Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Heydon on his elevation and achievement. No better man is deserving of the post. I know quite a bit about him. I am sure he knows that my roots are in Kildare. He lives in Blackrath in Colbinstown, which falls between two great places in my life, mind and heart, namely, Grangecon in west Wicklow, which is close to where the Minister is from, and the lovely village of Narraghmore.

The day it was announced that Deputy Heydon would be the Minister, I happened to be in the Hob, formerly Kelly's pub and warehouse, with which the Minister is very familiar and is supportive of. It is not in Colbinstown, but is close to where the Minister lives. There was a great sense of pride in the people there. There are people with larger and smaller farms in the area. It is a beautiful part of the world. What better place to live than between the plains of the Curragh and west Wicklow? I knew the Minister's mother and how, at the age of eight, he came to take on the mantle of farmer on his family farm. That makes the Minister equipped for his role. He is a man of the people and a man of agriculture and he is from a rural community which understands people's needs.

When I set out to put a few words and thoughts together on the CAP, I was yet again reminded, if I did not need to know already, that, as a fella in the city said to me, it is more than the moos and baas. It is about rural development and sustainable rural communities. Sustainable rural communities have to be profitable and I believe people can be environmentally sensitive and sustainable while also being profitable. That is a challenge. No one is in business if it is not profitable.

I am particularly pleased to be associated with the celebrations around the elevation of the Minister and to convey the wonderful joy of the people in the community he has so ably represented. I am also conscious that he follows in the strong tradition of Charlie McCreevy and Alan Dukes, two very distinguished and able Ministers from Kildare.

The CAP is worth almost €10 billion to Irish farming families. Our strategic plan under the CAP aims to protect farm incomes, support our climate goals and recognise farmers as hard-working, regardless of where they live in a county or country. The Minister told us that his focus here today was on the draft CAP post-2027, which is clearly important.

It is also important to remember that the CAP strategic plan plays an important role in advancing Ireland and EU agriculture towards a more sustainable farming system. With that comes innovation, technology, new learning, information transition, which is very much a part of the scheme, and new farm schemes. The CAP seeks to fortify rural socioeconomic structures, strengthen farm incomes, ensure food security, drive climate action, help to safeguard our natural resources and enhance biodiversity. That can all be done in a sustainable and profitable way.

I will keep returning to the themes of sustainability and profitability. Farming can be sustainable and profitable. We hear a lot about farmers being the custodians of our land. They are. We are all custodians of our land. Farmers want to be supported in doing that.

As the Minister knows, there are ten key policy objectives in the CAP, which is important. It is also important to spell out some of them. They include ensuring a fair income for farmers, increasing competitiveness, improving the position of farmers in the food chain and supporting generational renewal - I will return to this because it is critically important and a central theme of the CAP. We have spoken about the importance of climate action. The CAP also refers to the care of our environment, which is crucial, as well as to preserving our landscapes, biodiversity and vibrant rural communities. We cannot have vibrant rural communities, as I said earlier, unless we have people living in our communities.

Guidelines for rural housing impact the work of this Minister as well as other Ministries. We have to address this for once and for all and ensure we have guidelines for rural housing that will allow people in Kildare, Kerry, Waterford and all over the country to build and live on their family farms. These are not dormant family farms; they are active. There is a huge issue around that. We have to continue to foster knowledge, innovation and technology because that is where agriculture, like so many other sectors, is going. That is important.

We need to ensure the economic viability of our farms, as well as their profitability. We also have to examine the challenges in the international markets and potential tariffs coming our way from the US and further afield. We also have to address issues pertaining to the UK, including the British Government's arrangements with Brazil, New Zealand, Australia and other places. They are not tied into the same rules and regulations as the European Union. What happens when we import cheaper beef? Our markets will drop. We know where our markets and national agriculture production are going. Great Britain is a critical and important part of that. Our recalibration or our relationship with it in terms of the economics and sustainability of agriculture is critical to all of that.We have to look again at labour costs. Labour and energy costs, as the Minister well knows, are the two biggest challenges facing agriculture. How can we develop and support under CAP sustainable energy alternatives? That needs money. It needs funding but it also needs innovation, encouragement and support, and that is really important.

We also need to look at the bio-economy, the circular economy, sustainable forestry and sustainable horticulture. Why are we importing so many vegetables, for instance? There is a demand for it. There is new growth and interest in organics and we have to embrace that. There has to be diversification in agriculture and that comes at a price, but if we have premium produce, I have no doubt we will find markets. That is important.

There is talk about simplification, which is a great word but it is often overused. Inthe Irish Farmers' Journaltwo weeks ago, a farmer spoke about the mental torture caused by the delay in ACRES payments. That is a problem. I salute the farmers' charter, which is the blueprint for going forward. There are clear rules of engagement there. We teased that out in the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Department. Of course, the Minister has been in that Department for a long time anyway, so he knows the trajectory of that. We have significant buy-in from the agricultural representative bodies. That is all very positive.

I want to turn to the issue of women in agriculture. I go back to something I read in a newspaper about the Minister's mother, who spoke about her resilience in negotiating and keeping the family farm going. The Minister also has that experience. He brings that to the table, which is another great plus. We need to fully implement the national women in agriculture action plan, with which the Minister will be very familiar, and drive it forward. I understand that 2026 will be designated as the year of women in agriculture across the EU and there are real opportunities for us to embrace that. I hope the Minister will be centre stage in all of this. We need to promote gender equality. This is something that is not discussed so much in terms of agriculture but it is an overall Common Agricultural Policy. It is about sustainability, people and a response to their needs. We need to promote gender equality, employment growth, generational renewal, social inclusion and local and community development and engagement. The women farmers' capital investment scheme, with which the Minister will be familiar, needs to be reviewed to ensure it is effective. From what I am hearing from groups, I am not sure about how effective it is, so I ask the Minister to consider that.

During the general election campaign, the Minister's party committed to fast-tracking the IT capabilities of his Department, which had experienced a number of delays in scheme payments and related issues due to its IT capacity or capabilities or lack thereof. The Minister is now in office; little did we know when the party was drafting it that he would be. I ask him to really drive that. We must have systems that farmers are confident can deliver the payments of schemes with which they have engaged. If farmers, growers and producers engage with Department schemes in an open, transparent and meaningful way, the Department must honour its side of the bargain. It must deliver the payments in a timely manner.

The Minister will be familiar with the €60 million per year support package for the next five years for the tillage sector. This is set out in the report of the Food Vision 2030 tillage group. The Minister will be familiar with its recommendations. He also knows about succession planning. We must do something meaningful about that and this means touching on tax arrangements, etc.

I thank the Minister. I have no doubt of his capabilities, determination and lived experience in agriculture and rural communities to see these things delivered. I wish him every success in rolling out and supporting Ireland's interest in the Common Agricultural Policy.