Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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1620.To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has analysed the increased cost of food production in Ireland over the past five years; and, if so, the details of these cost increases over the past five years. [31155/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The agri-food sector has faced numerous challenges over the past five years, including the challenges posed by Brexit, COVID-19, geopolitical events such as the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and periodic adverse weather conditions. This has resulted in a greatly changed trading environment with our closest neighbour, the closure of the food service sector for much of 2020 and 2021, and a rapid rise in input costs during 2022 and 2023. These factors combined have contributed to an increase in the cost of food production.

The CSO's Agricultural Input Price Index was 23% higher in April 2024, the most recent month for which data is available, compared to April 2019. This compares to an approximate increase of 37% in the Agricultural Output Price Index over the same period. On a full-year basis, the available data indicates the Agricultural Input Price Index increased by 38% between 2019 and 2023, while the Agricultural Output Price Index increased by 33% over the same period.

I have provided several measures and considerable support to the agri-food sector in addressing the challenges it has faced during this time. The largest support is of course the €10 billion funding for the CSP which is the largest ever provided by a Government here. Additional supports have included direct aid such as the Fodder Support Scheme, Tillage Incentive Scheme and Horticulture Crisis Fund in recent years; as well as investment aid and other measures funded from Ireland's allocation under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund. Further, low-cost loans have been made available, such as the Future Growth Loan Scheme, the Covid-19 Loan Scheme and the Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme. Such loan schemes were designed in partnership with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) to promote resilience among other objectives.

I will continue to engage with stakeholders and to work across Government to provide support for farm families.