David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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59. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department is undertaking to ensure that provisions for farm safety and farmer well-being are being incorporated into the formation of the next Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26784/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The CAP Strategic Plan is currently under development in the Department. The SWOT and Needs assessment process has been completed and Health and Safety has been identified as an area that requires further attention. Health and safety elements will be incorporated as appropriate and my officials are developing measures to reflect this. You can expect to see Health and Safety feature strongly in our training programmes for farmers and advisors as well as through the various measures from on farm investments to livestock handling.

Under the current Rural Development Programme (RDP), health and safety is incorporated into the on-farm investment scheme (TAMS) with support available for a wide range of safety measures and equipment. Health and safety is also a key element of all training and knowledge transfer schemes for farmers and advisors. This year under the transitional arrangements, I have secured funding of €1m to consider innovative solutions to Health and Safety under the locally led Innovation Partnership model (EIP’s). I intend to take the learnings from these projects and see how they can inform our policy and supports for health and safety in any future measures.