Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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92. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on his plans to implement the recommendations in the report for generational renewal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54990/25]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I will get straight to it. I ask the Minister about generational renewal, the implementation of the report on this issue, and if he will make a statement on the issue. Recommendations in this regard were announced during the ploughing championships and people want certainty on it. One of the biggest issues we hear about when we talk to farmers is what the future will hold and if future generations will take on farms, continue farming and be able to expand, grow and if they will see a future in farming. It is vital that we have clarity on this issue.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I agree that this is one of the key issues of our time. It is also the key stressor for older farmers who may not have an identified successor or who may have more than one identified successor and only one farm. There are many challenges in that space. I do not say that light-heartedly. It genuinely is a big cause of stress and concern. Obviously, the next generation who want to farm want that certainty as well to allow them to make very big life decisions.

The programme for Government prioritises "supporting inter-generational farm succession". A number of supports for generational renewal currently available to farmers under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. These supports are complemented by a suite of strong national taxation measures and access to finance supports, as well as advisory and education and training supports. Farm succession is a complex issue and many different and competing factors are involved that impact farmers’ decisions. This includes young, trained farmers coming in or that older generation looking to pass on the farm to the next generation in a planned way.

The commission on generational renewal in farming was established to examine these issues. The commission has produced a thorough analysis and made 31 recommendations across a wide range of areas, including CAP supports, pensions, taxation, access to finance, access to land, collaborative arrangements, advisory services, education and training, gender balance and the overall attractiveness of the sector. The recent budget takes the first steps towards addressing the commission’s recommendations, with a view to supporting the next generation of farmers.

Taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and I work closely with him on taxation issues relating to the agrifood sector. That is why I am pleased that we agreed that agricultural relief will remain available to farm families to facilitate succession and the intergenerational transfer of farms, and that we agreed to the renewal of 100% young trained farmer stamp duty relief. In line with the commission’s recommendation to bring more certainty to succession planning, the relief will be extended by four years instead of the normal three years for such measures. Four years is the maximum period possible under state aid rules.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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As I said, we are all conscious of this issue. At the moment, I think 4.3% of farmers are aged under 35. The average age is 60 in Irish agriculture, so there is a clear problem here. It has often been the case that the people who take over the farm subsequently go off and get a job, work away from the farm for a while and then maybe come back in mid-life and take over the farm. That has been the tradition. The type of agriculture we are doing in this country now means this may no longer be the appropriate methodology to use. We need to get people into farming earlier so they can build a career and build up the farm from an earlier stage in their lives. Of course, there are a whole lot of competing factors. We have a very buoyant economy. People have opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry and all sorts of other industries, where many would think they would have an easier life than in farming. That possibility is competing with farming. Central to all of this, we need to ensure that this report on generational renewal and its recommendations are implemented. When will this report be implemented? When will it actually happen? We have the report and the recommendations, but when will we have the action?

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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To give a straight answer to a straight question, we have started already. A number of the recommendations are on the extension of the reliefs to give more certainty, including agricultural relief, young trained farmer relief and relief stamp duties. Those exemptions were worth €325 million to farm families in 2024 alone.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I am referring to new stuff.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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Extending them for as long as we possibly can under state aid rules was a key recommendation of the commission. There are 31 recommendations in total. We have started this already. An implementation team has been established in my Department and it will work on the recommendations of the commission. While some recommendations are for consideration and progress in the context of the next CAP, others can be progressed in a shorter timeframe.

I want to work on those practical measures with Members of this House but also with members of Macra na Feirme and other farming organisations to make real and tangible changes. This issue really does matter and does get to the heart of our farming system, people planning for the future and planning future investment. There are many good supports in that space. The Deputy is right that our economy is at full employment and that there are challenges that come with this fact, including the other opportunities that are out there. The next generation will probably be the best educated ever, which means there are competing demands for us in that space too.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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We recognise all that. The difficulty I have is that in the past we had a legacy where young farmers were let down. We have had the forgotten farmers and all that before. It still has not been fully dealt with. I would, of course, say that from my side of the House. We need to ensure we do not create a situation where anything like this happens again. We need firm commitments to young people who want to farm that they will have the opportunity to do so and will get assistance from the Government to do so and that this will be an option for them into the future and that they will be able to see a long-term viable future in farming.

The Minister mentioned that some of the proposals will be dependent on the new CAP that will be coming in two years' time. That seems like kicking the can down the road a little bit. We need to get clarity on that. Is the Minister going to wait for the new CAP?

The Minister also mentioned recommendations in the report that are already happening and stuff that has been extended. That is fine. We knew about that. Some of the recommendations have a fairly hefty budgetary cost to them. What is going to happen with those and when will they be implemented? Will the Minister wait for the new CAP to implement them? Is the cost going to be taken out of that budget too?

That will be another problem if it happens because it will impact on the measures that farmers depend on today. We do not want to see that raided for the future.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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In relation to the forgotten farmers, I have addressed that issue. The scheme opened up for applications earlier in the year. Those who qualify under the terms and conditions I inherited from an issue 20 years ago will be dealt with and will be paid by the end of this year. That is an issue that will be addressed once and for all.

In terms of the broader piece, a line in the report of the commission on generational renewal jumped out at me. It stated that what will not change is that the key decisions made around succession will still be taken in conversations around the kitchen table by the family members. What we have to do in government is support that conversation.

When I was the Minister of State in the Department with responsibility for farmer mental health and well-being, I funded local initiatives, including a local-led project in Mayo, where we trialled supports for farm families in the area of succession to try to take the stress away from it. The thing that really struck me from it was that so many people put the decision off because they were afraid of it. They do not want to have the discussion and what triggers the need to have it. You do not want to do it in a time of crisis. There was relief among the families when they engaged with the services and realised that it makes much more sense from a taxation perspective to do this in a planned way. That is what we will do. We will have a full wraparound of services here to support farm families to make these decisions in a structured way. Some of that will be part of the next CAP, but much of it can be done in the meantime. I will continue to work on this area, including on other taxation measures that I am discussing with the Minister for Finance.