Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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592. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration has been given to providing grants for farmers and growers that adopt hydroponic or vertical farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13153/20]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides grant aid for the horticulture sector through the scheme of investment aid for the development of the commercial horticulture sector.

This scheme grant aids capital investments in specialised plant and equipment as well as emerging technologies specific to commercial horticulture production, including hydroponics and vertical farming. Under this scheme, aid at a rate of 40% (or a maximum rate of 50% in the case of young farmers) is payable on the accepted cost of approved capital investments or equipment. For 2020 €6 million has been allocated to this scheme, which is 100% funded by the Irish Government and operates on a competitive basis, based on the availability of funds and the ongoing priorities for each sector within the industry as well as the quality and scale of the proposals.