and regulations that seem to change with the wind. The figures speak for themselves. In 2023, the average Irish family farm income was just €31,000. For many small farms, it is far less. Input costs - fertiliser, feed and fuel - have all skyrocketed, and are up 40% since 2020 while CAP payments have barely budged.

What about the young farmers, the next generation who we are supposed to be encouraging? The CAP's young farmers scheme is a drop in the ocean. As I understand it, the current funding for the CAP young farmers scheme, specifically the complimentary income support for young farmers under the 2023-27 CAP strategic plan, is mandated at a minimum of 3% of each EU country's direct payments budget. This is an increase of just 1% from the 2014-20 period, where national authorities were required to allocate up to 2% of their income support funding for the young farmer payment. Is it any wonder that young farmers say they do not believe that EU rhetoric matches the reality of the crisis?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy. Time is up.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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Surely removing land from food production is in contradiction with that statement from the Commission. I would hope that will be challenged.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy Nolan, your time is up. I call the Minister of State to make his concluding statement.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to wrap up this debate. I recognise, as others have done, the presence of the president of the IFA, Mr. Francie Gorman. I also recognise all farming organisations that act in a very upfront and straightforward manner with us in the Oireachtas. They keep us and the Opposition guided on an ongoing basis about the complexities that exist in the farming sector generally. I thank all Deputies for their attention and comments today on these important issues.

As the Minister, Deputy Heydon, outlined, there has been much progress on CAP implementation in Ireland. This work will continue to 2027 and in future CAP strategic plans. The CAP is the main instrument for Ireland's breakdown of EU budget MFF funds, accounting for approximately 75% of Ireland's receipts of €1.5 billion annually from the EU. Basic income support is important for food production and the competitiveness of EU agriculture.

The reality is that many Irish farms would not survive financially without CAP payments, and we should not lose sight of that. Of course, there will always be issues that will give rise to specific concerns for certain sectors but let us not rubbish what is an important aspect of farmers' incomes.

Food Vision 2030, Ireland's strategy for the sustainable development of the agrifood sector, is based on the three strands of sustainability: economic, environmental and social sustainability. It is important that all three strands be addressed in the CAP post 2027 and that we maintain the momentum that is building in the current programme.

At the AGRIFISH Council, Ireland has supported calls for a robustly funded CAP and, in particular, a strong first pillar, as direct payments underpin the economic sustainability of European agriculture and are vital in safeguarding a fair and sufficient income for farmers generally.

The CAP is an essential tool in contributing to the EU's climate and environmental objectives. CAP supports are key to rewarding farmers who maintain existing good practices, which often involves an economic cost to them. We are all familiar with that. The supports incentivise farmers to take more ambitious measures on climate, biodiversity and water quality and compensate them for costs incurred and income forgone.

It is also important that we acknowledge that the CAP cannot and will not be the only lever to meet the Government's goals. We must continue to better support these objectives with the involvement and co-operation of the private sector and private sources of funding, as well as the appropriate use of regulation.

I have welcomed the publication of the "A Vision for Agriculture and Food" report by the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen in February. It sets out the high-level principles that will translate into legislative proposals for CAP and other key dossier. The vision reasserts the treaty's provisions on agricultural production, food security, and farm and rural areas viability. It underpins the continuing need for a common EU policy. I believe it provides a strong argument for a robust and fully funded CAP in the next EU budget.

Much has been said today about all that the CAP contains regarding economic and environmental sustainability, but I would like to finish this debate with mention of the CAP that supports and brings farmers and non-farming rural communities closer together. Ireland is probably the most advanced EU member state when it comes to community engagement and locally led schemes supported under the CAP. We have cutting-edge European innovation partnerships delivering existing new products from award-winning operational groups like the Galway Wool Co-op, linking producers with artists, and the BRIGHT project using a results-based approach to manage, protect and restore biodiversity on intensive dairy farms. EIP-AGRI operational groups follow a co-operative model, connecting farmers, research and local communities to tackle local issues. The LEADER programme, which is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development, provides grant aid to rural communities for investments targeting local needs and public good.

Ireland, along with many EU member states, has emphasised the importance of social sustainability for the farming sector in rural areas through measures to support generational renewal, promote the role of women in farming, improve the health and wellbeing of farmers and promote rural development. There are often references to better targeting supports to the small farms. Ireland wants to ensure that the CAP supports family farms to improve their competitiveness and viability while rewarding them for environmental and climate actions. This includes both full- and part-time farmers and a range of farm sizes.

All Deputies can trust that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, our colleagues in the Department and I will use our roles in this crucial period to continue to advocate for an appropriately funded CAP with a budget that meets the ambition of the objectives and a framework that is designed to meet the needs of Ireland's farmers and rural communities.

I should also use this opportunity to underline the importance of maintaining an adequate and dedicated budget line for the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, EMFAF. This fund provides vital EU support for our fisheries and aquaculture sector.