Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 31 Jan 2024

Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised)

An Cathaoirleach

No apologies have been received. Deputy Wynne has indicated that she will attend today's meeting. Members have the option of being physically present in the committee room or may join the meeting via Microsoft Teams from their Leinster House offices. Members may not participate in the meeting from outside the Leinster House parliamentary precincts. However, it is important to note that to participate in a division, members must be physically present in the committee room. If joining on Microsoft Teams, members are asked to mute their microphones when not contributing and use the raise hand function to indicate.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that where possible they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

The meeting has been convened to consider the Revised Estimates for the Public Services 2024, Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and Marine, which was referred to the committee by the Dáil on 13 December 2023. I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and his officials to the meeting today. The Minister is accompanied by Mr. Gordon Conroy, assistant secretary, finance and central procurement; Ms Rebecca Chapman, principal officer, finance division; Mr. Paul McNally, assistant principal officer, finance division; and Mr William Farrell, administrative officer. They are very welcome to this evening's meeting. I now call on the Minister to make his opening statement.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Charlie McConalogue)

I am grateful to the Chairman and committee members for the opportunity to present the Revised Estimates for 2024 to the committee today. My Department's budget for 2024 was specifically designed to support farm and fishing families. This has been achieved with vital livestock schemes secured, environmental schemes bolstered in funding, new infrastructure measures introduced to support farmers who are impacted by the nitrates derogation and support provided for the development of the fishing sector and coastal communities. This is in addition to rolling out the largest ever Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan, which amounts to just under €10 billion over the coming years.

For 2024 the total Exchequer contribution to my Department's Vote amounts to €1.954 billion. This is comprised of €1.636 billion in current expenditure and €318 million in capital expenditure. The capital allocation excludes carryover of €45.6 million in capital funding from 2023.

The 2024 provision reflects the discontinuation of funding available under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve as the deadline for all expenditure under that fund expired at the end of last year. While the BAR funding was predominantly expanded in the fisheries sector in 2023, it also supported the genotyping programme for our livestock herd and the national beef welfare scheme for which I have now secured national funding to continue. When account is taken of a number of once-off provisions in 2023, including those arising from Brexit and the war in Ukraine, the 2024 gross provision is 2% higher than that in 2023.

Appropriations-in-aid are expected to increase significantly in 2024 to €436.6 million. When these are considered the 2024 that vote is €1.518 billion.

The Agriculture Vote is subdivided into four expenditure programmes corresponding to the four strategic objectives set out in the cards statement of strategy. I will now speak about each of these four programmes from programme A to programme D and their key themes.

Programme A relates to food safety, animal and plant health, and animal welfare. The total allocation this year is for this programme this year is €379 million. Irish farmers, fishers and agrifood companies, as we know, produce world class food and products to the very highest international standards of food safety and quality. Our food safety and our traceability system are critical to supporting the export of our produce across the globe. Regarding programme expenditure, I am continuing to fund vital services to ensure that those standards are maintained, including the meat inspection service and the various supports provided by Department's testing laboratories. The reduction of funding under this heading is attributable principally to the presence in 2023 of once-off items to be funded by the Brexit Reserve. For example, in 2023 approximately €64 million was paid to the OPW as part of my Department's contribution to the development of the border control post at Rosslare Europort.

Similarly, BAR funding of €20 million was provided last year to develop long-term sustainable solutions for the disposal of meat and bonemeal. Meat and bonemeal are a by-product of the agrifood sector categorised as a high-risk Category 1 material. Pre Brexit this material was exported to Great Britain. However, European regulations prohibit the export of Category 1 meat and bonemeal to non-EU countries. Ireland has received a further dispensation now from the EU to permit the continued exportation of this material to GB until mid-2025. In the meantime, I am continuing with the provision of €6 million of national funds in 2024 to support the development of projects to safely dispose of meat and bonemeal within this jurisdiction.

Programme B deals with farm sector supports and controls. A total of just over €979 million is available to this programme for this year, which is an increase of 2% over last year and is to be paid almost exclusively to farmers. That is in addition to €1.2 billion in funding from the EU on top of that in respect of the various direct payment schemes, meaning that in excess of €2 billion will issue directly to farmers over the course of this year. As we know, this support is vital to farmers who are delivering public goods and environmental benefits for wider society. As well as the environmental benefits involved, this investment also enhances our sustainability credentials which are invaluable as we serve increasingly demanding and knowledgeable customers at home and in our markets across the world.

The agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, has seen an increased allocation of €40 million, bringing the total scheme allocation to €200 million. That is a substantial increase on the 2023 budget of €160 million. The level of interest in ACRES was evident in the number of applications submitted for tranche 1 of the scheme.

This will allow us to deliver on the Government's commitment to have 50,000 farmers participating in the flagship environmental programme under Ireland's Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan 2023-2027.

I have provided targeted supports of more than €100 million for the livestock sectors within subheads B6 - beef sustainability schemes, and B8 - animal welfare schemes for sheep. This funding demonstrates my commitment to our beef and sheep sectors and to sheep farmers. I will continue to provide the payment of €200 per suckler cow and calf over the course of this year, as I did last year. I also intend to provide an additional payment for sheep farmers, which, together with the current sheep welfare scheme payments, will result in a payment equivalent of €20 per ewe in 2024, which is double the amount that was available in 2022. This will be the highest payment ever provided to our vital sheep sector. As we know, beef and sheep farmers will also be well placed to benefit from the enhanced supports for environmental measures and the supports available for farmers transitioning to organic farming.

The funding under the CAP strategic plan suckler carbon efficiency programme and the sheep improvement scheme will support animal health and welfare and demonstrate the importance we place on the carbon efficiency of our grass-based and quality-assured beef and lamb.

Programme C relates to policy and strategy. We have almost €425 million in the budget for the programme this year. Many of the programme C allocations reflect my Department's comprehensive approach to dealing with the challenges associated with the sustainable development of the agrifood sector. To support our food industry, for example, a provision of €8 million has been made through the Enterprise Ireland capital investment scheme to support the meat and dairy sectors to invest in greater product and market diversification. We will also support Irish research and innovation activity to enable the sector to innovate and deliver greater efficiency and economic return, as well as economic, environmental and social sustainability.

The Bord Bia grant for this year is €57 million. We know the important role it plays in respect of our food and drink exports. Critically, this funding also supports the food industry to respond to the challenges and uncertainty that have arisen in terms of markets as a result, in particular, of Brexit and Covid-19, and the very unfortunate geopolitical challenges and crises we are seeing in certain parts of the world.

The strong Exchequer support for Teagasc is going to be maintained this year, which is important. More than €6 million in additional grant aid has been made available to bring the overall support for Teagasc this year to €170 million. That comprises €112 million to pay staff salaries and pensions and €44 million to support current operational expenditure, as well as €14 million to the Teagasc capital programme.

Subhead C13 is new for this year and provides funding for Rialálaí Agraibhia, the new agrifood regulator, which was established as an independent State agency last December with the key objective of promoting fairness and transparency throughout the agrifood supply chain. We all worked hard to deliver the regulator to ensure it would protect our agrifood suppliers, in particular, our farmers, fishers and small food businesses, from unlawful trading practices. It will do that by publishing analyses of information and pricing market data over the course of the year. I look forward to that driving on over the course of this year, having been fully established before the end of last year.

Programme D is our seafood sector. Over the lifetime of this Government, €500 million has been spent on the sector. Over the past two years, I have announced a range of schemes, worth €271 million, designed to support the seafood sector in coastal communities in overcoming the impact of Brexit. In December last year, the European Commission adopted the seafood development programme, which will take us up to 2027. The 2024 provision of approximately €171 million will allow this programme to provide support for the sector over the coming years. The programme will ensure that the seafood sector will not only survive but will also generate economic growth and sustain jobs. Programme D will also provide funding to State bodies that carry out important work in the marine environment to protect our coastal resources. The measures supported here also include capital investment on board vessels, marine environmental requirements, control work and investment in aquaculture. The programme also provides funding for young fishers, processors and the inshore sector. The measures also involve the completion of the largest ever investment in piers and harbours across the State.

That is a brief overview of the measures provided to support the agrifood and marine sectors for the year ahead. As committee members are, no doubt, aware, the past three years have been about developing new policies and schemes, especially through the development and introduction of the new CAP strategic plan, worth just under €10 billion. This support and the associated programmes provide certainty for the farming sector and provide the platform to allow farmers to focus on what they do best, which we will all agree is to produce high-quality and safe food in a sustainable manner. I am satisfied that the 2024 allocation provides a good and balanced package of measures for farmers and fishers, as well as coastal communities and our food sector. I look forward to taking questions from members.

An Cathaoirleach

I thank the Minister. I will ask a few questions, if I can, before I go to the members. In respect of TB and brucellosis eradication, the Estimate for 2023 was €71.8 million. The Revised Estimate for 2024 is €57 million. That is hard to comprehend with the unfortunate rise in the reactors we have. Is any funding in place for the proposed cull of deer that is envisaged under the deer strategy programme?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

This is something I am going to manage as the year evolves, as I did last year. There has been a disappointing and worrying increase in TB reactor rates over the course of the past year. That is something on which we must focus this year to try to bring down the levels and reverse the trend.

Last November, I topped up the 2023 budget by €22 million as part of the Revised Estimates that were brought before the committee. We will have to monitor the available budget as this year goes on and, if necessary, engage further towards the end of the year. The 2024 allocation is benchmarked against last year's €71 million for the purpose of comparison. Last year's allocation included an extra €22 million that I allocated towards the end of the year. I will have to manage the budget. I hope we will see progress in the course of the year but there is no doubt there will be pressure on the budget and if necessary, it is something I will look at again later in the year.

An Cathaoirleach

Has the Minister a figure in his head for the deer strategy programme? What money will be allocated to help them to deal with the overpopulation of deer?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We do not have an overall long-term figure for what it might cost. We are going to have to monitor the situation. The key short-term focus for the next few months will be to get a full-time programme co-ordinator in place and to get the deer management committees up and running to look at putting plans in place. I will work with the committees to ensure they are resourced as necessary. In the short term, it will be about getting those structures and the co-ordination piece in place to get on with the work.

An Cathaoirleach

We have a target of 8,000 ha for afforestation. We fell significantly short of it in 2023. The money the Minister allocated in 2023 in that regard was not spent. Where does that money go?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We were able to carry over approximately €40 million of capital expenditure from last year to this. In most recent years, we have taken a capital carryover for forestry from one year to the following year. The figures last year were not what we wanted them to be and that was affected by the fact that a new programme kicked in at the end of the year and the lag as we ended the previous programme for which the rates were significantly lower than the new ones. I hope we will see significant progress this year. The rates in place for the new forestry programme are very attractive. They are up to 60% higher on an annual basis. We have also increased the number of years over which a premium is paid from 15 years to 20 years. The situation has never been so attractive but forestry is competing in a situation where there are evermore competing demands and uses for land. Different benefits, outputs and uses are available to farmers depending on how they use their land. There are more options than ever in that regard and forestry must compete in that area. Our objective for this year is to build up confidence around the sector and ensure that people are aware of those premiums.

We have taken forward €40 million from last year to support the capital budget this year.

An Cathaoirleach

There was an underspend in the previous year as well. As the Minister said, the money carried forward. An issue I have discussed with the Minister on numerous occasions is compensation for the victims and owners of plantations with ash dieback. With this kind of an underspend, do we have scope to address that and see can we do? The Minister spoke a minute ago about restoring confidence. It would be one major step in restoring confidence in the forestry sector if we could agree what compensation would be available in respect of ash dieback.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It is something to which we have been giving a lot of attention. We are engaged with the Department of public expenditure on this matter at the moment as well. We want to make a significant step forward in this space. It is an important issue for us. We are working in terms of those proposals that can be agreed.

The other thing we said to anybody who has ash dieback at the moment is with regard to the reconstitution and replanting grant that is currently available. We would encourage people to get on and not see time slip because we will retrospectively apply anything to any new scheme for which we get approval. I accept the point the Cathaoirleach has made. It is something we are working on to try to bring this to a conclusion.

An Cathaoirleach

I will make two more points and then let Deputy Kerrane in. I fully acknowledge what the Minister did in the Finance (No. 2) Bill and in the budget regarding financing extra slurry storage on farms. Getting water quality right is absolutely essential in our derogation battle. This year, when the opening period came in the middle of January, after stock was in very early with the weather we were getting, we saw that an awful lot of slurry was spread in January. My personal view is that if we are going to win this battle on water quality, we need extra slurry storage. While I accept that the Minister put a mechanism in place for tillage farmers who are importing slurry to get a very significant grant, I strongly urge that the same thing be done for all farmers to increase their slurry storage. It is absolutely essential if we are going to win this battle. I refer to climate change. The reality is that when we get some of this very heavy rain, no matter what kind of guttering is on sheds, at times, they are just not able to take it. There definitely is water getting into tanks in places when we get these very heavy downpours. The previous requirements for slurry storage need to be re-examined in my view. If we are going to extend the requirements on farms as regards getting water quality right, it would be essential to get a better grant support in place.

I will point to a time when I had a previous hat on. When Deputy Brendan Smith held the Minister's portfolio, he brought in an exceptional grant for capital investment on farms around 2007. It made a very significant impact at the time on improving facilities on farms and water quality. I urge that a similar thing be done again. We are at a crossroads. In my view, slurry storage is one of the key components if we are to win that battle. I would urge that, if we can get scope at all. I fully accept that the Minister made improvements in the previous budget, but this is something we need to focus on in 2024. That was more of a statement than a question.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The Chairman is lenient, he is okay.

An Cathaoirleach

The last point I want to make before I go to Deputy Kerrane is about the bits under the county council supervision. It has been an ongoing saga for a number of years that they were going to be brought under the wing of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Has the Minister any provision in his Estimates for that? Where are we in trying to bring that to a conclusion? At the moment, they are under food safety and the Department of Health. We have an inspection regime in the international outlets that is run by the Department. We still have a veterinarian in each county who goes around inspecting abattoirs and other food preparation outlets in different counties. This has been going on for a number of years. Are we getting that to a conclusion? Have we scope within the Estimates to cater for that if a conclusion is reached?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Work is ongoing and there has been good engagement in that regard. There is no agreement yet or plan as such. The funding would not be a barrier to that were we to reach an agreement. We would be able to accommodate that and work around it if an agreement or decision was made. There is, however, continuing engagement in that regard.

Going back to the Cathaoirleach's previous point regarding slurry storage, I agree that storage is key to improving water quality. We have very significant grants in place under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS: 40% for slurry storage and up to 60% for young farmers and for female farmers. The challenge is that we do not have state aid cover or, indeed, the Common Agricultural Policy either. Schemes cannot pay for compliance where somebody is not up to the level they need to be at.

Two budgets ago, 14 or 16 months ago, we introduced accelerated capital allowances, which can be availed of for farmers in that category to come up to storage. It certainly makes economic sense with regard to having sufficient storage because it means people get the proper utilisation and efficiency from the organic nutrients. There is that side of it. It is also just a necessity.

One of the changes I made shortly after I became Minister, with regard to the existing TAMS, was to make sure that people were matching their slurry storage capacity to their farm, if their farm was growing. I made it a condition that if people were to apply for TAMS, for any measure within TAMS they would have to ensure they had sufficient slurry storage for their stocking rate to be able to qualify for the scheme. We need to make sure that people work that out in step so that sufficient storage is grown to meet the stocking need. Those accelerated capital allowances were an important step, but there is a state aid barrier to being able to provide grant aid for something that requires compliance. There is not state aid cover for that.

An Cathaoirleach

If we were to consider extension of the closed periods, surely there would be scope for increased grant aid.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

If we were to extend the closed periods, we would also be increasing the level of storage that would be needed. We cannot pay for people to come up to current compliance. Where-----

An Cathaoirleach

If we were changing it, surely there would have to be a window of opportunity for farmers to bring their capacity up to the new requirements.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

If we were providing such a window of opportunity, it would only apply to those who are currently compliant but who would be needing to do extra to stay compliant with any changes that would be made. We can provide windows like that, but we do not have state aid cover to be able to pay for compliance with existing regulations.

An Cathaoirleach

Okay, I thank the Minister. I call Deputy Kerrane.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I thank the Minister and his officials for all the documentation provided and for being here this evening. I have a couple of questions regarding a number of reductions in spend, one of which concerns the difference between 2024 and 2023 in programme A. First, on administration and non-pay, there is a fairly significant reduction of 51%. Could the Minister elaborate on what this relates to?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There is a significant reduction on administration and non-pay under subhead A2. That is due to the fact that in 2023, there was a €64 million spend under the Brexit adjustment reserve for the inspection post in Rosslare Europort. That was a one-off expenditure in 2023, which is not there this year because that is now operational and working very well and doing the job it was built to do. However, that means there is a €64 million reduction.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

That is great. I thank the Minister for the clarification. With regard to food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare, there is a reduction of 17%. Animal welfare and all of that is very important and it is significant to the Department. The Minister might explain that reduction.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

That again relates to the Brexit adjustment reserve. There was a €20 million spend last year in funding for a meat and bone meal disposal project under the Brexit adjustment reserve. That entirely reflects the reduction there.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

The Cathaoirleach referenced the reduction in TB eradication and we have seen the cases increase slightly or at the very least remain stagnant and not reducing, which we would all like to see. I heard the Minister's response to the Cathaoirleach but will he elaborate because it is a disease of concern to farmers? We see TB rise - in some cases just slightly - so to see a reduction in TB eradication looks quite strange. Will the Minister elaborate on that point, please?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes, I brought an extra €22 million to the table last year so that means, for example, last year it would have been approximately €50 million to start off. I am allocating €57 million to start off this year. It was a really challenging year in terms of figures. We hope to make progress on that this year but it is something we will have to monitor as the year goes on. Last year I brought that extra €22 million to the table later on to make sure we could cover our requirements there. I will monitor it closely this year, depending on how the year goes.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I thank the Minister. With regard to the agri-environmental schemes, again there is a reduction there of minus 31%. I note in the other documentation on the number of applicants to pay under ACRES commencing 2023 that there is a 2024 output target figure of 28,200. In fairness, the Minister made it clear it is 50,000 within ACRES so what is that 28,200 output target for 2024?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The Deputy is referring to a reduction in the figure last year for phasing out the previous green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and transitional payments under that. With regard to the ACRES agri-environmental scheme, €200 million has been allocated this year under subhead B14 and that is up from €146 million last year. We have the full 46,000 in there. We have funding and approval for that to increase to 50,000, so we expect to manage and fund those payments from that.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

On page 125 of the documentation, when it goes through the details of the programmes, it states under the number of applications to pay under ACRES the output figure for 2024 is 28,200. I know only about 4,000 applications being approved so I am wondering what the 28,200 is. I presume that will be oversubscribed and there will not be exactly 4,000 applications. More will look for the scheme whatever the Department will do about that. What about the 28,000 figure on page 125?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Our plan this year is to cover our obligations there. That will be on the basis of 50,000 approvals. I will check that further for the Deputy.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Yes, the 28,200 figure.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I see what Deputy Kerrane is referring to.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I thank the Minister. Does he know how many applications have been submitted for ACRES in the next tranche for this year yet?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We have had more than 8,000 applications, almost 9,000.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I presume the Department will stick to 4,000 approvals.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

That is what I have approval for coming out of the budget.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

How they will be selected?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There is a ranking and selection criteria which would have been part of the application process from the outset. That would have been part of the terms and conditions from the outset in the event of oversubscription.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

On the same page of the documentation, under the number of participants in the suckler carbon efficiency programme, SCEP, the 2023 target has been reduced for 2024. Some farmers have left that scheme and some farmers have been put out of that scheme based on the criteria as it is, so that is fine. With regard to the 2024 figure of 17,100, if and should some tweaks be made to the SCEP, which we have been hearing, will it be possible for farmers to go back into that scheme or does the Minister expect that number to remain reduced at approximately 17,000 in that scheme?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It remains to be seen. I have accepted everybody into the scheme and I want everyone to stay in it. Certainly, we will pay full payments for that for last year and this year. We recently had the issue around the changes to the star ratings and they are making adjustments to make sure that farmers are protected within the actual SCEP for its duration. My full expectation this year is that every single participant will get the full amount and we will do all we can to encourage everybody to stay in the scheme.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

On the same table, the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and the number of applications paid, approved and rejected are documented there. Does the Minister have figures for the number of TAMS applications that remain outstanding within the Department at the moment?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We are working our way through them. There was a record intake last time, around the middle of last year, with 8,200 applicants, so we laid out a timetable at the back end of last year to run up to March for all of those items and categories to be worked through. The Department did, and continues to, have a priority authorisation for applicants who need to get on with it quickly. They can contact the Department and it will process their application upfront to make sure they can get on with it. A few hundred applicants did that. Between now and March the Department will have gotten to all of the different category items and we expect to have everybody who has either have been approved, or had an issue raised with their file, being processed by the end of April.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

The Department is working to that timeline and that is what is expected.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

At the moment, 3,700 out of 8,200 applications have been approved.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Does the Minister have a figure for what was left unspent in the Brexit Adjustment Reserve, BAR, funding? Has that funding gone at this point?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The Department with responsibility for public expenditure has the BAR fund. With regard to the scheme the Department availed of, there was a very significant uptake and follow-through on the expenditure on those. Of all the Government Departments we would have been the Department which had the most significant spend and worked to try to find every angle we possibly could to draw down funding. As for the overall management of the BAR, the Department with responsibility for public expenditure has that detail, not mine.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

With regard to any outstanding payments, the basic income support for sustainability, BISS, the areas of natural constraints, ANC, complementary redistributive income support for sustainability, CRISS, etc., does the Minister have figures for the number of farmers awaiting payments from his Department? I know they are still being worked through and farmers are still getting payments but does the Minister have figures for the number of farmers who are still waiting for outstanding payments?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Do we have any of those figures here? It is small in the overall context. Certainly, in terms of the dates the Department set, from memory, we set adjusted dates last year because it was the first year, to try to ensure we hit payment percentages on the dates we had set. Approximately 90% of farmers got their payments - BISS, ANC and all of that - on the date we set. By the end of last year, by Christmas, most of those schemes - ANC, BISS, etc., - were in percentage terms into the high nineties in terms of payment rates. We were down to low single-digit figures across all of those. The one scheme which has been a challenge is the ACRES. That is one we continue to work on. Apart from that, the rest of the schemes, by and large, and certainly the pillar 1 schemes, had very high payment rates and were down to low single-digit numbers at the end of the year.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

With regard to ACRES, the farmers and the co-operation zones, the Minister has set a date of February. Does the Minister know what specific date it will be in February?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The team is still working on that. It has been challenging and indeed disappointing. We made the decision last year to accept all 46,000 who applied because we did not want anyone to not be in the scheme last year. We also wanted to get all of those paid for their work last year by December. Unfortunately, that was not possible. We are working towards trying to get those payments for the co-operation process paid in February as much as possible and the team is still working on that. There are challenges with the IT and all of the complexities around it but it is something I am working hard on with the Department to ensure every effort is made to have that expedited as quickly as possible. I know how much-awaited those payments are for farmers.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Even just in terms of being able to communicate with farmers, by the sound of things, we are not looking at early February. Given the delays, farmers should be given a rough of idea of when they should expect payment, if at all possible. That would be reasonable.

I will raise the issue of the reduction of 42% under carbon tax measures and the just transition fund. Obviously, many people look to farmers when it comes to the climate action challenges we face. Will the Minister elaborate on the reason for that fairly significant reduction?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The funding for carbon tax measures remains constant. There is a slight adjustment to just transition funding this year, which is down by approximately €3 million. It is not necessarily as consistent as the carbon tax measures. That is the reason for the €3 million difference.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Okay. The Minister mentioned the additional payment for sheep farmers. Is this a new payment on top of the sheep improvement scheme?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Will the Minister give any further detail on when he expects those payments to be made and the criteria for them, etc?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We had an initial engagement with the farming organisations to outline the potential measures that will apply to the new sheep welfare scheme as well as the suckler or calf welfare scheme. I want to make sure those schemes are as practical as possible for farmers. Over the next few weeks, we will clarify what those measures and steps are. That extra budget payment for sheep, which is in addition to the current sheep improvement scheme, will, as I said, see a doubling of the old payment from €10 in 2022 to €20 in 2024. It will be available for every ewe for a farmer who applies for that funding this year.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

That is very welcome. I thank the Minister.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

I thank the Minister and his officials. Two things hit me straight away, which affect the area where I live. One is the horse and greyhound racing fund. While it is welcome that it is up by 4%, there was to be a review of it. What is the breakdown of that fund? Traditionally, it was 80:20 but there was supposed to be a review of that. Where is that review at present?

There are significant decreases in many of the categories. It is understandable that much of that is due to BAR but we knew that fund was going to finish up. There is a 49% decrease in funding for fisheries, which equates to approximately €44 million. Is the Minister taking on board any additional support measures for that?

There is an increase of 270% for the organic farming scheme. That is a very significant increase. Will the Minister explain that? On the other side of it, farmers have to cope with carbon tax measures and the just transition fund being down 40% to 42%, which is €2.8 million. As the Minister knows, it will be an expense for farmers to decrease their carbon tax. Are there any measures for that? Funding for beef sustainability schemes is down 39%. Will the Minister provide details on the significant increase in this expenditure on organic farming? What schemes will it be allotted to?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The Deputy is right in that we worked very hard to draw down all the Brexit funding we possibly could to find avenues where we could bring Brexit funding to both the fisheries and agriculture sectors. That is being stripped out this year and is obviously not available to us any more. A lot of that funding has gone to very good purposes over the course of the past couple of years. It also provided a bit of a challenge in that last year, for example, the delivery of €200 per suckler cow and calf was part funded through the BAR, which is gone as we come into this year. We now have to secure national funding for that, which we did in the budget. Otherwise, across a number of subheads, we are seeing BAR funding not being there this year, which accounts for some of those items where we are seeing reductions.

Marine BAR funding is one of those items. Again, we worked to ensure we could pull every single euro we could to put into infrastructure that would stand and be with us for a generation to come. Normally, the vast majority of piers and harbours throughout the country come under the local authorities. We have six fishery harbour centres, which are owned by the Department of agriculture and are the bigger ones. The rest, a few hundred, are owned by local authorities Previously, they normally shared a pot of approximately €3 million a year. Over the past two years, we have delivered almost €50 million in funding for those piers and harbours. This year, Brexit funding has come to an end. There is some small slipover into the start of the year for completion but it has been used up. Last week, I announced €13 million for those projects that had been approved for BAR funding but did not proceed because they were awaiting foreshore licences, and now have those licences. That is primarily from national funding this year. It was part of the commitment I made that we wanted to see those projects that came forward actually come to fruition and be backed to deliver. It is €13 million that is available for those this year.

On the review of the efficacy of the horse racing sector, how the fund is spent, and a value-for-money review of the way it is spent at present, we have committed to doing that. The tender for that review is under way or is being finalised. It is in the early stages of procurement to get a body that will conduct the review. However, it will not look at the 80:20 split between the horse and greyhound aspect of the horse and greyhound fund. It will look specifically at the way horse racing money is spent to make sure it is being spent in a way that delivers a real bang for our buck.

I covered the beef schemes when I mentioned the fact that we replaced some of the BAR funding with national funding this year, in particular the €200 per suckler cow.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

What about organics?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There was a big increase in the commitment we made to organics in the CAP strategic plan. In the old CAP strategic plan, which finished in 2020 and was extended for two years, the total funding for organics was approximately €50 million over the course of the full CAP programme. We have now delivered a fivefold increase in funding for organics in this CAP up to 2027. That funding has seen a very significant increase in uptake and there has been an increase in popularity for joining the organic scheme. Over the lifetime of this Government, we have seen a doubling of the number of farmers in organics from 2,000 to 4,000. For this current year, when the scheme is reopened, we expect to add approximately 1,000 farmers over the course of this year.

It is fair to say that the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, has done very good work in this space and there has been a significant step change in the attitude towards organics and the popularity of it. That is something we will continue to see.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

The carbon tax measures and the just transition fund are very important for farmers.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

As I said, it will cost farmers money to reduce carbon, but the just transition fund is being cut by 42%.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The change relates to the just transition aspect of it because the carbon tax has been plugged into ACRES. Specifically, €110 million is being profiled into ACRES over its lifetime. It is just the profiling of the just transition fund that has led to that drop.

Deputy Johnny Mythen

We are putting forward a carbon-efficient society but just transition funding, which is so important to farmers, is being cut. There is an irony there somewhere.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I take the Deputy's point. Some of our allocation was front-loaded. That is part of the reason less of it is being spent this year.

Deputy Joe Flaherty

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming in. I will touch on two points, some aspects of which have already been covered. I welcome the improvement for the sheep sector, which was a big issue for us last year. The Department has made significant progress on it. We are getting the payment up to the equivalent of €20 per ewe. While it is very positive, I still encourage the Minister to try to get to €25, if there is any capacity to do so over the course of the year.

I do not see any indication there will be an upsurge in the sheep sector, so it will be another challenging year, notwithstanding the strong supports the Government delivered for them.

The Minister already touched on my second point but it is an important issue for me and many of the marginal farmers operating in my part of the country. They would say they are all marginal farmers, but anyway, I refer to the ACRES 2 scheme. I commend the Minister on what he did on ACRES 1 last year. He ensured that all farmers were included and he has been quite strident in his comments on this today. Similar to what Deputy Kerrane said, we have 9,200 applications to the scheme for farmers in transition, particularly marginal farmers who have been heavily suckler, labour and stock-intensive. We need those farmers to work with us and we need them to move to a new completely revolutionised income model in the way they operate and farm. It would seismic move by the Minister if we were able to follow through on last year’s commitment and include all the applicants. If all eligible applicants out of the 9,200 could be included in the scheme, it would be an important message to deliver to the farming community, which is facing many challenges at the moment.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I acknowledge Deputy Flaherty’s advocacy on behalf of the sheep sector in advance of the budget last year. I think across the board we welcome the fact that we were able to deliver that €20 and the doubling from what it was a couple of years prior.

The decision to include all 46,000 applicants in ACRES was important. It was important to back all of those who applied last year to fully get in. It had been a feature between previous CAP programmes, coming out of REPS and into GLAS, for example, and the 1s, 2s, and 3s of those as well, that there were gap years in many cases, not just in the environmental schemes but also in the beef and sheep schemes. Over the end of the last CAP and over the transition years in 2021 and 2022, I wanted to make sure that everybody who wanted to stay part of those schemes was not locked out, and we succeeded in doing that, as well as getting all 46,000 in who applied last year.

We have brought a 50% increase overall in the Government contribution to this CAP, which is the highest increase the Government ever has made to the CAP. However, within that, it is not limitless. There are still limits to what that budget is and what that 50% can do. I take the Deputy’s point and I absolutely acknowledge his advocacy and desire to see all the applications who have applied for ACRES for the first time to be included. As things are though, the funding I have allows me to bring in 4,000. We agreed as part of the allocation of that 50% extra funding that the allocation for ACRES would be 50,000. That is a five-year commitment; it is not just a matter of a one-year commitment. I would like to see them in as well and I will certainly work to continue to try to make progress.

In respect of this year’s funding, we have funding for 4,000. However, we will have a budget coming up at the end of the year and we will be looking at things as the year goes on as well. The approval I have as part of our CAP strategic plan and our five-year plan is for 50,000 participants overall, but I acknowledge and share the Deputy’s desire and objective in that regard.

Deputy Joe Flaherty

Maths was never my strong point, but payments in ACRES average at about €4,000, so if there is an additional 5,000 farmers that could potentially be excluded based on what the Minister indicated so far to us and to media, we are probably talking in the region of an additional €5 million to generate an awful lot of goodwill in the farming community and to bring many of those farmers with us.

An Cathaoirleach

That is €20 million.

Deputy Joe Flaherty

It is €20 million; I told you maths was not a strong point. I think Michael McGrath is safe enough. The sum of €5 million certainly sounded better but I could depend on a big farmer to put me right. I still think in terms-----

(Interruptions).

Deputy Joe Flaherty

We have a road to go with farmers and we need to bring them with us. I think it would be €20 million well spent.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming in. The provision for food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare seems to be down 21%. What is the reason for that?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It is a reduction in BAR. This is subhead A3, which is food safety, animal and plant health and animal welfare. It is down 17%. That reflects €20 million that was allocated last year under the Brexit adjustment reserve to fund a meat and bonemeal disposal project. That was spent last year, so it is not included this year and accounts for the reduction.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

In the line on the seafood sector, can the Minister explain €351 million down to €170 million, which is 52%?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

With regard to the overall programme in total, it is entirely related to the cessation of Brexit adjustment reserve funding. Of all the sectors we have-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I am trying to understand who got this money last year and who will go without it this year.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Last year, for example, we had significant investment in piers and harbours and capital investment, we had the payments for the decommissioning scheme, we had significant investment in a seafood processor capital investment scheme and we had an inshore fisheries scheme. That would have been a big part of it.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Okay.

We are trying to eradicate TB and we have a fair shot of it at the moment. How can we go from €71 million to €57 million?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I had about €50 million in the budget for the start of last year. It was a very challenging year in respect of reactor numbers. When we did the Supplementary Estimates here at the end of last year, I reallocated an extra €22 million to that. That €71 million is the total at the end of the Supplementary Estimates. We have €57 million plugged in at the start of this year but we do not yet know what the year will be like. We want to see an improvement but I will monitor it closely, like I did last year, and return to it, if necessary, at the end of the year potentially for a Supplementary Estimate and a reallocation.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

How much does the Department of agriculture get from the Department of Finance through the carbon tax?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It is €113 million in 2024.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I saw there was a cut. Carbon was written down. Can the Minister explain that for me?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes. That was for smaller measures. That is a 42% cut but it is based on a smaller overall figure of just over €6.5 million. The carbon tax remains constant but the change is a result of the just transition funding, which was front-loaded last year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Is this year or last year our first year to get the carbon part - that €113 million tax - across?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It has been going for two or three years now.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

In 2015, when GLAS came out, we were able to accept 50,000 farmers and we had a budget for that. We were told everyone would have to pay more carbon tax over a number of years. I think it is €623 million we take in as a Government and I heard the great Minister, Deputy Ryan, shout everywhere that the more carbon tax we pay, the more that will come back to farmers. How come we can still only take 50,000 farmers into every scheme, as Deputy Flaherty pointed out, when we are getting an extra €113 million in carbon tax? All farmers were told by the Minister, Deputy Ryan, that if they sucked up to this carbon tax, there would be no problem taking in farmers under the ACRES scheme. The Minister is now saying we can only take in 4,000 more, which would bring the total to 50,000. In 2015, we were able to take in 50,000. We were able to take in more under REPS before. We have more money in the country and the Minister is now saying we cannot take the approximately 9,500 who applied. How does that add up? We have €113 million more. Is it that there is less money in agriculture now? What is the problem, when all these things have been said to suck farmers in, especially by the Minister, Deputy Ryan, about this carbon tax?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The carbon tax is programmed in now to 2030.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I know that, but I am asking the question. We have €113 million more. In 2015 when we had no carbon tax we took in 50,000 farmers. After some dropped off, we ended up at 46,000 or 47,000. Now we are saying we are not fit to bring in 9,500 farmers even though we had money for 4,000 and there is an extra €112 million. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, said that all these farmers need to know there will be better environmental schemes and we will be taking them all in. At a time when we talk about carbon and the environment, we are saying to the farmers who applied that we cannot take them in. Will the Minister tell me why that is?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

In this CAP, we have put 50% extra funding into ACRES. Payments across the general scheme are expected to average about €5,500. We expect payments across the co-operation scheme to be more in the region of €7,000, on average. With the 50,000 to be in that over the course of the scheme, that is accounting for a 50% increase-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

First of all-----

An Cathaoirleach

Let the Minister speak.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

To clarify figures, the average payment under green, low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, was €4,200. The figure the Minister mentioned, €5,500, is about 25% on top of that. That is not CP zones. Under GLAS farmers were able to get extra money on the hills or whatever they were called. They were not CP zones. That is not an extra 50% going out, when I add figures the farmers are getting. Will the Minister tell me about the €113 million? It is the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who I really have the problem with because he is mad altogether for this carbon tax. We are taking €623 million, much of which is coming from the agricultural sector, so why can we not fit in all the farmers? In my opinion, if 70,000 farmers apply for ACRES they should be taken in. Why can we not do that, especially at a time when we have more money in the kitty, thankfully, than we ever had, as a country?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We would need to get more of the carbon tax to do that. In regard to ACRES, compared with GLAS we have 50% extra funding for that now, so that is being spread across. On the co-operation project, that is significantly higher than what was there for people in GLAS. The general scheme is also a good deal higher than what would have been there for people in GLAS previously. There are still limits. We got an extra 50% increase from the Government for the rural development programme but there is a ceiling in relation to what that will do. It did mean that we were able to accept everybody who applied to the suckler cow scheme. It meant that in relation to ACRES last year we were able to accept everybody in, and the sheep welfare scheme likewise. In regard to organics, we have been able to accept everybody in. However, it will reach a ceiling whereby we will have allocated all of that 50% extra funding. The carbon tax has been split three ways, to ACRES, retrofitting of homes and-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I know all that.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There is a mechanism in place so that many farmers are sheltered from the carbon tax. Contractors are not, and we know the issue there. There is a challenge there, but for farmers there is the double accounting mechanism which allows carbon tax to be counted and taxed in a way that can remove that carbon tax from farmers. However, the wider carbon tax is coming into the farming sector but it is contributing to the uplift we have been able to give. Certainly, I would like more of it, to be able to bring everybody in, but that is a battle I continue to fight.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I really have a problem with the carbon tax. Another one is due in May. The problem is that it is going up constantly and we still do not have any more farmers going into schemes. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, stated very clearly, "Suck it up, guys, and all of you will be included in the schemes." If he is interested in the environment, he should be giving the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine enough money to make sure those 9,500 farmers are taken in under the scheme.

I will move on. In regard to SBCI being at minus 98%, what is the story there?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

On the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, we are scheduled to pay approximately €5 million to SBCI in 2024. That is for the growth and sustainability loan scheme. It is covered by €10.5 million of savings from the agriculture cashflow support loan scheme. That accounts for that. We have a couple of really good schemes, such as the future growth loan support scheme, which is starting off. We expect to have good uptake of that, but it is building up. We will be fully funding that this year and looking to see more people avail of it as well.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

In regard to the suckler carbon efficiency programme, SCEP, my understanding is that a fair surplus is left in that. Is that correct?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Does the Deputy mean the overall profile of it?

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

It looks like we will struggle to get 15,000 farmers.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

No. I had a meeting with the team last week and I expect the budget to be fully accounted for. We were, thankfully, able to accept everybody in but we are at the budget in terms of-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

There are 2,500 farmers gone wondering from it. Is that correct?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We have about 19,000 at the moment, roughly.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

You have not. Look at the figures.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There are a few-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

If there is a surplus left in that, will the Department put out a new-----

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

If there is any money going, I will be looking to use it, certainly.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Does the Minister mean to use it on a SCEP scheme?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes, with the 50% extra increase we received for CAP agreed at Government level, we profile the different schemes. We have a budget the SCEP scheme. I met with the team last week to look at what the likely projections are around this. At the moment it appears to be heading to be on the button in terms of CAP. However, if I can free up any more money and if there are any new entrants, I would certainly like to avail of that but at the moment it is looking like it is fully subscribed.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Right. Looking at subheads A and C, there is less money going into the farmers' pocket. There was a drop of 1%. Is that right?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We had €249 million at the end of last year. We are projecting that at the start of this year but everybody who applies will get it in the same way as before. We may need to adjust it. It is a set payment every year for the full five years. We expect to manage the budget around that but there is no change there.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

There is more money coming for sheep but I am looking at a budget of €21.440 million. We are back to €20 million this year. Can the Minister square that circle from me?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Is the Deputy referring to subhead B12?

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

It is the sheep figures of €21.440 million versus €20 million this year.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Okay. The funding for the sheep is going to come from subhead B12 which has €23 million this year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Which one has €1 million less? Animal welfare, schemes for sheep, has €21.440 million versus €20 million this year. That is minus 7%.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

That is the sheep improvement scheme, which is the five-year CAP scheme. It is the €12 per ewe scheme.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

There will be a saving of €1.4 million. Is that right?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

All applicants will be fully covered in that at €12 per ewe.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

What is the reason? Are there fewer sheep?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Last year was the first year of it, so that would have been an estimate last year. We would know what the outturn was, so there would probably be more certainty around exactly what the payment level was going to be for that this year. However, everybody who applied would have been accepted again and it will be fully covered again this year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

In regard to the agri-environment climate scheme, what is that €133 million going back to €92 million? That is minus 31%. What is that?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

That relates to payments that have been coming out, the transitionary payments for the old GLAS that would have happened last year. There is a diminishing amount there.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Results-based environment-agri pilot project, REAP, might be in there as well. Is it?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes, 93% of the allocation for 2023 was the payment of the 2022 scheme year balance.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

In regard to forestry, subhead B10 has €98.932 million back to €97 million. What is the story there?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We did not spend it all last year so have a significant capital carry-over from last year into this year.

If we get to the stage where we have all of that spent at the end of the year, it will be a sign of a very successful year for forestry.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

To be clear, last year was our worst year at planting. Is this the budget we spent?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

No, that is the budget that would have been allocated-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

For how many thousand hectares?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We carried money over from that. We carried €40 million of that €98 million into this year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

So €40 million was carried over?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

No, €20 million of that. We spent €78 million last year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Last year was sort of a disaster-----

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I presume that also includes premiums and that for existing-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

On the budget that is there, how many hectares is the €97 million for?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

We have budgeted this year, I believe, for meeting our target.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

That is 8,000 ha, is it?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

My understanding is that is to cover us meeting our target for this year.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Yes but is our target 8,000 ha? That is my understanding.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

Yes.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

It is 8,000 ha. How would the Minister only be putting €40 million back, if we are only doing a quarter of it?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The figure we have there includes the payment of premiums for people who had planted in previous years. Obviously the premium payment is much higher now than it would have been because we are into the new-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I understand that but we have a lesser figure in, so how would we be planting more, giving higher premiums and still have €1 million saved?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

There is another €18 million in capital carryover that is to be added to that €97 million as well. The capital carryover from last year is in addition to that €97 million, I am told.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Where is that?

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

It is not showing on this because it has yet to be finalised but that €18 million of a carryover will be added to that.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Okay.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I thank the Chair for allowing me to come in as a non-member of the committee. I appreciate the opportunity, and I thank the Minister and his officials also for the information they have provided.

As the Minister knows, I received a reply to a parliamentary question from him last week in respect of the number of farmers awaiting the ACRES payment. I was quite shocked and astonished to learn that more than 28,084 farmers across the State still await their payments. In my own constituency of Clare, that is 1,984 farmers who have yet to be paid. I cannot overstate the frustration locally. As the Minister knows, farmers are the backbone of this country. It was the farmers who got us out of the recession and now they feel they are being left out to dry.

It is essential that these farmers receive their payments as soon as possible. I cannot understand it. I know the Minister has cited IT issues, that it is disappointing and that the Department is still working on that. However, there are serious implications for rural mental health and the sustainability of Irish agriculture at play here and 100% payments must be issued in early February at the latest. Quite frankly, it is as simple as that. Although we are saying that we cannot get enough young farmers into the sector, at the same time they are watching these significant delays and seeing first-hand the impact it is having on farmers in their local community.

To touch on that, I raised the issue of looking at whether the Department could pay the interest that has accrued for these farmers in respect of their banks and suppliers, which they have watched climb upwards. The Minister also told me in a reply to a parliamentary question that the Department would not be paying interest on these late ACRES payments and I ask that he seriously reconsider that. Farmers were at breaking point at or before Christmas time. I note that I met a delegation from Clare IFA and one of the gentlemen at that meeting pointed out to me that he was aware of a farmer who was one day late with his application and so he had missed a deadline. Yet, the Department is months behind the payment deadlines and with no issue. It cannot be one rule for the applicants and another for the Department. I would be very grateful if the Minister could tell me the steps he has taken or plans to take to ensure that this situation does not arise again when the next round of ACRES applications or renewals need to be processed and paid out.

The Minister can come in there if he wants but I have two other points to mention.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I agree that this is a really important issue, and it is also a real disappointment that we have not been able to pay people before now. That has a real impact on farmers who are waiting for it because they are significant payments and really important to farmers. Last year was the first year for all of the new schemes, so everything had to start from scratch, including applications and all of the systems to run them. It was new for farmers too, and all of the actions as well, so it was a really difficult year.

Across the vast majority of the payments, we met the dates we set and had over 90% paid. By the end of the year, across basic income and all of that, the vast majority, or up to 97% or 98% of farmers were paid and likewise across many of the other schemes. The one scheme that has proved a particular challenge is ACRES, and no doubt the fact that I accepted all 46,000 into it last year, rather than the 30,000 that had been budgeted for, put extra pressure on too. Certainly, we did not want to be in a situation where the payments were not made in December and were running into February but that would be better than over a third of those who participated not getting any payment for last year. That is the difference of being paid in February or December.

This is something I want to sort out. It is something the team is working really hard on. Once we get it right, sorted, operating and the payments issuing - and the co-operation payments in particular - then we will be into the second year, and we are in a different scenario because it will have been done for the first year. It will be a case of rinse and repeat. Obviously it is still a big job but one will be doing it for a second time, and using the systems that worked the first time.

The particular challenge around the co-operation project aspect is the blended scores and the blended payment, therefore, for numbers of different parcels on one farm. That has proved a challenge with regard to delivering the system and ensuring that gets paid out. The team is working on it, and it is a key priority. I absolutely acknowledge the importance of that payment, and the farmers are very much looking forward to it.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I thank the Minister for that. I hope he might reconsider the interest as well because they have to pay that interest themselves. It is through no fault of their own. They are very reasonable and they can understand what the Minister is saying with regard to the amount of applications that there were last year. However, that does not pay the interest, so I wanted to mention that.

I also wanted to mention the fact that there are 21 farmers in Cratloe who have been affected by the presence of bark beetle. Could the Minister advise whether these farmers will be compensated for any inconveniences as a result of biosecurity failings? It is also worth noting that this particular biosecurity breach was just 10 km east of the Shannon Airport free zone, 20 km east of Foynes Port and 10 km west of Limerick Port, according to a memo from the Minister's Department. I would appreciate it if the Minister could speak to any potential measures he intends to implement so as to tighten up biosecurity and import controls going forward. The memo rightly identifies the beetle as being Mexican in origin, yet we have no direct wood trade with Mexico. We do, however, have significant trade with the United Kingdom and Scotland, where the bark beetle is within miles of western Scotland's pest-free area. I know in the memo that the Minister said that checks-----

An Cathaoirleach

We are dealing with the Estimates here now.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

Yes, I know but on the compensation-----

An Cathaoirleach

We had a full session the bark beetle last week here at the committee.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

That is right but I was wondering if the Estimates would allow for compensation for those farmers.

An Cathaoirleach

Okay.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I do not have a member of the forestry team with me today but I will certainly get a direct response to the Deputy on that issue. I know that with regard to biosecurity, and particularly the threat from the bark beetle on the British isle, there is very strict assessment and scrutiny of any imports. They are only coming from the exclusive area in western Scotland but it is something we are monitoring very closely. It is also something that comes under the wider European biosecurity umbrella and standard. We are very alert to it, and I will get the Deputy a specific answer on the issue regarding her own constituency.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I thank the Minister.

Deputy Michael Ring

I wish to raise an issue in relation to the seafood sector. There is great concern, particularly with the new regulations due to Brexit. What will the Minister do for the industry? It will need supports and backup. It is in real difficulty. I have raised this issue with the Minister before. There is an extra burden now from the red tape, not that Brussels is great at it. I was glad to see French farmers out. Maybe it is time Irish farmers came out because they are all destroyed with red tape. They are not able to farm. It is red tape, filling in forms, trying to keep to regulations and everyone on top of them trying to make them make a mistake. I see it with every scheme. People come to me about the slightest mistake and big money is taken from them. We are over-regulated by this country and Brussels. As I said before, the trouble with Brussels is there are so many thousands of people working there that it is an industry. Many of them are not farmers; they are just pure civil servants. They do not give a damn. They get up on Monday morning - they are like some of my own party members - and they think about how they can hurt people tomorrow. We need to look at over-regulation for farmers. What, in particular, can be done for the seafood industry? Those who supply the raw material were before the committee last week. They are under pressure and not getting their prices because the people exporting it are not able to export it. Great difficulty is coming down the line. What can be done for them? The budget for that area seems to be down this year.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The key change in the seafood budget this year is that the Brexit Adjustment Reserve funding is not in there. Of all the sectors across the economy for which we drew down that funding last year, it was the seafood sector, both in piers and harbours, in the Deputy's county, my county and across the country. There has been massive investment in the past year. There was also significant capital grant support for the processing sector and payments for the decommissioning scheme recommended by the task force. There was a support scheme last year, as there was the year before, for the inshore sector, in which owners of smaller boats got either €2,500 or €4,500, depending on the size of their small boats. There is the Brexit challenge, particularly with new export challenges coming in this week. There has been significant engagement and support through staffing and veterinary support to facilitate those exports. There is that particular challenge, with which the committee dealt, regarding the inshore sector and the significant reduction in price for crab, in particular, on which the inshore sector depends. That is a market-related issue which led to that fishery closing earlier last year than it normally would. Sometimes it runs into the middle of January but, in terms of the processors, it had closed by December or even a bit earlier last year. It had a significant impact. I met the industry and am looking at what supports may be possible. It is a market and price issue. There has never been support in that type of circumstance before in any similar situation that arose. I am engaging with the industry around the particular challenge it is having.

Deputy Michael Ring

There is an issue about which I will write to the Minister because I do not want to name the people here today. An industry in my town got a notification from the Minister's Department yesterday telling it to cease production for the supply of goods to animals, which it does very well. It employs 40 people. It has been told to cease because a company in England and a company in Ireland made a complaint against it, even though it is regulated and licensed. It is a bit much that an official from the Department would send an email telling a company employing 40 people to cease employment. I will write to the Minister because I need to get further details. I only spoke to it this evening. It is getting legal advice. Somebody else should have made a call and spoken to that company first before a letter of cessation was sent telling it to cease production, telling staff to go home and telling the 40 people working in my town that they have no job. I will contact the Minister about that and I want it to be examined.

I compliment the Minister on last year's ACRES. To be fair to him, he let everybody into that scheme. It was great what he did. Other people this year will try to get into that scheme. I hope as many people can be accommodated as possible. I heard Deputy Fitzmaurice before I came in. He is quite correct. The Minister for the environment and Ministers are telling us all how to live our lives in rural Ireland - no one would be living in rural Ireland if we heeded them. The people of rural Ireland will speak to him shortly. I hope as many people as possible will be let into that scheme. They want to be in that environmental scheme. If we want farmers to protect the environment and if the schemes are there, we have to let people into them. The Minister did a very good job for the sheep sector last year. I hope its conditions can be looked at again this year.

An Cathaoirleach

On behalf of the select committee, I thank the Minister and his officials for assisting the committee with its consideration of the 2024 Revised Estimates - Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and Marine, and for dealing comprehensively with the questions from members.

We will resume after the votes for a private session with the Minister on Horse Sport Ireland.