Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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495. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he is implementing to ensure the viability of family farms and encourage younger generations to remain in farming, given the rising costs and regulatory challenges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4597/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department monitors information on farms and the wider agri-food sector, in collaboration with Teagasc and the Central Statistics Office (CSO), on an ongoing basis.

Family farms have shown great resilience in recent years. Incomes have consistently increased over the last five years, with the exception of 2023 which was a challenging year. The current situation is much improved with latest figures indicating input prices are down almost 6% on an annual basis and output prices up almost 22%.

The outlook for farm incomes is positive with incomes for 2024 estimated to have increased by 49% on average across all sectors, with 2025 forecasts anticipating a further increase of over 20%.

I remain vigilant of developments and continue to support farmers via payments under the €9.8 billion CAP Strategic Plan and via specific supports. Some €2 billion is paid to farmers annually, including through specialised support measures under the CAP Strategic Plan, and national schemes which are solely funded by the exchequer across a range of sectors.

Supporting young farmers and facilitating generational renewal is critical to ensure a bright future for the agri-food sector. The challenge of attracting young persons into a career in farming is widely recognised, both at national and EU level. Last October, an independent Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming was established. This Commission is taking an objective and robust evidence-based look at all of the factors in play to ensure that we make optimal use of the policy tools and other supports available to encourage young people into the sector. The Commission is engaging closely with stakeholders before issuing a report on options for the future by the end of June this year.