Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While I was around the House yesterday, I was not here for the Order of Business. I congratulate Daire Feeley from Roscommon town. He is an amateur rider who won the Rás Tailteann cycling race that ended on Sunday. It is an amazing achievement for the lad. I have not spoken to have him since he won, but he cannot believe what has happened. No more than our boxers in recent times, we are proud of Daire’s achievement and we wish him well for the future.

The agri-climate rural environmental scheme, ACRES, was launched by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, yesterday on behalf of the Government. We also had the fodder support scheme announced before that. I urge all farmers to register online for both schemes. Regarding ACRES, it is a €1.5 billion scheme and it is going to be live over the four years from 2023 to 2027. It will be worth €300 million annually and it will benefit 50,000 farmers. One of the most important points concerning this scheme, however, is that it has been funded from the EU and carbon tax. Some €740 million of the carbon tax, which, I admit, has been a bit controversial, is now being used to fund this scheme. It is important to show the benefits of what can be done. We have been unfortunate with the carbon tax because of what happened with the war in Ukraine. It was difficult for people to accept it, but it is good to see that some of this money will now be used for this scheme. This €740 million is a significant chunk of the carbon tax money. Some of the basic aspects of this scheme include that the maximum payment will be €10,500 and the average payment will be €7,000. The scheme will not suit all farmers. Dairy farmers are not happy. It is, however, a good scheme, with many options. I urge farmers to adapt to it and ensure they are registered for it and the fodder support scheme.