Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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714. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his proposals to maximise capacity for students applying for green certs within the Education and Training Board sector in 2022-2023. [37923/22]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Green Cert relates to an approved agricultural-based course on completion of which a student is deemed to be a qualified farmer for the purposes of all Revenue and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) schemes. Green Certificate courses are available throughout 10 Education and Training Boards, covering agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and equine.

From enquiries made by my officials with SOLAS, I understand that there were some 600 participants on green certificate courses during 2021 and that there are no plans to significantly expand provision within the ETB sector. The main agency with responsibility for the Green Certificate and the substantive provider is Teagasc.