Written Answers Nos. 1-20
11. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his Department’s plans to develop markets for Irish organic produce to match the increase in the number of farmers entering the organic farming scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38248/22]
View answerI am committed to achieving our target of 7.5% of utilisable land under oganic production by 2027 and the implementing of the National Organic Strategy 2025 which outlines the actions and supports necessary to remove the barriers to the growth of the organic sector.
The primary objective of the strategy is to develop a viable Organic Food Sector in Ireland producing a wide range of organic products to meet the ever increasing domestic and export markets opportunities.
In 2022, a new Organic Strategy Forum was established to continue to implement the National Organic Strategy and to further develop the organic sector in Ireland. The Forum comprises a range of stakeholders including from the farming and food processing sectors, organic certification bodies and relevant State Agencies including Bord Bia. This group will be the forum for discussion on all relevant issues to the Irish organic sector including addressing market demand.
Minister of State Hackee will be leading a high-level trade mission to Germany this month to coincide with Biofach, the largest organic trade fair in Europe to help promote organic Irish food and drink in the German market.
Furthermore, to assist in meeting market demand for organic produce, my Department currently offers funding to processors who wish to invest in developing facilities for the processing, preparation, grading, packing and storage of organic products under The Organic Processing Investment Grant Scheme. It is a demand led scheme and all eligible applications received are assessed based on the terms and conditions of the scheme. A budget of €1.2 million has been allocated to this Scheme for 2022 with a maximum payment of €700,000 available on eligible expenditure.
It is through initiatives like these that we will continue to develop the sector at production and processing level and help meet increasing domestic and export market opportunities for organic produce.
Oganics is a really exciting sector and is one I will continue to support.
14. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the work that he is undertaking to ensure the security of supply of fodder for the coming winter. [38513/22]
View answerSupporting our farm families through this turbulent period remains my number one commitment. The Deputy may be aware that shortly after the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, I met with the main farm organisations and Teagasc on 8th March 2022 to discuss the impact of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine on Irish agriculture and supply chains.
At that meeting, I established the National Fodder and Food Security Committee and tasked it with preparing an industry response to the emerging crisis in feed, fodder, fertiliser and other inputs, and to develop contingency plans and advice to assist farmers in managing their farm enterprises.
Following the first meeting of this Committee, Teagasc issued advice to farmers on how to manage their farms during the current grass growing season with a view to securing sufficient fodder for next winter.
The advice includes applying sufficient fertiliser on grassland and crops, on the basis of a fodder budget for winter 2022 so as ensure that sufficient fodder is conserved. In addition, Teagasc commenced a nationwide advertisement campaign giving advice to farmers along with extensive engagement with farmer clients.
On the 22nd March 2022, I also announced a Targeted Intervention Package, framed around three pillars to support Irish farming families arising both from events in Ukraine and wider global price volatility. The total package is projected to cost in the region of €12.2 million.
The Tillage Incentive Scheme has a budget of €10 million. The Tillage Incentive Scheme incentivises farmers to grow more tillage crops, at a payment rate of €400 per hectare. Farmers must increase their overall tillage and protein crops on their holding and the additional land payable under the scheme must have been in grassland and other crops in 2021.
Support was also provided to incentivise farmers to grow more protein crops, to reduce Ireland's dependency on imported feed. A rate of €300 per hectare for Protein Aid (eligible crops include beans, peas and lupins) and €150 per hectare for the Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme.
The land declared on farmers' 2022 BPS application is the basis for eligibility for these schemes. The formal application for the Tillage Incentive Scheme and the Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme opened on 27th June 2022, with a closing date of 20th July 2022. Some 4,000 applicants are eligible for the Tillage Incentive Scheme and some 170 applicants are potentially eligible for the Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme.
While the area eligible is still subject to change, it is expected to be circa. 25,000 hectares in the Tillage Incentive Scheme and 1,000 hectares in Protein/Cereal Mix Crop Scheme. The budget for both schemes is expected to be fully utilised.
The March 2022 package also included a Multi-Species Sward Initiative and a Red Clover Silage Measure, to promote environmentally sustainable methods of farming, and thereby reduce nitrogen fertiliser usage, while maintaining forage yields.
The Deputy may also be aware that in addition to the €12 million already mentioned earlier, on the 14th June 2022 the Government approved a new €56 million Fodder Support Scheme which opened for online applications on the 17th June 2022.
It will remain open for applications until 2nd August 2022. The objective here is to support farm families to conserve silage and hay this year to ensure that nationally we have adequate stocks of fodder over next winter. Areas entered by farmers under the scheme must be cut and conserved as hay or silage by Monday 5th September 2022. To date, over 24,000 applications have been received under this Scheme. Payment will be at the rate of up to €100 per Hectare with a 10 Hectare limit.
I am confident that the various financial supports will assist farmers in providing sufficient fodder for winter 2022. I remain committed in supporting our farm families through this challenging period.
15. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether food production policy in Ireland needs to be revised given the recent report by an organisation (details supplied) on the state of food security and nutrition in the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38602/22]
View answerThe 2022 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report underpins the stark reality on the escalating number of people worldwide who face hunger every day. The latest figures show an increase of 150 million people in 2019 to a staggering level of 829 million people at the end of 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflict and the increasing cost of fuel, fertiliser and feeding-stuff are all impact negatively on the global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 target of Zero Hunger by 2030. This distressing level of hunger will inevitably get worse as a result of the illegal Russian war on Ukraine, its use of food as a weapon, the targeting of food facilities and the blockading of grain exports in the Black Sea.
The UN Food Systems Summit, in which I participated last year, affirmed that foods system hold the power to realise our shared vision for a better world without global hunger, poverty and inequality.
I am committed to pursuing a sustainable food systems approach both in relation both to Ireland’s own agri-food system, and also to my Department’s international development cooperation efforts.
Food Vision 2030 is the strategy for the sustainable development of the agri-food sector. Both the strategy and its recently published implementation plan, have missions and goals aligned with specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets.
Food Vision 2030 sets an ambition that Ireland will become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade. The strategy was developed by a stakeholder committee, taking a food systems approach, and recognising the importance of the economic, environmental and social aspects of sustainability.
Food Vision 2030 sets out four high-level Missions for the sector to work towards:
1. A Climate Smart, Environmentally Sustainable Agri-Food Sector
2. Viable and Resilient Primary Producers with Enhanced Well-Being
3. Food that is Safe, Nutritious And Appealing, Trusted And Valued at Home and Abroad
4. An Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Agri-Food Sector, Driven by Technology And Talent
Each of these missions is well thought out, with ambitious goals rooted in a strongly practical approach to what needs to be achieved.
I am leading on the implementation of Food Vision which is already underway, with many of its actions commenced. I have chaired three meetings of the Food Vision 2030 High Level Implementation Committee which will provide leadership in progressing the missions and actions set out in the Food Vision strategy.
I believe Food Vision 2030 provides a pathway for a dynamic, sustainable and innovative agri-food sector ready to adapt and to embrace change for a more sustainable future.
I am confident that, with Food Vision 2030 as a strategic framework, Ireland’s agri-food sector will achieve its ambition to become a world leader in sustainable food systems.
16. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way that he can support farmers and the agri-food sector to achieve its carbon emissions targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38519/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, all sectors of the economy will have to deliver on challenging targets in order to achieve the economy wide 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
The agriculture sector will need to reduce emissions by between 22% to 30% by 2030, this will require signficant change across each one of our 140,000 family farms. I have been clear that a whole-of-sector, whole-of-government approach will be needed to achieve our objectives. Regulation, public supports and incentives, in conjunction with private industry supports will all an important role.
In terms of public supports, the CAP Strategic Plan, which is currently going through the approval process, will undoubtedly be a key pillar of the State's climate action support. The CAP Strategic Plan will provide €9.8bn of support the economic, environmental and social sustainability for farmers and rural communities.
Key elements of this plan include:
- a new Eco-scheme. This scheme has a number of climate- and environment-focused farming practices, which will be open to all farmers. These include practices aimed at reducing chemical nitrogen usage, increasing tree planting, increasing nature- and biodiversity-rich land areas and encouraging extensive livestock production;
- an ambitious new Pillar II environmental scheme, the ACRES scheme, targeted at 50,000 participants. This will be underpinned by a greater focus on results-based actions and on collective actions aimed at achieving landscape-scale benefits;
- an Organic Farming Scheme aimed at more than tripling the area of agricultural land that is farmed organically;
- A suckler carbon efficiency scheme which will contribute to the objective of early finishing times of our prime beef cattle. This will reward farmers with a payment of €150/cow on the first 10 cows, compared with €90/cow on the outgoing BDGP.
In addition, I established two Food Vision 2030 working groups on dairy and on beef and sheep meat which will set out a clear roadmap to enable the sectors reduce emissions.
I have already committed support, such as through supporting Soil Sampling to measure soil carbon, support for low and indeed in some cases, no Nitrogen crops such as Multi-species and Red clover mixes.
I will work with industry to ensure that their sustainability payment supports fully align with our public supports. By taking this coordinated approach, I am confident the sector will be able to achieve its climate objectives.
17. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which his Department is supporting farmers in the production of biomethane on farms from animal manure and other agricultural by-products by a process of using anaerobic digestion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38531/22]
View answerAnaerobic digestion (AD) is a proven science for the generation of sustainable energy and it is a largerly untapped resource in this country. I believe there is potential to develop anaerobic digestion on Irish farms, especially considering the current global energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It should be noted however, that energy policy formation, including renewable energy, is the direct responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC). However, my Department is engaging with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on all energy related matters from an agricultural perspective, as well as a wide range of industry and other stakeholder groupings.
My Department continues to engage with farmers and other relevant stakeholders as part of its regulatory role in the Anaerobic Digestion industry specifically when animal-by-products are utilised as a feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion. There are currently 12 anaerobic digesters producing biogas in operation nationally that are approved and under license by my Department.
The development of an anaerobic digestion industry in Ireland must be based on scientific research and country specific data. To this end, my Department continues to support research, development and demonstration in this particular area.
Two projects in particular which have received part-funding from my Department through the European Innovation Partnerships initiative (EIP), as part of the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 will provide this much needed information. The Bio-refinery Glas (small scale farmer-led green bio-refineries) and Irish Bio-energy Association (IrBEA) (small biogas demonstration programme) have both been awarded funding of over €900,000 each.
I look forward to seeing the results of these projects which will provide valuable information of specific relevance to Irish farmers. The development of an AD indsutry could be a strong new income stream for farm families too.
18. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has undertaken any study to measure the increase in costs for green diesel and the burden that this is having on farmers. [38213/22]
View answerI am very conscious of the impact on the agri-food sector of increased input costs, and particularly price rises in the energy sector, which have been amplified by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. I have worked to deliver measures and supports for our farm families who have been impacted by the increased costs of inputs as a result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
I meet with stakeholders on an ongoing basis to discuss the impact of the Ukraine crisis on Irish agriculture and supply chains. Since the invasion of Ukraine started, I have announced a number of measures, valued at €91 million, to assist the agri-food sector. These targeted measures will help Irish farmers at a time of escalating costs and build resilience against the expected impact of the situation in Ukraine.
While primary responsibility for the taxation of fuel lies with the Minister for Finance, I continue to work closely with him to ensure that the tax code reflects the Government’s priorities for the agri-food sector.
As the Deputy may be aware, gas oil that qualifies for a reduced rate of Mineral Oil Tax is marked green and is usually referred to as Marked Gas Oil (MGO), green diesel or agricultural diesel.
Mineral Oil Tax is comprised of a non-carbon component and a carbon component. Following reductions applied by the Minister for Finance to the non-carbon component of the tax this year, the current rate of Mineral Oil Tax on agricultural diesel is €111.14 per 1000 litres. This compares very favourably to the current rate applied to auto diesel which is €405.38 per 1000 litres.
It should be noted that those who incur expenses in relation to farm diesel in the course of farming or the trade of agricultural contracting may claim an income tax or corporation tax deduction for these expenses, including any carbon tax charged in respect of the diesel.
I also note that Section 664A of the Taxes Consolidation Act, as amended, provides further relief on expenditure incurred by farmers in respect of an increase in the carbon tax on farm diesel.
I continue to engage with all our stakeholders and continue to work across Government, and with our European partners, to respond to this crisis, using all of the tools at our disposal. I am taking a very proactive approach to the crisis in Ukraine.
We must protect our agri-food sector and farm families through this period of significant upheaval.
19. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of afforestation licences issued per week from 1 January to 30 June 2022; the number of afforestation licences issued in the same timeframe in 2021; if these figures are on target as per the Forestry Licencing Plan 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37345/22]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has committed to issuing 5,250 forestry licences this year, which is an increase of 30% on the number issued last year. The Forestry Licensing Plan was published at the start of the year and sets out a range of forestry priorities for 2022.
As regards progression towards our overall target at the end of Quarter 2 up to 30th June, 2,449 licences have issued, just short of the projected average of 2,635 at 93%. It is, however, inevitable, in the context of the annual target figures, there will be fluctuations in licence output and across categories from week to week.
Across the individual categories of private felling, Coillte felling and roads we are close to or above our projected target. I acknowledge that we have not reached expected levels in relation to afforestation at 57%. However when compared to our output at the same time last year we are ahead.
In order to achieve our targets, we have improved our systems, and given the number of files required to be referred to ecology, we have recruited additional ecologists.
There are 35 full-time equivalent ecologists working on forestry applications with 21 dealing with afforestation. The full impact of these measures and of this recruitment will become evident from now on. Training of these new staff and the requirement for Second 30 day public consultation period for those sites subject to Appropriate Assessment has delayed output to date, but I am hopeful that the second half of the year will see an increase in the number of afforestation files issued
In addition, to ensure efficient use of resources and similar to other planning authorities, files with outstanding further information requests back with the applicants over a set time will be removed from the licensing worklist. Reminders will always be sent to applicants to make them aware of the situation with their file.
In the interest of full transparency details of all licences issued by category are available on the weekly dashboard. This is published on my Department's website and is made available to all interested parties as well as being submitted to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine each week.
Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsbility for the sector, it is my firm commitment to meet the targets as set out in the Licencing Plan and to deliver for the forestry sector in Ireland.
20. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports that his Department has put in place to encourage the installation of solar panels on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38191/22]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) currently provides grant aid through the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS II) to assist our farmers in maximising their contribution to the production of renewable energy through the installation of Solar PV technology along with battery storage on Irish farms.
Solar energy for on-farm use is grant aided under the Animal Welfare Nutrient Storage and Safety Scheme, Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme, the Organic Capital Investment Scheme and the Pig and Poultry Investment Scheme measures under TAMS.
The solar PV systems grant aided under TAMS includes Solar PV Panels and Solar PV Rechargeable Batteries and Solar Panels for water heating under the Pigs and Poultry scheme.
To date, some 249 applications for solar panels have been approved under the TAMS scheme.The maximum size of PV panels eligible for grant aid is 62KW for Pig and Poultry Farmers and 11kw for all other applicants. An applicant can install larger, but at their own cost.
It is also proposed that support for renewable energy investments will continue under the new Capital Investment Scheme as part of the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) submitted to the EU Commission for approval last December.
I am working closely with Minister Eamon Ryan, whose Department launched the Microgeneration Support Scheme (MSS) in December 2021.
I will continue to engage with Minister Eamon Ryan and his Department and I am examining all ways to support farmers in this area. it is a hugely exciting and, largely, untapped potential for Irish farmers to financially benefit from.
