Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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258. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the schemes available to assist small farmers in transitioning to sustainable practices, including low-emission slurry spreading and biodiversity projects; if additional funding will be provided to support these initiatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66466/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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One of the four objectives of the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is to contribute to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, enhance ecosystem services and preserve habitats and landscapes.

Over 287,000 hectares of commonage has been included in the scheme, meaning farmers are incentivised to manage and restore this high value land. Over 54,000 farmers are participating in ACRES, our flagship agri-environmental scheme.

The Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3) provides grants to all farmers including small farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings. All investments must be linked to Climate, Environment or Animal Welfare so there is clear support for small farmers in transitioning to sustainable practices.

The practice of Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) is an important environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland meeting its environmental commitments through reductions in ammonia and other reactive nitrogen emissions from soil. Within TAMS 3, there is also a specific LESS scheme that has a ring-fenced investment ceiling of €40k per holding with grant aid support at an enhanced rate of 60%, compared to the standard support of 40%.

TAMS 3 is open to all farmers who have a minimum of 5 hectares of eligible land which has been declared under the Basic Payment Scheme/Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS), or equivalent, in the year of application, or preceding year.

Many of the European Innovation Partnerships (EIP's) funded by my Department also support farmers in sustainability initiatives.

ACRES, TAMS and EIPs are all funded by my Department through the CAP Strategic Plan 2023 - 2026, with co-funding provided by the European Commission.