Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 October 2023
440. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine a bespoke scheme for the challenged horticulture sector as we move to the increased €12.70 minimum wage (details supplied). [46675/23]
View answerI am acutely aware and fully appreciate the many challenges that horticulture growers have experienced in 2023 as a result of continued high costs of production and reduced output prices. These challenges were further compounded by the unfavourable weather conditions throughout the 2023 growing season. In recognition of these challenges I secured €2.382 million under the EU Agricultural Reserve for the horticulture sector.
The Horticulture Crisis Fund is now open for applications until 1 November 2023. It targets the horticulture sub-sectors most at risk due to losses incurred as a result of a combination of high input prices (including cost of labour), low output prices and reduced yield.
The horticulture sub-sectors included in this scheme are high-wire glasshouse grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, brown mushrooms, field vegetables (excluding potatoes), field grown salad crops, energy reliant protected crops (heated strawberries and vertically grown greens) and apples. The Scheme will provide a once-off payment to eligible applicants. The scheme seeks to ensure the short-term security and thus the long-term viability of growers in these sub-sectors.
My Department also provides a range of other significant supports to the horticulture sector, including the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Horticulture Sector and the EU Producer Organisation Scheme for fruit and vegetables.
In recognition of the challenges growers faced as a result of Brexit, additional specific supports of over €9 million were made available to the mushroom and potato sectors this year.
Earlier this year, together with my colleague, Minister Pippa Hackett, I launched the National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027. This stakeholder led Strategy sets down a clear vision to grow a more profitable, value-added sector, driven by innovation and sustainability and provides a roadmap for the sector to achieve this potential. I want to see this sector grow and flourish in the years ahead and my Department, together with stakeholders, continues to explore a number of avenues to help the sector overcome challenges it currently faces.
