Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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946. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he and his Department are taking to ensure food supply in Ireland in winter 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18316/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The people of Ireland have shown great solidarity and support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and, on their behalf, the Government will continue to co-ordinate a humanitarian, economic and diplomatic response to the crisis.

Ireland is one of the most food secure countries in the world. However, at farm level, the crisis is already impacting on the price of animal feed, fertiliser and fuel. Within the Department, I have established a Rapid Response Team, chaired by the Secretary General, to actively monitor the impacts on agri-food supply chains and to contribute to the whole of Government response to this crisis. I have established the National Fodder and Food Security Committee, led by Teagasc, and tasked it to prepare an industry response to the emerging crisis in feed, fodder, fertiliser and other inputs, and to develop contingency plans and advice to assist farmers in managing their farm enterprises. I have just launched a targeted intervention package for the tillage sector and a multi-species sward initiative, which together are worth over €12 million in support to Irish farmers. The package is aimed at producing more native crops and reducing dependency on imports, and on producing crops with a low demand for chemical fertiliser. An emergency aid scheme for pig farmers of €7 million opened for applications on 7 March. This will provide commercial pig farmers a payment of up to €20,000 each. The first payments to pig farmers under this scheme began to issue on 25 March. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is the key mechanism for ensuring food security throughout Europe. I have been engaged with EU Agriculture Ministers since the beginning of the crisis and on 23rd March the European Commission announced, via the communication “Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food systems”, a range of actions to enhance global food security and to support farmers and consumers in the EU in light of rising food prices and input costs. A €500 million package to support EU farmers most affected includes an allocation of €15.8 million for Ireland, which can be topped up by national funding. I will be examining ways to best mobilise this support as soon as possible, taking account of the detailed requirements and conditionality attached to this exceptional aid provision.

I will continue to engage with all our stakeholders and will continue to work across Government, and with our European partners, to respond to this crisis using all of the tools at our disposal. Last year, according to the Economist's Global Food Security Index, Ireland was ranked first in terms of food security across a range of indicators. While my Department are monitoring the situation closely, all indications suggest that Ireland will continue to be a food secure country.