Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is very welcome. I thank him very much for coming here to hear what we have to say. We hear time and again about the Government's commitment to rural Ireland but the figures tell a different story. The latest statistics on CAP payments reveal a shocking and unacceptable disparity. The statistics point to evidence that proves what we all know already: there is no actual commitment to fairness and regional balance. Farmers in Dublin receive an average CAP payment of €25,500 per year. Meanwhile, the figure for Cavan is €14,500. In Mayo and Monaghan, it is just €12,500, and Donegal farmers receive an average of €13,500. Right across the north and west, including Roscommon, Galway, Leitrim and Sligo, farmers receive payments that are more than €10,000 lower than those of their Dublin counterparts. How is this justified? How can a Government that claims to support rural Ireland allow this to continue? The very purpose of CAP payments is to sustain those who work the land, particularly those farming in challenging conditions, such as bad, rocky wetland, where every inch of progress is hard earned.

The EU Commission has classified the north and west of Ireland as comprising a lagging region based on GDP and poverty levels. Instead of prioritising investment in these areas, we see a system that favours the capital city while leaving rural Ireland struggling to survive. It is not just unfair; it is completely unacceptable.

Then we come to the bureaucracy surrounding the CAP and the delay in ACRES payments. This only adds insult to injury. Farmers are strangled by paperwork and are fighting red tape and a bureaucratic system, with inspections at every turn. What happens when farmers manage to satisfy the paperwork demands is that payments are delayed. We hear of technical issues and unacceptable delays. Funds that should be supporting rural livelihoods are held up by inefficiency and IT systems that are not fit for purpose. Instead of investing in rural communities, the Government continues to prop up a system that works against them. We need a radical shift in agricultural policy, one that recognises and supports farmers in disadvantaged areas. We need to prioritise those who farm in the toughest conditions, not those who already have the advantage of location and resources. If the Minister is serious about regional development, he must commit to an immediate review of CAP allocations and ensure fairness is at the heart of the process. He must simplify the schemes and let the farmers return to doing what they do best.

The first thing I raised when I entered this House was the ACRES payment. I had two very similar cases in which payments from November 2023 were supposed to have been made in the middle of January this year. When I chased these up, I was told that they would be paid in the middle of March and that there was some kind of IT issue. Those payments still have not been made, so I would appreciate it if I could get some help on this from the Minister's Department.