Parliamentary questions

Agriculture Schemes

Niamh Smyth

547. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) has been waiting so long for payment of the young farmers scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19186/24]

Local Authorities

Catherine Murphy

548. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the amount of grant-aid returned and or surrendered to his Department, by local authority in 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024, to include the heading of which it was intended for. [19354/24]

Agriculture Industry

Michael Healy-Rae

549. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter (details supplied). [19387/24]

Agriculture Supports

Johnny Mythen

550. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the actions that are being put in place to safeguard the Irish potato-growing industry and seed potatoes (details supplied); if he will consider plans for a scheme and funding to help this vital part of agriculture and the food chain over this crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19438/24]

Agriculture Supports

Claire Kerrane

54. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will advise on measures to assist farmers with the difficulties they are facing as a result of weather conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18245/24]

Fodder Crisis

Peter Fitzpatrick

55. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he intends to reinstate the fodder scheme to help compensate farmers for the financial losses they are facing due to the particularly wet conditions this spring; if flexibility is being extended and consideration being given to farmers who are struggling to meet the stipulated three-cop rule due to very difficult weather and ground conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18665/24]

Forestry Sector

Claire Kerrane

56. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the awaited strategy to address ash dieback will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18246/24]

Departmental Staff

Michael Fitzmaurice

57. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of employees employed by his Department at the end of 2022 and at the end of 2023; the current numbers for 2024; if there is an embargo on recruitment in his Department at the moment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18678/24]

Agriculture Schemes

Claire Kerrane

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 the "forgotten farmers", given he has advised that his Department has been working on establishing systems for the roll-out of a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18241/24]

Agriculture Industry

Peadar Tóibín

59. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farms in Ireland in each of the past ten years. [17665/24]

Agriculture Industry

Rose Conway-Walsh

60. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants to the succession planning advice grant; the steps he is taking to support succession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18423/24]

Agriculture Industry

Richard Bruton

61. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the potential of a carbon farming initiative in the transformation of the sustainability profile of the farming sector. [18080/24]

Harbours and Piers

Pearse Doherty

62. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Government has considered the reclassification of Magheraroarty pier in County Donegal as a pier for landing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18300/24]

Agriculture Schemes

Claire Kerrane

63. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the women farmers' capital investment scheme under TAMS III; if there has been, or will be, a review of eligibility criteria for the scheme, given concerns raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18242/24]

Common Agricultural Policy

Paul Murphy

64. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is concerned about negative environmental impacts from the CAP simplification process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18332/24]

Flood Relief Schemes

Ruairí Ó Murchú

65. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the recent report completed by Teagasc and submitted to his Department about the impact on farmers following damage to their farmland as a result of recent flooding on the Cooley Peninsula in November 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18433/24]

Agriculture Schemes

Paul Murphy

66. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reasons for his decision to rule out introducing any compensation scheme for dairy farmers who wish to reduce the size of their herds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18334/24]

Agriculture Supports

Alan Farrell

67. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on supports for farmers in light of recent adverse weather conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17843/24]

Agriculture Supports

Christopher O'Sullivan

68. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he would consider opening up the fodder transport support scheme to include farmers who purchased fodder from longer distances from 31 January to 31 March; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18422/24]

Animal Diseases

Ruairí Ó Murchú

69. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has any intention of revisiting the foot and mouth compensation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18432/24]

Animal Slaughtering

Pauline Tully

70. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department is taking over responsibility for the inspection of small abattoirs from the local authorities who currently undertake this on behalf of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland; the timeframe within which this will take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18421/24]

Agriculture Industry

Marian Harkin

71. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the implications for the agriculture sector in Ireland, given that the European Council has not reached agreement on the EU Nature Restoration Law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18297/24]

Food Industry

Marian Harkin

72. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the application of PGI status for boxty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18296/24]

Food Industry

Cathal Crowe

73. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider seeking protected geographical indication status from the EU for grass-fed Irish beef and dairy products. [18373/24]

Agriculture Industry

Claire Kerrane

74. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will give consideration to a particular proposal on a Commission on the Future of the Family Farm Bill 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18243/24]

Departmental Bodies

Niamh Smyth

75. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the work of the Working Group on Women in Agriculture. [18144/24]

Tillage Sector

Brian Stanley

76. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to improve supports for tillage farmers who are encountering great difficulties tilling and sowing due to excessive rain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17613/24]

Horticulture Sector

Alan Farrell

77. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide an update on his Department's efforts to support the horticulture sector in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17842/24]

Tree Remediation

Violet-Anne Wynne

78. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce a financial support package for farmers to manage diseased roadside ash trees safely; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18271/24]

Agriculture Industry

Pauline Tully

79. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce specific measures to support farmers affected by extremely difficult weather conditions which have resulted in a much-delayed turnout of livestock and planting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18420/24]

Forestry Sector

Brendan Griffin

80. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is considering the suspension of log imports from Scotland until better safeguards are in place to prevent the spread of the spruce bark beetle to this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18348/24]

Forestry Sector

Aindrias Moynihan

81. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the area of land where forestry was planted last year; the amount expected to be planted this year; if there are specific measures in place to increase the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18353/24]

Food Industry

Richard Bruton

82. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has developed proposals within his area of responsibility which would fit with the ambition to deliver a circular economy initiative for the Irish food sector. [18081/24]

Land Issues

Aindrias Moynihan

83. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will develop a national land use strategy to address, amongst other things, the concerning lack of land availability for afforestation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18352/24]

Control of Horses

Thomas Gould

84. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of horses seized in Cork city in 2023. [18409/24]

Food Industry

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

85. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if producers in County Carlow will be awarded the new PGI for Irish grass-fed beef. [18298/24]

Agriculture Schemes

Claire Kerrane

86. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek to ensure that farmers who choose the later reporting option for national sheep welfare scheme measures do not have their payment delayed until after January 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18240/24]

Wind Energy Generation

Michael Moynihan

87. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will consider a scheme to support more wind powered microgeneration on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10857/24]

Agriculture Supports

James O'Connor

88. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps being taken to help farmers following the wet weather in recent months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18436/24]

Fisheries Protection

Catherine Connolly

89. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 129 of 21 February 2024, the status of plans for the introduction of measures to protect the sprat fishery, which is concentrated within the six-nautical-mile zone; to provide an update on the recent public consultation on trawling activity inside the six-nautical-mile zone and the baselines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18275/24]

Nitrates Usage

Paul Murphy

90. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has any assessment of the impact the removal of the nitrates derogation would have on Irish water quality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18333/24]

Trade Agreements

Matt Carthy

91. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on his engagements with his Cabinet colleagues regarding the Mercosur Trade Agreement. [17714/24]

Departmental Bodies

Catherine Connolly

92. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 74 of 22 February 2024, for an update on the work of the wool council; if the €30,000 in departmental funding has been drawn down to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18274/24]

Forestry Sector

Matt Carthy

93. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the level of new afforestation in the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024; and his target afforestation for the remainder of 2024. [17715/24]

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Paul Murphy

94. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether any reduction in the size of the national herd is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18335/24]

Forestry Sector

Brendan Griffin

95. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review the regulatory factors constraining commercial forestry growth, with a view to establishing a more industry-friendly and financially incentivised sector; if such a review would examine the timelines for planting and felling licensing and plantation thresholds regarding broadleaf versus coniferous trees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18347/24]

Nitrates Usage

Jackie Cahill

96. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if low-intensity farmers who import slurry onto their land could have their calculation based on the preceding year's stocking rate as this would provide clarity to low-intensity farmers as to the quantity of slurry they could import for the coming year and considering this would greatly encourage the importation of slurry onto their land and assist in reaching climate targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15016/24]

Forestry Sector

Brendan Smith

97. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures that will be implemented to deal with difficulties that have emerged from ash dieback and the concerns about spruce bark beetle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18425/24]

Agriculture Industry

Bernard Durkan

98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which efforts are being made to manage grasslands and tillage lands, given the sharp increase in rainfall; if consideration will be given to adequate drainage as opposed to allowing widespread flooding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18340/24]

Control of Horses

Pádraig O'Sullivan

99. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on his Department’s plans to simply and modernise the Control of Horses Act 1996, as per the summer legislative programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18281/24]