Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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570.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the unharvested crop support scheme covers the costs associated with loss of seeds; if not, if he will consider extending the scheme to include the loss of seed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24684/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Last November, I introduced the Unharvested Crop Support Scheme to support growers who were unable to harvest their cereal crops due to wet weather. A condition of the scheme was that only barley, oats, wheat and rye that was declared by the applicant in their 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application, that remained unharvested on the closing date of the scheme, which was 24 November 2023, would be eligible for support.

Payments worth €1.665m were made to 236 eligible applicants under the Unharvested Crop Support Scheme. This targeted scheme was paid at a rate of €1,000 per hectare on up to 20 hectares.

Payments under the Scheme were made in January 2024 under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1465 which provided for financial support from the EU Agricultural Reserve. As payments had to be made by 31^st January 2024 as specified under the regulation, it is not possible to further extend the scheme at this time.