Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate and welcome my good friend and colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to the Chamber for the first time as Minister for agriculture to open proceedings on a debate on Ireland's national plan under the Common Agricultural Policy.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his role in this Seanad term ahead. It is a great honour for me to be here as Minister for agriculture addressing the Seanad in what is a very important debate. I thank Members for putting this on the agenda and giving us the opportunity to have this debate on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. We are currently about halfway through the implementation of the CAP strategic plan for the period of 2023 to 2027. I will open today's statement with a brief overview of the progress to date on its implementation. I will also provide an update relating to the development of the CAP post-2027, as that work commences now as well.

The CAP is one of the EU's longest standing policies firmly embedded in the Treaty of the European Union. Over successive reforms, CAP has adapted to changing policy priorities, supporting farmers to achieve sustainability in all of its dimensions while ensuring the availability of safe nutritious food for EU citizens. I am firmly of view that agrifood needs to be at the top of the EU political agenda. It is a major economic sector 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 CAP cannot be taken for granted. Ireland's CAP strategic plan for the period 2023 to 2027 sets the framework for how the CAP operates at a national level. For the first time in 2023, the CAP was programmed with a single strategic plan, including the two pillars of CAP, which are pillar one - direct payments and pillar two - rural development. The strategic plan was designed to take account of the nine specific objectives of the CAP. These are ambitious objectives to improve the economic, environmental and social sustainability of European agriculture. The Irish CAP strategic plan, CSP, has a budget of €9.8 billion over the five years. More than 60% of that, just under €6 billion, is targeted at supporting farm incomes. Over a seven-year period the funding is almost €1.2 billion higher, which is an increase of nearly 30% over the previous programme. Since the start of 2023, my Department has paid out more than €2.7 billion on CAP schemes.

Direct payment schemes are primarily area-based under Pillar 1. The basic income support for sustainability, BISS, provides more than 120,000 farmers with a predictable income support based on the number of hectares they farm and the number of entitlements they hold. This provides a baseline income and is a risk mitigation for farmers in order that they are not as badly exposed by the volatility of the market prices.

Environmental sustainability is supported through the eco scheme. Farmers can select from a menu of agriculture practices aimed at protecting habitats, the environment, natural resources or reducing emissions. Over 97% of farmers in Ireland are participating in this scheme, delivering natural environmental benefits, such as space for nature. In total, in excess of €1 billion is paid out each year in pillar one.

Generational renewal is an extremely strong priority of this CAP strategic plan. The support available to young farmers has tripled in this period. Young people are central to the continuation of a vibrant and sustainable farm sector in Ireland. Family farms are at the heart of agriculture in Ireland and I am a strong supporter of assisting the next generation to take over the farm when the time is right to do so.We now need to consider how to support and encourage young people in to the sector in the future. These efforts will be guided by the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming, which was set up last year, and I look forward to receiving the report of the commission in due course, before the end of June this year.

In Pillar 2, schemes are aimed at particular objectives and particular types of farms. This includes interventions to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of livestock farming; including 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 TAMS, across a wide range of categories, to improve sustainability on farms. Higher grant rates are available for women and young farmers also, in the 60% rate. The plan aims to address key environmental issues and specifically, the flagship €1.5 billion agri-environmental scheme, ACRES, aims to address the more complex environmental issues through targeted actions on farm and landscape level. The scheme has encountered issues, of which I am acutely aware, as it sets a new framework for delivering on complex environmental actions in tandem with farmers and advisers.

Real progress is now being made on implementation and my Department will be issuing regular online updates. More than 54,000 farmers are now participating in the scheme and delivering highly ambitious landscape actions through results-based score cards. Some of the highlights of the success of ACRES so far include 2,400 km of new hedgerow, enough to go from Cork to Kiev; 800,000 native trees planted, approximately the population of Dublin or slightly under and 6,300 km of watercourses being protected, equating to 1.7 times the length of the Shannon. The Department has guided a tripling of the amount of land farmed organically since 2020 and with a fivefold increase in the budget, we reached 225,000 ha in 2024. The organic farmers are reducing their use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, improving soil health and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This is just a flavour of how the implementation is delivering on the objective set out in the €9.8 billion strategic plan, which extends to all aspects of agriculture and rural life in Ireland.

The implementation of the plan is not without its challenges. There is additional complexity for farmers and administrators as the new CAP bedded in, both in terms of the new rules and the 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 farmers have been speaking out about the problems 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 Agricultural Ministers, AGRIFISH. The Commission listens and has been conducting its own consultations with farmers and farm bodies across Europe, as well as taking careful consideration of comments at council meetings. 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 in relation 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 will remove approximately 20,000 Irish farmers from inspections and penalties for conditionality. This is a major simplification. The implementation of the plan has continued with close consultation of all the relevant stakeholders, who regularly have opportunities to comment on the progress. Broadly speaking, the plan is performing very well. In almost every intervention, the plan is ahead of the targets.

I will take this opportunity 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 in parallel with the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, proposals, which cover the same seven-year period and sets the EU’s budget for the CAP. 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 conclusions on the future of CAP published in December; and the Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food, published in February. The agrifood sector is of critical importance to the Irish economy and to society as a whole. I have just highlighted how a well-funded CAP can be effective in supporting farm incomes and food security, while contributing meaningfully to wider EU objectives, including on climate, biodiversity and innovation.

As set out in the programme for Government, this Government will fight at EU level for a well-funded CAP that can deliver upon the multiple objectives of the sector. I am working closely with my EU colleagues to build a consensus around maintaining a strong CAP budget in order that it meets both new challenges and opportunities. In respect of the AGRIFISH Council, I am conscious that if I am lucky enough to remain in this position in 15 months’ time, I will move from being one of those 27 Ministers at the Council to being its chair, while Ireland has the Presidency.

The second half of 2026 will be a pivotal time as we will be engaged in designing the new CAP. The relationships I build now and the foundations I put in place, which clearly articulate Ireland’s position, are a very important step in order for me to ensure that during the Presidency we will be delivering for Europe while trying to get that final CAP over the line. I can also make sure the particular nuances of Irish agriculture and the impacts on Irish farmers, as well as the importance of agriculture to the Irish economy, are clearly understood by my colleagues across Europe. This will be one of my main priorities ahead of Ireland assuming the Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of next year. The building blocks we put in place now will help deliver on that in the future. It is great to have the opportunity to be here and I look forward to participating in the debate over the course of the afternoon.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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The Minister, Deputy Heydon, is very welcome to the Seanad Chamber. I compliment him on his Ministry thus far as since taking over, he has dealt with some issues in a very quick and astute manner-----

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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I am sorry to interrupt but I understand the Senator is sharing time with Senator Duffy.

Paraic Brady (Fine Gael)
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I am sharing two minutes with Senator Duffy.

Ireland’s CAP strategic plan, CSP, for 2023 to 2027, underpins the sustainable development of Ireland's farming and food sector. Food production is a must to feed a growing population. Ireland has the best ecological system to produce a green, grass-fed beef, lamb, dairy and vegetable sector. It goes without saying that our product is sought all over globally.

Regarding the CAP itself, I am glad the Minister mentioned simplification. I will go through it for those who do not understand the CAP system. With the green agenda, people have signed into ACRES. We have seen late payments on that scheme to date although many farmers depend on the payments system. The Minister has addressed that and we are in the process of bringing that number below 10,000. I congratulate him on that but it is something that needs to be rectified going into the future.

Environmental climate training, eco schemes and the EU LIFE programme are a few of the initiatives under way. We have the climate scheme, ACRES, the areas of natural constraint, ANC, payment; the knowledge transfer programme; the national dairy beef welfare scheme, as the Minister mentioned; the protein aid scheme; sheep welfare measures and suckler carbon efficiency measures. These are all parts of CAP. On farm viability, there is the basic income support for sustainability scheme, BISS, and the complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, CRISS. We have the young farmer capital investment scheme, YFCIS, which is on the TAMS end of it.

The whole thing is broken down into bits of schemes where there should be simplification. Farmers have bought into ACRES; we are oversubscribed for that scheme. Farmers are best-placed to know how their land works. They have a growing knowledge, which has been handed down from generation to generation. They have bought into the schemes. We know how farmers work; they do what they do best, which is to farm and produce food, such as vegetables, beef and milk. To farm at this moment in time when we have all these schemes, a person would want to be an accountant and have a degree in bookkeeping as well as in filling out forms. The whole sector is now top-heavy in paperwork. Unless you have a farm adviser or are paying somebody, these schemes are mind boggling to say the least. What I am asking for is that in the new scheme, we have simplification and let farmers go back to what they do best, that is, to produce food.

Ireland has the best ecological system in the world to produce a product that is sought after and that we export much of. Why not encourage farmers in this country to do what we are good at, which is to produce food, feed the growing population of the world and try to sell our product? Our product has never been more expensive than at this time because it is so sought after. I thank the Minister for his time.

Mark Duffy (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Brady for sharing time. I thank the Minister for joining us in the Seanad and congratulate him on his position, work and effort to date. The most important thing that politicians do is listen and he has done a great job of that so far. He has kept his finger on the pulse in terms of the different matters that arise in what is a very challenging portfolio.

I would like to highlight the LEADER programme. It has the potential to be a brilliant asset to communities across the country. However, the challenge that exists goes back to what Senator Brady said, namely, community groups leading the regeneration of rural communities and towns and villages across the country. The bureaucracy, difficulty and challenges people face in administering the LEADER programme cannot be overstated. People would need degrees in accountancy, law and bookkeeping just to keep up with LEADER programme applications.

The challenge for many community groups and organisations is one I hope can be addressed in the future programme. The level of detail that is required in an application creates a difficulty, whereby 90% of funding is required for a particular project that is allocated. All of the i's need to be dotted and the t's need to be crossed. A lot of volunteerism goes into submitting an application. There is then a requirement for an additional 10% in matched funding and a community group having to pay for everything in advance while it waits for the administration of the remaining funding through a local authority. That is very difficult and can put volunteer committees under huge financial burdens and pressure. They are paying for short-term loans and interest to bridging companies like Clann Credo which is bridging the gap for community organisations. That puts huge stress and pressure on communities.

We need a grassroots approach to LEADER. It should not tick all of the boxes for bureaucrats while making no sense for communities on the ground. It needs to be led from the bottom upwards for community groups. Too much of the programme is caught up in administration in local authorities and local development companies without funding actually getting to the source. That is where the value and bang for buck of the LEADER programme is. There is something of a grey area for local GAA clubs, parish halls or whatever which require a car park to be resurfaced or facilities to be improved. The programme can have and has had a transformational and positive effect for communities, but the pound of flesh element needs to be removed.

The application process needs to be a much smoother and grassroots-orientated policy which meets the needs of communities. I ask that we do anything we can to bring things closer to communities and reduce the level of bureaucracy. People put a lot of goodwill, time and effort into applications, but then have to come up with an extra 10% in funding while also paying all of the costs upfront before drawing down the money. That puts a huge burden on volunteers and communities that often bridge the gap in delivery we sometimes have in local authorities. I thank the Minister for his time and wish him total success. I thank him for the work he has done and look forward to supporting that into the future.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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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.

Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)
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I am sharing time with Senator Clifford-Lee.

I welcome the Minister. I have had the opportunity to congratulate him privately but it is nice to be able to do it in a public forum. The electorate of Kildare South was certainly very pleased to see a Cabinet Minister from the constituency, so I wish him well in his onerous role. I know that, as a practising farmer, he brings a lot of expertise and experience to his brief. In case there was anything lacking, I have no doubt that Denis Halpin, Thomas O'Connor and the good people of Kildare IFA will certainly keep him on his toes, as they keep me on mine. It is a very active branch of the IFA and it works hard to ensure that all public representatives, regardless of their background, have an understanding of the agriculture sector. This is very important. As someone who comes from an agricultural background with many members of my extended family in the farming business, I am only too aware of the importance of agriculture, not just to Kildare but to the country.

The agrifood sector is the most important indigenous industry, providing 173,000 jobs, of which 3,302 are full-time equivalents in agriculture in Kildare. By any standard, that is a very high number and it proves that agriculture is hugely important for employment. Farm income in Kildare amounts to €60 million, the value of the agricultural output is €183 million and the value of agricultural exports from that output is €267 million. The number of jobs relating to food and drink processing from the Kildare output alone is 1,285, so it is very significant. In light of the conversations about tariffs that have, sadly, been taking place, it is a very difficult time for those working in the food and agrifood industry, who produce our very high-quality exports. That has to be part of the conversation we have.

There is no doubt our farmers are world-class food producers, but they are more than that. They are the social, economic and cultural pillars of our rural communities. We all know and acknowledge that any money that farmers earn is spent in the local community, keeping the local shops and businesses running. Fianna Fáil is committed to ensuring a thriving agriculture and agrifood sector. It formed a strong part of our manifesto and we are pleased to be able to contribute to the programme for Government in that regard. Strengthening farm incomes for our 130,000 farm families nationally is so important. We need to maintain and continue all the supports that are there.

I spoke here recently about the ACRES payment and my concern about the delays in payments. The number affected is far too high and some delays have carried over from 2023, so I urge the Minister to look at this as a priority. As for renegotiating the Common Agricultural Policy, this policy has been there since 1962. It is all about balance. It is about promoting farm income but also ensuring food security. This has to be the top priority for the Irish Presidency of the EU. I do not shirk from saying it must be the top priority. We know the price of beef is high, which can be good for farmers but is not good for consumers so in the long run, that is not welcome. Our crops look good but, again, tillage costs are high so in the long run, that has to be a concern as well.

An issue that is important in Kildare and around the country involves solar farms. I raised the matter here about two weeks ago. Planning is sought to use really good agricultural land to build solar farms and in a lot of cases, it is granted. There is an issue because we do not have a national strategy or planning policy on solar farms.We see that one 600-acre farm just outside Clane is in for planning at the moment. Italy has agreed a national policy that land that is good for agriculture or breeding would not be given planning permission for solar farms. It is important that we begin to look at that. I know this involves another Department but I would appreciate it if the Minister raises it.

Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)
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I extend my congratulations to the Minister and wish him the very best of luck in his brief. No doubt, given his background in agriculture, he will have no need to get up to speed on many of the issues within the Department.

I rise today to talk about the Common Agricultural Policy, which has been very important to this country's development since we joined the European Union. I particularly want to touch on the aspect of LEADER funding for communities. In north County Dublin, it has been particularly important in supporting vibrant rural towns, villages and communities. In Lusk, it has been integral to developing the community cultural centre and over €500,000 was secured from LEADER to develop what is a huge asset for the community. Floraville Park in Skerries is a beautiful little park in the middle of the town and was instrumental in Skerries winning the Tidy Towns competition in 2016, so this was very important funding. Even the meals on wheels service in Balbriggan received funding, as did the St. Maur's GAA club. This funding has been very important in supporting communities, in particular rural communities by ensuring services and community facilities are as good in rural communities as they are in any other community in Ireland. Nonetheless, the simplification of the application process for funding is needed, as has been mentioned. I ask the Minister to look at that and come back with proposals on the delivery of that funding to communities.

Agriculture is very important for this country. As Senator O'Loughlin said, it is our biggest indigenous industry. Now that all of our other industries are under threat, we need to support the agricultural industry more than ever before. North County Dublin has many farmers, in particular growers. Potatoes, strawberries, cabbage, cucumbers and everything we can think of are grown in north County Dublin. It is important that this agricultural heritage is not threatened by the building of houses. While we know houses are required in Dublin, we cannot take up prime agricultural land or force farmers, through no action on their own part, to have their land zoned. Their land has been zoned and they are now under pressure to develop that land whereas they really want to continue to be farmers. They have farmed the land for generations and produce high-quality food. Food security is very important for us, now more than ever before. It is important to support those families to continue to deliver food to communities.

As colleagues mentioned, farm income is very important in ensuring the sustainability of farming families, as is allowing farming families to build a home on their own land. This is an issue that Fianna Fáil is passionate about and we want to progress it. We have all dealt with constituents who are struggling to find housing and although they have land, they cannot build on that land. That is no way to support rural communities. We want people who are invested in their community and have a connection with the community to be able to live there and produce the next generation of that community.

I wish the Minister the very best of luck in his tenure as Minister for agriculture. I look forward to engaging with him in the future, particularly as the negotiations go on and in his role as chairperson of the group when we take over the EU Presidency. I have no doubt in his ability to emphasise the importance of agriculture to Ireland.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The next grouping is Sinn Féin. I call Senator Collins, who proposes to share time with Senator Tully. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister. Agriculture is the backbone of rural Ireland, supporting communities, protecting the environment and ensuring food security. Yet, time and time again, farmers feel abandoned and left to navigate a system that is often unfair, bureaucratic and increasingly unsustainable.

Sinn Féin has a clear ask. We want the Common Agricultural Policy to be fair for all farmers. We believe payments should be fairly distributed. We support the full convergence of entitlements and the ending of the outdated system where payments are based on reference years from decades ago. There should be a cap of €60,000 on upper payments, thereby ensuring that CAP supports are directed towards those who truly need them, not just the large enterprises. Small and medium farms should be protected through front-loaded payments, ensuring they can survive and thrive in the years ahead.

There is no doubt that agriculture plays a role in reducing carbon emissions. Irish farmers have already stepped up by making significant changes to their practices to help Ireland meet its climate targets. They will continue to do more but it will come at a cost. Farmers must be fairly compensated for their work in protecting the environment. Let us be clear. Irish farmers are not the enemy of the environment. They are the custodians of our land, producing the highest quality food to the highest standards. Instead of scapegoating them for Ireland's failure to meet climate targets, we should be working with them, supporting them and ensuring they have the financial backing to continue farming in a sustainable way.

For years, Sinn Féin has been calling for compensation for the forgotten farmers, those who were unfairly excluded from young farmer supports due to Government cutbacks after the last recession. They missed out on installation aid and then, when the new farmer scheme was introduced under CAP 2015, they were locked out because they had been farming for more than five years. The Government has made countless announcements but when it comes to real action, it fails. The €5 million allocated in the budget is simply not enough and, to make matters worse, there is still no clarity on how it will be spent. These farmers have been ignored for too long. We must continue to push for a proper, meaningful compensation package that reflects the losses they have endured.

Sinn Féin has consistently opposed the Mercosur trade deal and we will continue to do so. The deal is a direct threat to Irish beef farmers. Ireland produces some of the best beef in the world and is held to the highest environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards, yet the Government is willing to allow cheaper, lower standard beef from South America onto our market, thereby forcing Irish farmers to compete on an unfair playing field. The Government says it opposes Mercosur in its current form. However, to be real, there is no version of Mercosur that is going to be good for Irish farmers so we need to reject it outright.

One of the biggest frustrations farmers face is the complexity of the CAP schemes. Time and again, we see schemes introduced that are overly complicated, poorly communicated and riddled with delays. When farmers sign up to schemes, they believe they will receive a certain level of support only to find out a year or two later that the payments are far lower than expected. ACRES participants are still waiting on payments due since 2023 because of a lack of staffing in the Department, which cannot get the payments out. The lack of proper engagement with farm organisations means the schemes are designed without farmers in mind. We call for a simplification of the agri-schemes so farmers get the payments they are entitled to on time and without unnecessary bureaucracy. The Department of agriculture needs to work with farmers, not against them, to ensure the schemes are practical, transparent and effective.

In conclusion, we are looking for a CAP that is fair to all farmers, a CAP that protects the family farm and full convergence of entitlements. We need the front-loading of payments for small and medium family farms, a fair stance against unfair trade deals like Mercosur, and simpler and fairer agriculture schemes with no payment delays. Farmers in my constituency in County Limerick have shared their frustrations with me about the delays in ACRES payments, the complexity of TAMS applications and the uncertainty of CAP entitlements. These are the real, everyday issues affecting real farmers and the Government cannot continue to ignore them. I believe there needs to be a fairer, more sustainable future for Irish farming. CAP must work for all farmers, not just for the top.

Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister. It goes without saying that Irish farmers produce top quality food to a very high standard but, unfortunately, farming without CAP would not be sustainable. To ensure long-term food security, we need to see a CAP that is fair to all farmers.Some farmers claim in excess of €100,000 per year in farm payments. In 2020, for example, 20 farmers claimed €3.6 million. It was farming enterprises, not the small family farm. They claimed €3.6 million in payments. We need to see a CAP that is fair and payments that are front-loaded to support small- and medium-sized family farms. Sinn Féin has been calling for a full convergence and to end the inequality of making payments based on reference years from many years ago. The current and previous CAP are based on partial convergence and that needs to end.

Irish farmers have shown themselves more than willing and able to change farming practice to ensure they are doing their utmost to protect the environment. However, to do so, they need to be properly compensated. Payments and schemes such as the ACRES payment are all fine and well if they work well, but they are not working well. Many farmers are awaiting payments from those schemes for months and sometimes years. Prior to any scheme being introduced by the Department of agriculture, there needs to be consultation with farming organisations and other stakeholders to ensure it has a straightforward, not overly complex application system, and it is not full of red tape and bureaucracy as the current schemes are. Payments should be made in a timely fashion. Farmers cannot afford to wait months and years for their payments. They need them paid in the time they are expected.

Compensation of €5 million to forgotten farmers was announced in the budget. I ask the Minister to provide details on how that will be spent. The young farmers who lost out on installation aid in the aftermath of the recession and then did not qualify for the young farmer supports in CAP 2015 because they were farming for five or more years need the compensation. I am not sure €5 million will be sufficient but it is a start. I ask for details on how that will be distributed among the affected farmers.

Regarding Mercosur, Sinn Féin has opposed Mercosur. I have been speaking in opposition to Mercosur for the past six years. It is not a good trade deal. Irish beef farmers produce high-quality beef for the EU market. We are one of the top producers of beef in the EU market. If South American beef is allowed to come into the market, we know that beef does not meet the same animal health and welfare standards. It will be cheaper cuts and a lower standard of beef. It will adversely affect us. The Government needs to do more to ensure it is protecting Irish farming from trade deals such as Mercosur and ensure our farmers are not adversely affected.

I grew up on a small family farm. My parents worked that farm. They did not have to work off-farm to make a living. There were ten of us on the farm. The farm now would not be at all sustainable because of its size. Small farms have got bigger and bigger because small farmers have to get out of farming as they cannot survive. Many young farmers I talk to do not want to continue the family farm because they know if they do, they will end up working two jobs. They will have to work the farm but they will also have to take up a job to subsidise their income because they will not be able to make sufficient income to live on.

Much more needs to be done to put protections in place for small- and medium-sized Irish farms to ensure they can continue producing the top-quality food they do.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Before I move to the next speaker, I welcome Deputy Frank Feighan to the Chamber. He is a former Member of this House. I welcome his guests, Damien and Mary Garvey, from Ballintubber in Roscommon. I hope they enjoy Frank’s legendary hospitality over the course of the day.

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy Heydon. This is my first opportunity to congratulate him on his appointment. We worked very well together in Government, along with the senior Minister at the time, Deputy McConalogue. We advanced a lot on what I will be speaking about, namely, the alignment of the next CAP strategic plans with nature objectives and, in particular, the nature restoration regulation and the nature restoration plan, which we have to embark on as a State and want to embark on with ambition.

I welcome the objectives in the programme for Government related to CAP. Among them is the objective that Government will "work ... to ensure that rewetted and restored lands remain eligible for CAP payments and ensuring dedicated funding streams and voluntary actions". I will speak to some of those.

We have in place and have, over the past number of years, thankfully developed good schemes, one of which is the Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership, EIP, working with farmers to improve our water quality and ensure we retain the nitrates derogation. These are hugely important. The Breeding Waders EIP, led by Owen Murphy and his team, and the LIFE programmes, such as LIFE on Machair, Wild Atlantic Nature and Corncrake LIFE, have all been hugely transformational schemes, offering additional income to marginal farmers but also to other landowners. They are proving hugely successful. When they are announced, there is always a huge attendance at the first open days because farmers are interested. Schemes like the farming for nature ambassadors, the hare’s corner and farm plan schemes have all worked in a complementary way, along with the CAP strategic plan and ACRES, over the past number of years. We are starting to see greater alignment in how these schemes operate and how we can potentially restore nature or look at what nature restoration might look like at scale.

On the negative side, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, has been working to head-start species like curlews and lapwings, which involves taking eggs off nests, incubating them and putting them back out in the wild; reintroducing species; using predator-proof fencing; and 24-hour predator patrols. There are huge issues with problematic species such as deer. Thankfully, there is a plan in place, but it needs to be implemented at scale.

We need to do this. These are the interventions we have to make to try to keep, reconnect and restore our habitats and protect species across the country. We can only do this with the support of farmers. We can only do much of the work we do around semi-natural grasslands with grazing animals on our land. This notion that we can rewild or let a lot of nature go back without management is simply not feasible. We need to work with landowners. The vast majority of our land in the country is privately owned. We need to ensure that the nature restoration plan is in alignment with the CAP strategic plan, in particular the ACRES element of it. ACRES was designed as a results-based scheme, which was modelled on the Burren LIFE programme. It is a simple scheme. Others have spoken about the need to simplify these schemes and simplify the payments.

I wish Dr. Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin all the very best. She is embarking on the process of bringing the stakeholders together to help bring about Ireland’s next nature restoration plan, which has to be delivered by September next year. It will happen during Ireland’s Presidency of the European Union. From my previous work, the alignment of the CAP strategic plan needs to happen in alignment with the water action plan, the climate action plan, the national biodiversity action plan and the land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, targets. All of this will provide opportunities for rural Ireland and young people in rural economies, and address issues of succession in Irish farms as well.

The Department will work closely and collaboratively with the National Parks and Wildlife Service around the development of Ireland’s first nature restoration plan and to use the mechanism of the €3.15 billion climate and nature fund that was committed to in the previous Government to outline where that fund is broken down and how it can align with long-term objectives and provide long-time certainty to farmers, the good advice they need and the long-term funding mechanisms to work to restore nature.

On the multi-annual financial framework at European level, we have said consistently that if the European Union is supporting the nature restoration law, as it has been and thankfully Ireland played a leadership role in ensuring that law was passed, then a European-level fund for nature restoration must have a place. It is hugely important. I ask that the Minister fight for that for Ireland and the other countries.

I believe we can have vibrant nature, good water quality and free-flowing rivers, as well as our built and archaeological heritage, which I am sure other Senators will speak to as well.We can also have productive family farms producing quality food, which is what we do best here. Farmers want to be part of this. I am certain of that because I have heard it from the farmers I have met in derogation areas and in my county of Kilkenny. I have also heard it from farmers whose animals graze marginal areas in Kerry and elsewhere.

Nature is our first and our best line of defence in the face of climate change. We can show leadership, not just during Ireland's Presidency but through the development of a nature restoration plan that is ambitious and that supports farmers to put the right measures in place on their land and that will see them get good support for the work they do. I wish the Minister all the best during his tenure.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I will pick up a little where the previous speaker left off. It will be really important as we move forward that the plans around the CAP intersect and that we have intersection between the multiple plans. There is a question, which I will come to in a moment, regarding some of the critiques that have been made about Ireland's plan. It is important to ensure that this plan works in conjunction with nature restoration plans and our commitments on biodiversity, delivers social cohesion for rural communities for that purpose and common goal and that it is thought through. Some of the environmental biodiversity schemes can sometimes end up being on the fringes. Consider the model relating to forestry. We literally see a few native trees around the edges of the big Sitka monoculture. It is really important that the environmental aspects and aspects relating to sustainable natural resources are not left on the fringes and seen as being on the fringes of the CAP. We must be fundamentally honest about land use and how it is connected.

Sadly and unfortunately, Ireland's plan has attracted some valid criticism. According to report by the European Court of Auditors, the CAP plans "are greener than in the previous CAP, but do not match the EU’s ambitions for the climate and the environment". Ireland did not meet the CAP funding requirements up to 2024. The eco-scheme payments require that at least 25% of money be spent on greenhouse gas emission reductions and the 35% of rural development funding should have a meaningful environmental effect. These were critiques of Ireland having it there on paper but failing to ensure that the way we deliver our policy plans genuinely reduces greenhouse gas emissions and has a positive and meaningful environmental effect. This is with regard to rural development funding.

Christine Schneider of the European Court of Auditors noted that Ireland has kept its funding requirements very much the same as in previous schemes and has not shown enough ambition for increasing the targets and being clear about the qualitative impact that the schemes would have. There is a move towards a performance-based approach. What does that mean? It should not just be around more red tape in the sense of paperwork or more forms to complete; it should be meaningful. I challenge some of the simplification of what is involved. Simplification is no longer enough when we are living through what has been referred to as the sixth great extinction. It is called that in light of the large-scale loss of nature and species, which is hugely detrimental to the well-being and survival of all, not to mention the impact on pollinators and horticulture. It is extremely important that we get to the detail and start talking about actual baseline measures required in respect of nature and biodiversity and about proactive nature restoration. It cannot simply be business as usual; we need to move into proactive mode. The challenge for the Government is to make sure that it proceeds in a way that is manageable and supportive and that it gives smaller farmers in particular the supports for managing something that is going to become more complex. It will be more complex, but if we give people the right supports, they can deliver. Many small farmers tend to be have a few different strings to their bows in the context of how they operate. They are well able to manage, but they need resources.

I am concerned about some of the figures. The plan seems to heavily favour large farming operations. It will continue to distribute payments based primarily on farm sizes. I am concerned that we will again end up in a situation where a disproportionate amount - I believe it will be 80% - of the direct supports on offer will likely to go to just 20% of farmers. Doing things a little differently through ecological schemes and schemes that align with our nature restoration measures could end up shifting the balance somewhat and give greater supports to smaller farmers as opposed to those supports almost solely going to those who operate on a large, almost industrial scale. We do not really have transparency as to how the performance-based approach will be monitored or evaluated. What supports will be given to smaller farmers in the context of monitoring and evaluation?

I echo the points that other Members made about young farmers. We know that the new generation of farmers coming through is very important. We also know that those who lost out on previous schemes will now lose out on the new scheme. That should be looked at.

There is a concern that the proportion of the plan that is tied to rural development - approximately 40% - is insufficient in the context of rural infrastructure and service needs. We want a plan that works for those who live in rural communities and are involved in farming rather than solely for the owners of or shareholders in very large farming agribusinesses. It must deliver for communities and families whose existence is based around farming. That balance is still not there.

I will highlight two areas in respect of which revision and change need to be looked at. They both relate to a Bill I have previously highlighted. It would be timely to consider them now. My mandates for nature Bill looks at the mandates of Coillte and Bord na Móna. These are outdated mandates from the 1950s or 1960s and the 1980s, respectively. In the case of Coillte, its mandate is the business of commercial forestry. That mandate is solely around the cash-generative potential of forestry rather than what I propose as a new mandate, which would involve the economically, socially and environmentally sustainable use of what is 7% of State land.

With regard to forestry and the Commission, one of the reasons there were such delays a couple of years ago in any new scheme coming through was because the Commission came back and said Ireland was still taking a business-as-usual approach to forestry. We had schemes on the edges but we were failing to deliver. We still had such an emphasis on monocultures and Sitka spruce. With Storm Éowyn, we saw again that there are issues when one supports a monoculture approach to crop growing and cutting rather than adopting a continuous-cover approach or an approach that supports native tree planting at scale. It will be even harder for Ireland to get those schemes renewed in the future. It was claimed that we were looking for an exemption from state-aid rules at the time on the basis of the fact that our forestry plan was going to deliver on environmental targets. It is clear, however, that the approach we are taking in respect of forestry will not deliver on environmental targets. Coillte is part of that. The way we approach what we grant and what we support through the CAP will be important in that regard.

I also wish to highlight peatlands. Again, Christine Schneider of the European Court of Auditors specifically noted the court's regret that there seems to be no effort to properly restore peatlands to scale. Ms Schneider referred to peatlands that have been transformed into agricultural land and the effort to restore them in order to use them as carbon sinks. She said there is not much of this in the Irish national plan.This is the easiest, shortest and quickest thing we can do to try to meet our carbon sinks goals. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council has estimated that protecting forestry and rewetting peatlands would hold a cost of €1 billion, and potentially €11 billion in other costs, compared with the €26 billion Ireland might pay in fines for missing our climate targets. Why do we not have at scale - not small pilot schemes, grants or individual initiatives - the resourcing of rewetting, which is the base point, and, where possible, the restoration of peatlands on land the State owns? Moreover, in these schemes, why do we not genuinely reward drives for rewetting? That would brings early rewards in reduction. Planting forestry might take 20 or 30 years before it will deliver in emission reduction, while rewetting has a much earlier impact. I hope the Minister will focus on peatlands and rewetting and why it is not being brought to the scale it should be, especially given that the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the European Court of Auditors have pointed to it. It would also benefit farmers in the west, where I am from, and other rural areas.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Thank you, Senator.

Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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My final point relates to the native honeybee. It would be good if there were schemes to more directly support our pollinators, particularly the native honeybee, in the CAP scheme.

Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail)
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I wish the Minister well in his role. I welcome this discussion on Ireland's national plan under the Common Agricultural Policy and its implications for our agrifood sector. The agrifood sector remains the backbone of our economy, comprising 173,000 jobs and accounting for 10% of Irish exports. This sector is not only critical to our economy but also central to our rural communities, where our farmers are the social, economic and cultural pillars. Our farmers are world-class food producers and their dedication to excellence is a testament to the strength of Irish agriculture.

Fianna Fáil is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring a thriving agricultural and agrifood sector. We want Irish agriculture to be a world leader in innovation, sustainability and value, ensuring that our farmers and their families can thrive for generations to come. Strengthening farm incomes is an absolute priority, with 130,000 family farms across the country. We will continue to support vital sectors such as suckler, beef, dairy, sheep, pig, poultry, tillage, horticulture and organics. Equally, we will protect and expand vital farm schemes that ensure these sectors remain strong and resilient. We understand that the challenges facing our farmers are complex, but we are committed to supporting them through every policy lever available. We will ensure essential farm payments are protected and, wherever possible, expanded to meet the evolving needs of our farming communities.

I acknowledge the farmers in my constituency in Bohernabreena. Sometimes it surprises people when farming and Dublin are mentioned in the same sentence. A huge issue they face is trouble getting planning on their own land. This prevents them from operating effectively. I am aware of some farmers who live a 25-minute drive away from their farms. We can imagine the issues that causes. It suffocates their progression.

The current CAP programme in Ireland provides €9.8 billion over its term from 2023 to 2027. It is a critical resource in supporting farm incomes and ensuring the sustainability of the sector. As Ireland prepares to hold the EU Presidency in 2026, this will be a moment of huge significance. Protecting our farmers will remain a top priority as we continue to engage on the next iteration of CAP. My party believes a well-funded CAP is essential to supporting farm incomes, ensuring food security and contributing meaningfully to broader EU objectives. These include tackling climate change, promoting biodiversity and driving innovation in the agriculture sector. We are committed to working closely with farmers, stakeholders and partners to ensure CAP continues to deliver for Ireland's agricultural future. We will stand firm in ensuring the future of our agriculture industry, strengthening its competitiveness and resilience on the global stage.

PJ Murphy (Fine Gael)
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I congratulate Deputy Heydon on his appointment to his Ministry. I have no doubt he will do a very fine job. I welcome this opportunity to discuss the CAP strategic plan. I will first speak about farm succession and the collaborative farming grant. We must learn from the mistakes in the previous farm retirement scheme in the nineties and early noughties where farmers were required to step away completely from activities on the family farm for fear of loss of payment. That was a most regrettable part of that scheme. We must ensure there are no knock-on effects on non-contributory pensions, etc., for the involvement of retiring farmers in any new scheme. Farm consolidation must form part of any new scheme. Young farmers must be encouraged to work consecutively with two or more retiring farmers of adjoining land with a long-term goal of the consolidation of those parcels of land.

I would like to take a closer look at some of the other Pillar 1 intervention payments and allocations and some opportunities we may be missing. I will start with the meagre €600,000 allocated to the apiculture sector to assist 4,400 Irish beekeepers. This critical sector is facing massive challenges through the importation of non-native bees and the associated problems as well as the importation of non-EU honey and honey-like substances sold for a pittance on our supermarket shelves. To break down this allocation, €600,000 between 4,400 beekeepers averages out at €136 each over the five-year period of the scheme, or €27.27 on average per annum per producer who qualifies. That borders on an insult to an industry facing a lot of challenges. I call on the managing authority to properly fund and incentivise the creation of large-scale sanctuaries for the native Irish honeybee through financial incentives for farmers and landowners as well as the designation of all State-owned land to this status.

Leaving aside the issue of delayed payments under ACRES, which I know the Minister is on top of and which is a legacy problem, I will focus on important omissions in the scheme design. I come from south County Galway, the heart of stone wall country. Unlike the hedgerows in other parts of Ireland, which the Minister mentioned and which are so well protected and funded through this scheme, the existence of our stone walls, their upkeep and maintenance and any associated funding are simply absent from this scheme for the vast majority of western farmers. This is quite contrary to the previous GLAS, which was much better in this regard.

Under the straw incorporation measure, tillage farmers are incentivised to plough straw back into the ground at source. As the Minister knows, coming from a tillage area in the east, over the past century and longer, straw has been brought from tillage areas in the south and east of the country to the west for animal bedding. This ill-considered measure has driven straw bedding prices through the roof for western livestock farmers. On top of that, after being used for bedding, the straw dung is then spread out on the land, so it eventually makes its way back into the ground in any event. As a representative of a farming community, I would like to speak about the direction we sometimes appear to be going as a country with one of our most important indigenous sectors. Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are a global problem and food supply is a global challenge. Eight billion people in the world need to be fed and many of these people want to eat dairy and red meat. For as long as this demand exists, it will be met by some country or another. We in Ireland have the climate, soil, rainfall and expertise required to produce these products with the very lowest possible carbon footprint through our grass-feed model. If we want to get serious about assisting with greenhouse gas emissions on a global level, we had better stop the soft talk about reducing the national herd and get more serious about increasing the production of our premium-quality, environmentally sustainable agrifood products.

We heard earlier that there is concrete evidence that we can protect our biodiversity while farming in a productive way. The EPA water quality report has shown an improvement in water quality. The Minister has spoken about hedge renewal at a scale we have not seen before, waterways protection and the fantastic farming-with-nature programmes mentioned by Senator Noonan. We can protect and farm simultaneously, and this must be our aim.

Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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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.

Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)
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The Minister is very welcome this afternoon. I wish him well in his term and look forward to working with him and helping him to deliver for the west, specifically Roscommon.

For generations, agriculture has been the backbone of life in the west. Our rolling green fields, rugged landscape and close-knit farming communities define our region's identity; however, economic pressures, environmental regulations and an increasingly competitive global market pose serious challenges to farmers. Without targeted support, small and medium-sized farms, some of which have been in families for centuries, will struggle to survive. That is where the CAP has made an undeniable difference. The CAP has provided direct financial support to farmers, stabilised rural incomes and ensured farming remains a viable way of life. This funding has allowed farmers to modernise, increase efficiency and meet evolving environmental standards. The CAP has not only safeguarded farm income support but has also strengthened the entire rural economy.

Beyond individual farms, CAP benefits ripple through local businesses, including veterinary services, machinery suppliers and co-operatives, along with many other rural businesses. I know of the value and loyalty of the farming community where I am from. When the farmer has money, it stays and multiplies in the local economy. All of the businesses I have referred to depend very much on a thriving agriculture sector.

The policy has also enabled the expansion of agritourism, food production and farmers' markets, keeping the west at the forefront of high-quality sustainable food production. However, as we look to the future, it is clear that farmers will need more from the new CAP. It must reflect the challenges of rising costs, stricter environmental regulations and the need to secure fair prices for produce. Farmers are not just food producers; they are our environmental stewards, community builders and economic drivers. The new CAP must ensure that the role is fully recognised and properly supported.

First, farmers need a fair and simplified direct payments system that reflects the rising cost of production and the challenges of small-scale farming. For many in the west, land quality and farm size make large-scale intensive farming impossible. The new CAP programme must prioritise smaller family-run farms to ensure they receive a fair share of the funding.

Second, the environmental measures within the CAP must be practical, achievable and fairly compensated. Farmers want to play their part in tackling climate change but need to be supported in transitioning to sustainable practices without compromising their livelihoods. The new CAP must balance environmental ambition with economic reality, ensuring farmers are awarded, not penalised, for their efforts. Economic and social sustainability must be considered alongside environmental sustainability in the European Green Deal.

Last, and as has been mentioned here already, young farmers must be given stronger incentives to stay in agriculture. The new CAP should offer more financial assistance, training programmes and access to land for the next generation. Without young farmers, rural depopulation will accelerate and our agricultural heritage will be at risk.

While the CAP has been a lifeline for the west, its new iteration must evolve to meet the needs of the modern farmer. It must deliver fair incomes, support small and medium-sized farms, invest in rural development and create a realistic pathway to sustainability. If we get this right, we will secure farming futures for generations to come.

Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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The Minister is most welcome to the Seanad Chamber today. I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of some Wexford farmers on some of the issues they have highlighted to me over the past couple of weeks.I congratulate the Minister on his appointment. Having somebody who is involved in the day-to-day of farming and who comes with the experience of having been the junior Minister in the Department during the previous term is to be welcomed. I look forward to working with him.

I raise the issue of ACRES payments. I welcome the Minster's recent comments that he is committed to modernising the IT systems that have, unfortunately, let us down badly in the past. There are approximately 10,400 farmers awaiting payment at the moment and many of them are in my area of Wexford. I appeal to the Minister to get involved directly and to prioritise ensuring that we can have confidence that the farmers who applied for this payment over two years ago will be paid. I welcome the commitment from the Minister that this is a priority for him and the Department. I hope this situation will not be repeated in the coming term.

I will speak about farm succession. I am 33 years of age. My father and uncle both farm. I have two brothers but none of us are involved in the day-to-day work as full-time farmers. In December 2024, the CSO stated that approximately one in every three farmers is aged over 65, which is a total of approximately 50,000 farmers. One in 20 farmers is now aged under 35, which is a total of 6,000 farmers. The average age of farmers at the moment, according to the CSO, is 59 years old. Farming will not be possible in Ireland unless we have the farmers to do it. I urge the Minister to address the issue and take it seriously. I ask him to look at the reality of the situation at the moment. Farmers have expressed to me the guilt they have. Having farmed land that has been in their family for generations, they do not know if the next generation will be in a position to take up farming. If the farm is not profitable, nobody will be willing be take it on. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to consider this issue in detail and to preserve the tax reliefs that currently exist. I encourage the Minister to examine the prospect of greater incentives for farm succession planning. The relevant Department in the UK has undertaken a roadshow. Its representatives have gone out to farmers in the marts and communities and have made professional advice, including accountancy and legal advice, available to farmers to at least allow for a conversation about what is going to happen next. The latest information is that 40% of farmers do not have a will, which also needs to be looked at again, particularly when we consider that one in three farmers is aged over 65.

On the nitrates derogation, I welcome the fact that the Cabinet subcommittee on water quality will soon be operational. This is a big issue for farmers in Wexford , and I very much welcome the clarity that the Minister has given by making it a priority that Ireland retains its derogation in the next round of negotiations. I want to work in a big way with the Minister on that issue.

On the protein aid scheme, I wish to speak for a moment specifically about beans. At the moment, the protein aid scheme has a value of approximately €10 million. Of all the applicants for that scheme last year, 20% were from my area of Wexford. This is a big issue in Wexford. Beans are a nitrogen-fixing crop and the latest information from the EU shows that this is a mechanism to help address our climate emission goals. We know that the tillage sector is one of the most environmentally sustainable and carbon efficient sectors. I urge the Minister in the next round of CAP negotiations to prioritise the protein aid scheme and ensure that it is continued into the future.

I congratulate the chair of the Wexford IFA, Mr. Jer O'Mahony, who has stepped down after a successful term in office. I look forward to working with his successor, Mr. Tom Doyle, and the new officer board in the Wexford IFA, and with the Minister.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. I join others in wishing him well in his term, particularly with the potential of his taking on the Presidency of the EU Council of farm ministers, which would be a very important role as we prepare for the next CAP.

CAP has been synonymous with farming all our lives since we joined the EEC, which is now the EU. We realise the importance of, and necessity for, a strong CAP for farming and rural communities. I wish the Minister well in protecting and enhancing the funding for farmers as best we can, as well as the policies and schemes for rural Ireland.

I will join others by briefly talking about the farm succession scheme, which is a part of the programme for Government. It supports generational renewal. In my former life, I prepared a number of the old farm retirement scheme applications, which were notoriously difficult. Solicitors were advised to have nothing to do with them because they were fraught with legal permutations if things went wrong. I appeal for a simpler scheme whereby if additional information or whatever else is needed, liaison can take place with the farmer. We do not want it to be a case of simply putting in an application and if it fails, the farmer is out. The consequences for a farmer in such cases in the past were horrendous. The pressure on farm planners and, as I said, solicitors and others who were dealing with the issues was onerous. Stamp leases, folios and all sorts of different things were required and caused enormous problems. I would urge a back-and-forth approach. If there is an issue, a week or two weeks should be allowed to provide that information. We should not have a deadline and a cut-off point for the scheme.

ACRES has been mentioned. The Minister has inherited difficulties in respect of repayments. As I have said before, the one thing worse than not getting money is getting money and being required to pay it back. Unfortunately, many farmers had to pay back substantial amounts of money under ACRES, which left a sour taste. The scheme has a bad reputation because of that and the delays. I know the Minister is dealing with those issues. It is important for the success of future agri-environmental schemes that we get this sorted, that farmers get paid and have certainty, and that they know, going forward, what they will get up front. I know there were delays in the scoring mechanism and everything else but the issues around the scheme have left a certain sour taste. I wish the Minister well in sorting out those issues.

The good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC, standard is a part of the CAP strategic plan. We have legal obligations to introduce a GAEC 2 for the protection of wetlands and peatlands. It is a mandatory condition associated with the basic income support for farmers. There were two deferrals before 1 January this year and there can be no further extensions. The standards must be in place before the basic income support for sustainability, BISS, opens, which is now. The Minister is on record as stating that the new standard is expected to have minimal impact on farmers' day-to-day operations, which I welcome. I thank the Minister for meeting the farm groups in advance of this and in recent weeks. He met members of the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association, INHFA, on a number of occasions on this matter. The association would agree with some of the clarifications provided by the Minister. However, it has a concern about the combining, if you like, of peatlands and mineral soils in the same land parcel identification system, LPIS. If it is over 50% peatland, the whole parcel is viewed or treated as peatland. Will the Minister provide some clarity in that regard? The INHFA feels this is overreach by the Department and will include approximately 100,000 acres of such land, affecting 35,000 farmers. Will the Minister provide clarity? If a parcel of land with both peat and carbon has more than 50% peatland, what impact does that have on carbon soils? Can we split out, if you like, the peat and carbon? Is that possible? Is it advisable? Is it necessary? I ask this because I think it is an issue causing some concern in communities.

Noel O'Donovan (Fine Gael)
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Like all the other speakers, I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. A comment was made earlier about politics being about listening. It is something all of us as politicians need to always remember. From my engagement with the Minister so far in his role, I know he is someone who cares deeply about our farming industry and farmers right across the country. As a public representative, I am very pleased to see him as the Minister, as are the farming bodies. I look forward to working with him in respect of the farmers of west Cork.

On west Cork, it is well known that farming and our rural way of life are extremely important. As mentioned already, farming is our key indigenous industry. I would argue that west Cork is where you will find some of the most resilient and resolute farmers in the country. Obviously, I might be slightly biased in this regard. In terms of beef, dairy, pig, sheep and tillage farmers, many of these farm types would be found right across west Cork. Comment was also made about the importance in economic terms of agriculture to the local economy. The figure estimated for what agriculture brings to the local economy in Cork is €6.3 billion, and this is the highest in the State. This clear financial importance of agriculture to our economy is only one of the reasons we need to do everything we can to support the industry and work on transitioning to a greener future in a sustainable manner.

Fine Gael has always stood for a CAP that protects farmers while also meeting our climate targets. I welcome the increase in funding for eco-schemes, but we must ensure these schemes are accessible for all farmers, especially those with smaller farms. Others have spoken here about the ACRES scheme. I welcome the Minister's words that he is acutely aware of the difficulties in this regard and I look forward to working with him to ensure these schemes are more resilient and will work better in the future for farmers, many of whom I represent.

I speak to farmers most days who talk about the immense challenges they are facing. These range across many fields, including the TB crisis, the nitrates derogation or the significant increase of input costs, which is making it increasingly difficult for farmers to maintain their profitability. All these difficulties play into the issue of an ageing farmer population. If we cannot provide prospective farmers with income stability, we cannot expect our young men and women to enter the industry. This chain of events will eventually have a disastrous impact on our productivity, competitiveness, traditional heritage and our rural way of life.

One of the most pressing issues facing the farming industry, and specifically the dairy sector, is the feared loss of the nitrates derogation, which Fine Gael is committed to working to retain. I know the Minister and his officials are making a strong case for this at EU level, specifically highlighting the uniqueness of our grass-based production model. We need to develop evidence-based solutions that will sufficiently support farmers in improving water quality. As has been mentioned, the Cabinet subcommittee on water quality will provide the agricultural sector with the confidence and knowledge that the nitrates derogation will be part of a national effort seeking to protect it. In positive and significant news yesterday from the EPA, the early insights nitrogen indicators suggest that nitrogen concentrations have fallen to their lowest levels in eight years. This is extremely welcome news. It is an important finding because it shows we are on the right track in terms of water quality, which is thanks to the immense work and participation of farmers in our communities. Undoubtedly, there is still more work to be done in terms of water quality, but this cannot happen without the participation of farmers. We need to hear about their experiences, their perspectives and their aims so we can work together to improve farming overall but especially how the industry interacts with our waters. As we look to improve on this aspect, we need to further encourage the engagement of local authorities with farmers in a co-operative approach to continue to address water quality issues. This is something I am really concerned about in some areas. Local authorities need to engage more pragmatically with farmers. I ask the Minister to make special mention of this when he is discussing the issue with the local authorities.

A major priority for us is to ensure that farmers are part of our transition towards a climate-friendly future. If there is one thing I hate in the discussion on farming and the environment, it is, at times, the rural-urban divide narrative that can come into the discussion and the blame game that can enter it as well. This is helpful to no one. Farms and farmers are a crucial part of our response to climate change and not providing them with adequate supports will only prolong our journey to a greener future. West Cork farmers and, indeed, farmers nationally are willing to transition to a more environmentally friendly Ireland. They just need the correct supports to achieve this goal. It is a massive task we are asking this sector to undertake. Therefore, we need to help it in every way to respond successfully to the changing environment. Collaborating with farmers and including them at every step will allow us to carry out our traditional farming heritage as we move to a more sustainable, productive and blossoming agricultural sector for the next generation of Irish farmers. Fine Gael has always sought a CAP that balances the traditions of Irish farming with the innovation it needs to continue in this new landscape. Across agricultural sectors, farmers, farming organisations, local authorities and our environmental bodies must work together to form practical solutions. The farmers I meet are progressive, understanding and, like the Minister, care deeply for the future success and viability of the industry. It is our job as legislators to ensure that policies and, indeed, this new CAP are fair, equitable and supportive.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I do not think any other Senators are indicating they wish to speak, so I ask the Minister to reply.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I thank all the Members for their detailed contributions and the great debate on not just the CAP but also the importance of the agricultural sector to our country. There was commonality in some of the points raised, which does not surprise me. There was also a variance that really shows the geographical spread and nature of our different farming systems. The one thing we all have in common is that even though agricultural activity and the scale involved, no matter what part of rural Ireland you are in, can be different, the importance to the local economy, to the farm families and to the 171,000 people employed in the sector is equally important across the length and breadth of this country.

In the time I have, I will go through some of the points raised. I start with Senator Brady, who raised the point concerning ACRES. It is very commonly raised by many Members in the House, so I will come back to it here now. Regarding the ACRES challenge, when I got into this job, which was two months ago today, we had approximately 14,500 farmers who were unpaid 2023 applicants who had encountered significant difficulties with their applications. The vast majority of them had received an interim payment, which Senator Kyne spoke about. If someone was in receipt of a lower amount in respect of the interim payment - if someone got €4,000 or €5,000 - it meant that there was money due back. That hurts and it is not an ideal world. The alternative to that, however, was not making an interim payment and leaving those people without, which would have been worse. It is definitely symptomatic of something that was not right. We do not want to be in a position of paying out money, some of which must then be recouped in certain circumstances.

Turning to 2024 applicants, we were at 14,500 or thereabouts two months ago, but we are down below 10,000 now. We are making real progress. Senator Cathal Byrne raised this aspect as having a real impact on farmers in Wexford too. My Department's unit in Johnstown Castle in County Wexford is where we operate from for several of these schemes, including ACRES. I have been down and visited the officials there to see first-hand the systems and processes we have in place. I want to give one reassurance to people as we are making progress. I gave a very clear commitment in the Dáil and I give the same commitment here in the Upper House that it is my intention to have the vast majority of these cases resolved, cleared and paid by the end of May, with the most difficult and problematic ones to be cleared by the end of June. That is a commitment I am sticking to. I review those figures every week. I am keeping a very close eye on it and publishing these figures very regularly as well.

Additionally, this is about addressing the interventions we undertake in instances where we identify a problem with a particular application. Some of these problems are on the farmers' side, including issues around probate and title. I would say more than half of them are on my Department's side, where we have to make interventions. When we identify a problem, we could intervene with a pen and paper and make a manual intervention or we could design a bit of IT functionality that fixes the problem once and for all. If we go in with the pen and paper, we will be going in like that every year. I do not want that. I do not want these situations reoccurring next year. I want to ensure the fix to the problems we have encountered will be a one-off requirement. It is a very new scheme and a big change.

Touching on the points made by Senator Boyhan and, to an extent, Senator Noonan earlier, we have moved to this results-based system. Senator Higgins touched on this aspect in respect of there perhaps being an element of frustration that we have not got there quick enough. This results-based system, however, is a very different approach to what we are doing and it means the whole new system, with the score cards, was a very ambitious one that was undertaken. It has created challenges we are working towards solving, but I am determined we will find resolutions for all those farmers to get them paid as quickly as possible.

Senator Brady spoke about simplification. This is absolutely critical. It is key to everything we do in the next CAP. We have talked about simplification on several occasions but it has felt at times that the thing we have designed next has been more complex. We are constrained by the cost-incurred income foregone model. It will be very hard to see a move away from that in the next CAP. As long as that model is there, we will be very constrained. People talk to me about ACRES, GLAS or AEOS and say they have never been as good as REPS. My very first scheme on the farm at home was REPS and there has never been anything as good as it. That scheme, though, was paid on a whole-of-farm basis. We have now moved at the European level to this cost-incurred income foregone model. This means it is very difficult to design schemes that can adequately reward farmers for the work and effort they put in.That is where simplification is difficult. Ultimately, I see simplification meaning fewer schemes down the line. The key focus here, as has been touched on by a number of contributors, is that we get enough money for a well-funded CAP. That is the key effort we are making. I will be in Brussels again next Monday, making the argument again for a robust and fully funded CAP. After that, we can see what the schemes look like. Either way, we need to see it simplified.

Senators Duffy and Clifford-Lee raised the point about LEADER. LEADER has delivered significantly across communities over the years. In my constituency of Kildare South, we have three fantastic community centres in Castledermot, Suncroft and Rathangan that would not have been built without LEADER funding. That was ten years ago. LEADER will have an allocation of €180 million under Pillar 2. Having been involved in an application process long before I was a politician, I am aware of the red tape and bureaucracy that can be involved with LEADER. It is onerous. I will be looking at that, along with colleagues in government, as part of the next CAP reform.

Senator Boyhan talked about sustainability and gender equality. I am extremely committed to delivering on and am supportive of the national women in agriculture action plan. The Senator talked about my personal circumstances, having been raised by my mother on a farm in the 1980s, when it was hard for a female farmer. I absolutely see the importance of us getting that balance right. It is about sustainability in all the ways the Senator outlined. He talked about the need to be profitable. Sustainability is a three-legged stool. We cannot deliver for the environment and for society on sustainability for female farmers and others, including the next generation, if we do not have profitability in the sector. Economic sustainability is as important a leg of the stool as the other two elements. They are very much interdependent. That is key.

Senator Boyhan also referred to trade. Great Britain is our closest and nearest trading partner when it comes to agrifood. As a country that exports 90% of the food and drink we produce, it is critically important to us that we continue to maintain all of those close working relationships. I will be doing that. Since Brexit, we have been keen to open new markets. For example, we recently just got access for beef to Thailand. I will be in Korea later this year, where we have gained access for beef as well. At the end of the day, we have to reduce our dependency on the British market because, while Mercosur, which has been raised by a number of colleagues here, including Senator Collins, is a concern for people, the impact of that on our industry is one thing, but if Britain, where 52% of our beef goes, does a Mercosur deal, one would see an even greater impact on the price here. We have to be aware of those risks. Obviously Britain is our closest trading partner and pays well. Our product is trusted by British consumers, so we will continue to engage there, but backup options are needed so we are not dependent on any one market.

Senator O'Loughlin raised the issues of trade and tariffs in the USA. I will be leading a trade mission to the US on 6 April, during which I will visit Washington and, I hope, Chicago, along with a number of businesses in different areas. They are key businesses where we are looking to engage and put our best foot forward regarding the importance of our trade. We are working closely with the Tánaiste and his trade forum, which I will attend tomorrow. I will be raising these points in Brussels next Monday too. I spoke about this in Cabinet yesterday. Ultimately, the impact on Irish agrifood produce is potentially significant. We have many people in the whiskey sector, dairy sector and beyond who are concerned. We are engaged with Commissioner Šefovi on any countermeasures the EU might bring in. An important point to remember here, which maybe gets lost in some of the recent media coverage, is that the EU does not want to propose any lists for tariffs. We want as close a working and trading relationship with the United States as possible. We particularly want that in Ireland. Europe wants that too. These countermeasures are a result of decisions being made by the United States. It is not a position Europe wants to be in. We will work closely with our European colleagues to put our best foot forward, with the best interests of our industries here and how they may be impacted at heart.

Senator O'Loughlin the issue of raised solar farms. We included the introduction of planning guidelines for solar farms in the programme for Government, which is important. It struck me, when Senator Noonan talked about all the good work that has been done and how we build on it for biodiversity and habitats, as well as producing our top-quality food, that farmers are doing an amazing job. We are heading for three years in a row of reducing our emissions by continuing to produce that top-quality food that is so important to our economy and trade. The story we have to tell about the improving impact on our biodiversity and on our water quality, as we saw from the EPA yesterday, is really important from a trade perspective. We are not just doing this because it is the right thing for the environment. It is actually the smart business play for Irish farmers to do that. What is clear from Senators O'Loughlin's and Noonan's points is that we have pressure on our land. We have many different demands on our land. We have to manage those well.

Senators Collins and Tully raised the issue of our forgotten farmers. There is a commitment about them in the programme for Government. I am looking at my options for a scheme. There was an allocation of €5 million in the budget. It would be hard to see how that could do what needs to be done. I will try to work with that as far as I can. The Senators raised the point about full convergence. I have an open mind on convergence. There are different perspectives there and I will engage with farm organisations about that closer to the time.

The Senators raised the issue of Mercosur. As Minister for agriculture and as a Fine Gael representative, it does not come easily to me to oppose a trade deal. Trade deals are good for Ireland and good for our farmers. Irish farmers have benefited hugely from international trade deals the EU has struck. There are specific concerns regarding Mercosur. Whatever about the financial impact on our sector, which would be wanting, asking farmers to deliver greater environmental efficiency while seeing product come in at a lower footprint is where we could lose the room with farmers. That is the point I will make in Brussels and beyond and why I oppose Mercosur in its current form. In general, trade is good for our country and good for our farmers, beyond that specific deal.

Senator Noonan talked about the climate and nature fund. There is a great opportunity for us in that. I will not be found wanting in trying to chase bits of money, wherever I can get them, for all the different elements to support farmers in the important work they are doing. The multi-annual financial framework is a key part of being able to adequately fund a CAP.

I referred to some of the points that Senator Higgins raised. She talked about the EU Court of Auditors and painted a picture of our farming system that was quite negative. If she was here now, I would challenge her on throwing out that statistic about 80% of payments going to 20% of farmers. That is across Europe. It is very different in Ireland. We have a much more balanced system here. Our average farm holding here is 32 ha. The payment on that is 66% and, with the complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, CRISS, and eco-schemes, we have a much more balanced system here. It is not the case that the most money goes to a small number of big farmers. It is much more redistributed here. That is why I say I have an open mind on any next steps towards convergence.

I agree with proportionate rural development. A point was made on forestry and it was said it is a business as usual approach. Our latest forestry scheme is very generous, with €1.3 billion. It is different from what was there in the past. There was a throwaway comment about Storm Éowyn and that we have not learned. Huge damage was done to our national forestry plantation across the country by Storm Éowyn. The trees that were knocked down were trees that were planted under previous regimes where we did not do things the way we do them now, where there were monocultures. It is important we are fact-based when talking about the impact these things have on us. The programmes we have now have learned from mistakes in the past of the impact of where we plant forestry and what type of mix of forestry we have. There is an economic point. We need to have an economic return for the landowner from this. It is privately owned land. The Constitution rightly enshrines property owners' rights. The only way to get farmers to engage in this activity is if they are financially incentivised to do so. I made a point about peatlands and Senator Higgins made points on it. The measures that will be introduced will be voluntary. The only reason the farmers will do this is if it makes financial sense for them to do so and they wish to do so. We will then support them to do that in a voluntary capacity. That is really important.

I take on board the points about the native honeybee, which I know has been raised by Senator P. J. Murphy, and about apiculture. I take the Senator's point about the amount of money allocated and the number of beekeepers we have. We know the intrinsically important role the bee plays in pollination and overall. I will look at it.

I know the stone walls in south Galway were badly damaged by Storm Éowyn. I am worried that they may not be reinstated. That is why the measure in ACRES to retain those features is important. There might not be too many people who will rebuild them otherwise, and if we lose them, they will be lost for all time.On the points made about straw incorporation, I can tell Senators that, as a guy in Kildare, no one ploughed good barley straw into the ground over the past couple of years when the price of straw was where it was. I know the sense is that when straw is expensive farmers, in the west in particular, might think "Oh, that is because of straw incorporation". The type of straw that goes into the ground generally tends to be poor quality straw that would not be used for bales. It is a good system of support for tillage farmers and has proven benefits in terms of its organic nature. For farmers in the west, having a healthy, thriving tillage sector is really important as it means they can have that supply of straw and beyond.

The supports we have in place for the tillage sector are important to keep viability. I regularly say that farming is like a gearbox because if any one of the gears breaks then the wheel does not turn. We are all interdependent on one another. That is why it is in the interest of the small livestock farmer in the west that there is a healthy tillage sector. It is an ecosystem whereby we all gain from having one another and that we, as an island nation, do not depend solely on the imports of certain categories. We have seen what that was like. I live 20 minutes from Carlow town and I do not want to see another sector experience the devastation that occurred in my area in 2006 when we lost the sugar beet industry. The tillage sector is really good for our economy and also for the environment in the context of the measures it makes, as a bread crop and beyond. The tillage sector is not in that space but we do need to protect and mind it, given its benefit to us all.

Senator P. J. Murphy and a number of other Senators made a point about succession. We have the Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming, which is due to report to me in the second quarter of this year, at the end of June. I will very much keep those proposals in mind as we look to the next CAP. We absolutely want to do this. I thank Senator Kyne for his very insightful experience of the time he spent filling out those forms. I do think that people are romanticising when they look back and say, "Oh, the old retirement scheme was great." It had huge flaws. The biggest flaw was that key wording of the scheme basically said that the farmer was banished from the land and was not to be there. We knew farmers who were afraid to get caught walking across their yard carrying a bucket in case somebody reported them as being actively farming in spite of being banished from the land. There was a fear they would lose all their payments and would have to repay it all for years. It was an awful way for people to live and it is a complete anathema to what we should have. Succession should recognise the vital role and corporate knowledge of the retiring farmer or the farmer who has taken a step back. Let us be honest, farmers do not ever really retire, but we do want the option to step back and encourage the next generation to come on while leaning on and having the support of that farmer who has so much knowledge from before. I am very determined that any new scheme will strike the right balance.

Senator Sarah O'Reilly raised the point about fairness and the balanced regional element to that. I reiterate the points I made in response to Senator Higgins. On comparison with Dublin, one could be talking about the horticulture farmers in north County Dublin, who are very important, or the few on the fringes. I understand the point made by Senator O'Reilly and that sentiment that will be there from others. There are big farmers in the west and there are small farmers in the east. Sometimes comparisons are overly simplified but there is really significant balance in how we distribute payments around Ireland compared with other European countries. I will continue to make sure that there is absolute fairness in this regard in any reformed CAP. The Senator's point about simplification is at the heart of this. Farmers regularly tell me that just getting little bits of money here, there and everywhere makes it hard to see what it is all for when one puts it all together. Simplification would mean we can get the money directly to farmers using the least amount of bureaucracy. It has been a challenge to get there in the past but I am determined to have that as part of the next CAP. As for the point relating to ACRES, I have already touched on the issue.

I thank Senator Scahill for his comments. Sustainability is as important to farmers in County Roscommon as it is to farmers everywhere else. His points on that were very well made and I look forward to working with him on the challenges facing us.

Senators Cathal Byrne, Noel O'Donovan and others raised the nitrates derogation. Nitrates are hugely important for many farmers, particularly those in the south east and in Cork South-West, as I know from having been in Timoleague and other areas. There are farmers doing huge work in these areas and they should take great heart from the EPA's figures that were released yesterday. We cannot hang our hat on that alone but we know the measures are there. The Government is supporting farmers with the nitrates measures by having the €60 million Farming for Water EIP, which is a really important way of supporting farmers to take those individual measures. In addition, I brought a memo to Cabinet in recent weeks and important meetings will take place across Europe in the coming months. We are putting our best foot forward on that. The Cabinet subcommittee, which is part of the programme for Government, is coming forward now and its first meeting will take place at the end of this month. That initiative is a really important way of bringing in the local authorities. As Senator O'Donovan pointed out, the local authorities must be part of this conversation. It is not just about what farmers are doing; it is what the EPA, Uisce Éireann, local authorities and beyond are doing.

I take on board the points made about the importance of the protein aid scheme.

Senator Kyne made points about succession and GAEC 2. I will finish by discussing GAEC 2. This morning, I had another meeting with representatives of the INHFA. I tried to assuage their concerns about GAEC 2. I understand that there are concerns about this area.

On the point made about the land parcel, we must have a controllable area in order that when we are audited we can stand over and look at it. If we were to incorporate every piece of peat soil in this country, the area would amount to 750,000 ha but it would bring in 880,000 ha of mineral soils, which would be excessive. That is why we have gone with the proposal for a land parcel comprising only lands with over 50% peat in the soil. That brings in 100,000 ha of mineral soil. One can incorporate it in with that but one cannot have a smaller area. If you do anything other than that, you will bring in more mineral soils.

I want to take a step back. I can understand people's concern about this matter. This is a baseline entry requirement to qualify for the BISS scheme. This is not a designation and it is not something that will be in place forever. Plenty of the conditionality for single farm payments in the past has changed, such as the tagging and registering of cattle. That conditionality is no longer in place. This measure is conditionality for the remainder of this CAP. We cannot be sure it will exist beyond that. If it does, it may be in the form of an eco-scheme. I want to reassure people that the fears in this regard are not justified. It is a baseline entry requirement and at its heart is that farmers can continue to actively farm, plough, sow, maintain existing drains and have new drains, in line with existing national legislation. Farmers' concerns are not borne out by the facts that will be there. I continue to deal with the Commission and the farm organisations on it. I really am confident that farmers' concerns about this will not be realised and I hope to be able to provide clarity to them in a letter in the near future. Farmers can already look up the online system on agfood.agriculture.gov.ieto look at their own land parcels and put the Hammond map in over their own farm holding to see what that map looks like. Most of them will already have a very good idea of those that are in there but this is about a minimum baseline requirement that will not impact their day-to-day farming activity.

I look forward to working with colleagues in this House in my term ahead. Having been a Minister of State for four and a half years, served on Front Bench duty and regularly been in here answering questions on behalf of other Ministers, I strongly believe that this House deserves respect to be shown by ensuring that when a question on agriculture is asked, we will endeavour to ensure that a Minister or Minister of State from my Department will answer it. We will be here and answerable to the Members of this House. That is the least this House and its Members deserve. As far as is possible we will try to stick to that. It is really important.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for that commitment. It will be very much welcomed by Members of this House. That respect is very important and I am sure it will be reciprocated. We have had a very worthwhile debate.

When is it proposed to sit again?

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Next Tuesday at 2.30 p.m.

Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.