John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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142. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures his Department will take to support farmers in meeting national climate-reduction targets; if additional financial supports will be made available to assist with emissions-reducing technologies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65230/25]

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Agriculture sector is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030.

My Department is assisting farmers with their transition to more sustainable practices while also supporting family farm incomes with a budget of €9.8bn under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan.

In ACRES which is Ireland’s flagship environmental scheme, 54,000 farmers are contributing to a range of environmental, biodiversity, climate and water quality objectives. This has resulted in the planting of over 500,000 trees and over 2,500 kilometres of new hedgerows nationally.

I have secured an additional allocation of €280 million for ACRES in 2026 to continue this work.

I have also increased funding for Organic Farming which has resulted in 248,000 hectares currently being farmed organically in Ireland.

Approximately 16,000 farmers participate in the Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) to improve the genetic merit and the carbon efficiency of our national beef herd.

A budget of €1.3 billion underpins our National Forestry Programme for the period 2023-2027, and for 2026, I have increased the allocation by 5.7% to €93 million which is supporting farmers and industry to reach climate targets by way of carbon capture.

My Department is providing additional financial supports to assist with emissions-reducing technologies, and for 2026 I have allocated €88 million to the Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS). I am a firm believer in the positive impact of TAMS because it supports competitiveness of Irish farms, as well as actions on climate and water quality.

Since 2020, my Department has provided over €48 million in climate-related agricultural research and innovation funding from both national and international research calls.

My Department’s support of agri-climate research will also be key in the development of new technologies which will support the sector in meeting our national climate targets.