Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2248. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of hectares of land in the State eligible for payment under the single farm payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44207/25]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2249. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of entitlements held by farmers; the number of naked hectares which are eligible for payment but not claimed on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44234/25]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2251. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of hectares of land claimed on, with entitlements that is used for livestock; the number used for tillage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44303/25]

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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2252. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of hectares of land claimed on with entitlements are classified as commonage, rough grazing or uplands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44375/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 2248, 2249, 2251 and 2252 together.

My Department operates a wide range of area-based schemes to support farmers. In order for farmers to draw down payment under any of these schemes they must annually submit a "Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) and other area-based schemes" form via the agfood system. Farmers or their appointed agents are required to claim the specific land parcels, the crops contained within and indicate which of the specific schemes they wish to apply for.

BISS is the primary payment scheme and is designed to provide a direct income support to Irish farmers to underpin their continued sustainability and viability. By supporting viable farm incomes, this intervention supports farmers in the continuation of a secure food supply. Support is based on the size of a holding and the number and value of payment entitlements held. This scheme was previously know as the Basic Payment Scheme and the Single Farm Payment.

Payment entitlements are not related to a specific enterprise type. In 2024 the total claimed area was 4,781,121 hectares across 125,077 applications. These farmers held a total of 4,512,931 entitlements, with payment issuing under BISS on 4,456,409 hectares. As farmers sometimes have excess land claimed over entitlements held, the total payable area is less than the claimed area. Other farmers may have more entitlements than claimed land and hence the total area paid on nationally is less than the total number of entitlements

The crops declared are also included as part of the BISS application. Less than 10% is under tillage in 2024 and grassland is the predominant crop in Ireland at approximately 90%. There is a small area of permanent crops for example willow and also BISS eligible forestry.

357,329 hectares of commonage land was declared in 2024 and all of this area is grassland. The BISS application does not contain an indicator for rough grazing but within the Areas of Natural of Natural Constraint (ANC) scheme there is a Category 1 classification. The system of farming prevalent in Category 1 is characterised by extensive farming practices focused on livestock management on higher ground, with in excess of 1 million hectares declared in 2024 under this heading. Many of the commonages would be contained within Category 1 areas.

Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin (Wicklow-Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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2250. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there will be an area based scheme sought by organisations (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44238/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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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, applications 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.