Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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745. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the financial support which will be made available to farmers for nature restoration in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55102/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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My Department is supporting farmers in the critical work that they undertake in conserving and restoring nature, across many fronts. My colleague the Minister of State for Nature, Heritage & Biodiversity has lead responsibility for the development of Ireland's Nature Restoration Plan .

The Deputy may be aware that I secured an increased allocation of €280m funding in the 2026 budget for the flagship agri-environment scheme, ACRES. This demonstrates my Department’s continued commitment to nature restoration. Almost 54,000 farmers are participating in ACRES. These farmers are undertaking actions that support nature, biodiversity and the environment. Both ACRES General and ACRES CP actions focus on habitat and biodiversity improvement measures with over one million hectares scored for habitat condition.

Additionally, schemes under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan, such as the ECO Scheme rewards over 100,000 farmers in providing Space for Nature. My Department also supports some 100,000 farmers through the Areas of Natural Constraint scheme, this land tends to have a high value in terms of nature and biodiversity. These schemes aim to preserve habitats and landscapes.

Forestry is a key support of nature and biodiversity. Funding of €93 million for the forestry sector was secured in the 2026 budget, which is a 5.7% increase on the 2025 allocation.

Earlier this year I announced the awarding of €17.8 million to eleven European Innovation Partnership projects on the theme of environmental sustainability. These key projects will promote regenerative agriculture practices to restore soil health, enhance biodiversity and improve the resilience of Irish farming systems. This builds on the existing catalogue of successful EIPs supported by my Department such as Waters for Life and Breeding Waders projects.

My Department is committed to supporting farmers and foresters in respect of nature restoration in 2026.