Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 February 2024
58. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the proposal to bring forward a solution for the group known as forgotten farmers in view of the fact that details of the scheme were supposed to be published in quarter 1 of 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8152/24]
View answerWill the Minister provide an update on the proposed solution for forgotten farmers? As he knows, it is long overdue and we are still awaiting the details of what the scheme will look like.
This is a matter on which I have made a commitment. As a result of the economic recession prior to the CAP before last, a group of young farmers did not get to avail of a number of supports that had been available previously. Those farmers are still actively farming and we want to see them continuing in that. We also want the fact that they missed out on those earlier opportunities to be acknowledged in some way, and I have made a commitment to do that.
Logistically, there is a significant challenge at departmental level in delivering the scheme, as a system has to be built to deliver it. Last year, we faced a challenge in rolling out the new CAP schemes, which took priority. However, my Department is now working on setting up the system we will need for this scheme and getting us into a position to be able to make the payment. It is one I want to see happen, as it would be meaningful to the many farmers who were not able to avail of the supports in question almost 15 years ago when they started off farming.
I acknowledge that this has been a priority for the Minister, but as he mentioned, this situation has been going on for a long time. To clarify, he stated that a system had to be built. Is it the case that he knows what the scheme for forgotten farmers looks like? That is not clear to the general public. I have been contacted repeatedly by forgotten farmers, who are in a desperate situation and questioning whether they can continue farming. That is concerning. Does the Minister have the scheme’s outline? What will the scheme be? Will he publish its details? If he has the outline, is it the case that he is just looking at building the system in order to make the payments? That has not been made clear, so he might clarify.
The Department has carried out a few analyses of this. The category of farmer we are discussing comprises those who commenced prior to 2008, were under 40 years of age in 2015 and held low-value entitlements under the BPS. A 2019 assessment showed that 3,900 farmers fulfilled the criteria, with the cost of increasing the value of entitlements estimated to be €12 million. Obviously, we are conducting a separate assessment now because we have seen convergence, which has averaged out payments significantly, happen in the meantime.
I do not have it to hand, but when I made my commitment on this scheme, I publicly announced the general categories that would be included. The challenge now is to move the commitment on and make the payments. This issue dates back 16 years to 2008, but it is one that I want to get resolved and bring to a conclusion. I have the team prioritising it this year so that the scheme can be progressed and delivered.
I know that the general cohort of farmers was detailed previously, but I do not believe that a detailed outline of the scheme has been published. This would be important. There is no point in building a system for payments if we do not know what the scheme will look like. We need to be clear with the forgotten farmers about who will be able to join the scheme. I ask that the Minister publish a detailed outline of the scheme before he builds anything to make payments. Has he engaged with the farm organisations and the forgotten farmers themselves, many of whom are part of the various farm organisations, on the general cohort of farmers he is including?
I ask him to publish a more detailed outline of what this scheme will look like for forgotten farmers in the first instance. That should be done as quickly as possible, given, as he said, that this has gone on for a very long time.
The system to identify the different categories of farmers and deliver the payment will be important. That is being expedited and moved forward. The overall funding commitment will determine the level of payment we can make. I will engage further with the Department of public expenditure and Deputy Kerrane on that. There has been significant engagement over the last two or three years with farm representative organisations about the definition of a forgotten farmer and who comes under that categorisation. That has all been taken on board by the Department. It is something I will get further detail on as the year evolves. I have tasked the team with building the system to do it. I will engage further with the Department of public expenditure on the capacity and strength of the payment.
