James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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77. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider expanding tillage supports to dairy farmers given the ongoing and unusual dry weather. [38512/22]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that I established the National Fodder and Food Security Committee in March of this year.

I tasked the Committee with preparing a multi-sectoral response to identify those issues that will arise for feed, fodder, fertiliser and other inputs and to develop contingency plans and advice to assist farmers in managing their farm enterprises.

Central at that time was the announcement of the Targeted Intervention Package which identified three key pillars aimed at supporting Irish families arising both from events in Ukraine and wider global price volatility. The package seeks to incentivise the planting of additional tillage crops through the Tillage Incentive Scheme and introduces supports to encourage farmers to grow protein crops in 2022. Supporting domestic production of tillage and protein crops is a key mechanism in reducing Ireland’s reliance on imported feed materials.

The Package also included a Multi-Species Sward Initiative and a Red Clover Silage Measure to promote environmentally sustainable methods of farming, and thereby reduce nitrogen fertiliser usage, while maintaining forage yield.

I would like to make the Deputy aware that the various measures introduced under the Targeted Intervention Package as already outlined are available to all farmers including dairy farmers.

The National Fodder and Food Security Committee will continue to advise me in the coming months on issues relating to the security of supply of fodder for the coming winter.