Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2178. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support a €60 million annual investment for a new tillage scheme, aiming to boost crop production which would include a €400 per ha payment for new land converted to tillage and €250 per ha annually for subsequent years, with a €250 per ha payment for existing tillage land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41675/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This Government recognises the importance of the tillage sector and wants to grow the area under tillage crops in the years ahead. Reflecting this importance, my Department has provided significant direct supports to tillage farmers in recent years.

This year, the budget for the Protein Aid Scheme is €10m and will remain at €10m for the remainder of the current CAP Strategic Plan. Under the Straw Incorporation Measure this year, application for over 66,000 hectares of cereals and oilseed rape straw were submitted for chopping and incorporating under the Scheme. I made the decision early to pay all farmers who have applied under the Scheme this year to give them certainty while also giving them an economic boost.

In February this year, I announced €32.4 million of payments under the Tillage and Horticulture Support Scheme which was Government’s response to the difficult position tillage and horticultural farmers found themselves in due to exceptionally poor weather and continued high input costs last Spring. This exceeds the €30 million provided for in the 2025 Budget, but I was anxious that we would be able to make the payment on every hectare of eligible ground.

The tillage sector is also being supported under other schemes including the Tillage Capital Investment Scheme, ACRES, the Organic Farming Scheme and the Water Quality EIP.

I will continue to work with the tillage sector and provide targeted support in line with budgetary allocations given the importance of the sector within the wider agricultural industry.