Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are examples of previous recipients of funding under the European Innovation Partnership Programme in Ireland who have been able to scale up and expand the projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25102/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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European Innovation Partnership projects (EIPs) were introduced under Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the 2014-2022 Rural Development Programme (RDP), and have been continued under the co-operation measure of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. EIPs seek to address agricultural challenges by providing support to Operational Groups (OGs) comprised of a range of actors (farmers, academics, environmental groups, NGOs, etc.), to share knowledge, test innovative solutions and put research results into practice through a bottom-up, locally led approach.

I acknowledge the excellent work done to date under the EIP Programme, and am pleased to note that learnings from the projects have informed the wider development of policy by my Department, most particularly in relation to the ACRES Scheme, which has built on the experience of the Hen Harrier Programme, the Pearl Mussel Project and the BRIDE Project, among others.

With approximately 20,000 participants, the ACRES Co-Operation approach involves a major scaling up from the relevant EIPs and Locally Led schemes in high-priority geographical areas. ACRES aims to contribute significantly to achieving improved biodiversity, climate, air and water quality outcomes through a habitats-based approach, delivered through both multi-functional prescription and results-based actions.

The Farming for Water EIP also demonstrates the application of the EIP model at scale, with a target participation of 15,000 farmers and a total budget of €60 million, co-funded by the National Exchequer and the EU, of which €50 million is being funded by my Department for farmer payments.

In addition, the Breeding Wader EIP, jointly funded with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, with an expected participation of 650 farmers and a budget allocation of €7.5 million from my Department for farmer payments, seeks to build on the work of previous EIPs in managing farmland for biodiversity through a habitat-based approach.

As part of the CAP Strategic Plan, I have recently announced the approval of 20 new EIP projects, which will be moving to implementation in the coming months. Some of these projects will build on work done by previous EIPs or will seek to expand on elements of previous projects that merit further investigation.

With a total budget allocation under the current CSP of €36 million, I am confident that the EIP programme will continue to deliver for farmers, for the environment and for society as a whole.