Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 April 2023
90. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his proposals to support the group of farmers known as the "forgotten farmers"; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18577/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraCould I get some detail on the Minister's proposals to support the approximately 4,000 so-called "forgotten farmers"? Could we have a timeline in this regard? We are obviously talking about young farmers impacted by austerity measures and who could not avail of installation aid and young farmer supports under CAP. The Minister spoke several times about the need to deal with this, so we need a timeline.
I thank the Deputy for raising this. He is right in that I have made a strong commitment that we will introduce a scheme that recognises that forgotten farmers were not able to avail of particular schemes or supports for young farmers at the time in question because they were removed. These are farmers who are continuing to farm but who did not get the same supports others would have been able to avail of or can avail of today.
Much work has been done in the Department on assessing the different categories, pulling together the data and doing the full assessments. I am continuing to engage with the team on this. It will take some time. There is a massive logistical challenge with organising and rolling out the CAP schemes. I do not have a specific timeline but work is ongoing and there is a commitment. Over the course of this year, we will be paying more attention to this matter. I hope we will be able to provide more clarity on when it will be possible to deliver. I have been very clear that the commitment has been made and that, after many years, we are going to deliver a scheme that recognises that the affected farmers could not avail of supports at the time in question.
I expected this to be one of the questions on which there would be agreement. I am referring to people who fell between stools and who could not avail of supports others were able to avail of.
We all know the issues concerning farm demographics. Farmers will talk about the difficulty and the fact that so many of them are particularly old. In an awful lot of cases, their own kids do not want to undertake farming. It is absolutely right to give the necessary support to those who made the steps and did everything correctly. We are constantly talking about ensuring the sustainability of the family farm in Ireland and making things worthwhile for new farmers.
I am somewhat worried. I can accept all the issues concerning logistics. The Minister made promises regarding this over a considerable period, including at a Macra conference in October and even at an IFA summit in January, but we will need to see action as soon as possible.
I raised this on many occasions, including from where the Deputy is now standing. The commitment stands and we are working our way through it. There are many other things happening but addressing this is part of the team's work programme. It is something we are determined to deliver on. It is not something we are going to be able to do immediately, but the commitments and promises made will be adhered to. It will take a little more time before we can work our way through that.
I welcome that. I am not going to go through this again. Obviously, we want to see the necessary supports sooner and faster and we want them to be better. Could the Minister give any indication about a general timeline, accepting the difficulties he said arise? The affected people have been waiting for an answer and for supports for a considerable amount of time.
I have to be able to follow through on any commitment I give; otherwise, the Deputy will be here in a month or two saying I made this or that promise. My commitment is that I will do what I have mentioned. The team is working on it. I do not have more specifics on the timeline just yet but we are trying to expedite matters alongside everything else. When I have more clarity on delivery and roll-out, I will update the Deputy.
I would consider that to be very fair and constructive.
