Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the full-year cost of all poultry sector supports in 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and the breakdown per scheme. [41050/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The poultry sector continues to make a valuable contribution to Irish agrifood sector, supporting approximately 5,000 jobs in direct and indirect employment. The CSO valued the output of the poultry meat sector at €225.7 million for 2023.

As in other meat sectors, global trade conditions will be crucial in determining the outlook for the Irish poultry sector over the medium to longer term. 2024 has shown signs of growth in overall poultry production with slaughter figures, as of Week 38 of 2024, up by 2.5% on the same period of 2023.

My Department co-funded with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment a substantial €100m Capital Investment Scheme for the Processing and Marketing of Agriculture products, administered by Enterprise Ireland, which opened in January of 2021 and closed in November of 2022. The scheme offered transformational capital investment in SME’s & Large companies, including in the poultry sector, to enable them pursue product and market diversification strategies to achieve greater value add.

The current main supports provided by my Department to the sector are:

The Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH). Over €126,000 was spent in 2024 with a similar figure being made available in 2025.

Under the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), and specifically the Pig and Poultry Capital Investment Scheme (PPIS), the Poultry Sector has seen almost €3.77 million paid towards eligible applications. The total amount committed, based on approved applications, for the remainder of 2024 and 2025 is just over € 2.13 million. The actual expenditure will depend on the number of claims submitted in respect of completed investments.

The Department also allocates funding annually for the compensation of Zoonotic Salmonella in poultry via a Scheme of financial assistance in cases of Salmonella outbreaks in poultry flocks, on an ex gratia basis. The Scheme applies only to suspected or confirmed outbreaks of Salmonella Enteriditis and Salmonella Typhimurium. In 2024 the allocation was € 135,000 with a similar allocation envisaged for 2025.