Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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491. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to guarantee that farmers receive a fair price for their produce, particularly in light of supermarket price pressures and rising input costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4593/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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On 13 December 2023 my Department established An Rialálaí Agraibhia (The Agri-Food Regulator), an independent statutory body under the aegis of my Department. While the Regulator has no function to examine price setting between suppliers and buyers, the role of the Regulator is to promote fairness and transparency in the agricultural and food supply chain, and to have regard to the circumstances and needs of the agricultural and food sector including, in particular, farmers, fishers and small food businesses It does this in a number of ways including by implementing its two main functions:

• an enforcement function in relation to unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain with a view to strengthening the position of smaller suppliers against larger buyers with greater bargaining power, and
• a price and market analysis function, aimed at ensuring more transparency and fairness throughout the agri-food supply chain.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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492. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether he supports the introduction of legislation to ensure that farmers are paid above the cost of production for their goods, similar to models used in other European Union countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4594/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I am supportive of initiatives that strengthen the position of farmers in the supply chain.

There are ongoing discussions at EU level on proposed amendments to the CMO and UTP Regulations. At the most recent Agri Council meeting in Brussels, I supported Commissioner Hansen’s initiatives to further strengthen farmers’ position in the food supply chain, including by strengthening contractual arrangements, and to further protect them against unfair trading practices.

In December 2023, my Department established An Rialálaí Agraibhia (The Agri-Food Regulator) as an independent statutory body under its aegis. The Regulator has two main functions:

an enforcement function in relation to unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain with a view to strengthening the position of smaller suppliers against larger buyers with greater bargaining power; and

a price and market analysis function, aimed at ensuring more transparency and fairness throughout the agri-food supply chain.

It must be noted also that because Ireland exports almost 90% of the food we produce, external markets in general determine the price paid to Irish producers or food companies.

The Agri-Food Regulator is performing a critical function in bringing greater transparency to the agricultural and food supply chain which will help improve decision-making by farmers and other food suppliers.

It should also be noted that significant support is provided to farmers via payments under the €9.8 billion CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) and via sector-specific supports. Some €2 billion is paid to farmers annually, including through specialised support measures under the CSP and national schemes, which are solely funded by the exchequer across a range of sectors.

My Department has also expanded the array of sectors under which groups can apply for recognised Producer Organisation status. This status was developed at EU level primarily to improve the bargaining power of farmers and producers.