Tillage Sector: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-15
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Conor D. McGuinness (SF), Waterford

I have been engaging with tillage farmers across Waterford over recent months. I spoke with the tillage chairman of Waterford IFA. The message from those farmers could not be clearer. They feel unheard, undervalued and let down. They believe the Government is doing absolutely nothing to address the crisis in their sector. Tillage farming is one of the most efficient, low-carbon and environmentally friendly forms of agriculture we have. It should be at the centre of any serious climate and food strategy yet it is being allowed to wither. One farmer put it to me like this last week: "The Government says it wants to increase tillage, but the way things are going, there will be none left in Ireland very soon."
In Waterford, as elsewhere, farmers are facing rising input costs, poor returns and a complete absence of a level playing field. They are competing against imported grain, often from third countries outside the EU where environmental and production standards are far lower. Some of that grain is genetically modified, grown using chemical agents that are banned here and with fertiliser subject to carbon taxes when used in Ireland. Those imports are cheaper, not because they are more efficient or they are better, but because they are less environmentally sustainable. They are a lower grade product in many cases. That is long before we factor in the carbon cost of the long-distance sea shipping for that grain. Meanwhile, Irish tillage farmers operating to world-leading standards are losing money. Many who lease land made significant losses on their crops last year and are likely to do so again next year. It cannot be sustained. The industry cannot sustain losses of that nature for a second year. Despite the rhetoric, this Government's budget offered no real help. The much touted €50 million for tillage is not new money; it simply recycles last year's funding.
The Minister claims to be developing a new scheme, but farmers in Waterford and throughout the country know the truth that there is nothing new in it. They were bitterly disappointed last week with the budget announcement and they do not believe the figures being spun. They are now calling for an inclusion rate for Irish millers, which I support. This is a practical, fair proposal where a defined percentage of grain milled in Ireland must be of Irish origin. That would create a secure market for home-grown grain, reward sustainability and reduce dependence on imports. Will the Minister develop that proposal, discuss it with his officials, take it very seriously and give it the consideration it is due? We in Sinn Féin believe the tillage and horticultural sectors need targeted investment. We would expand domestic grain production, ensure fair market access for Irish grain and back farmers who have delivered on climate and biodiversity goals.
The crisis in the tillage sector reflects a wider failure across agriculture. There is no new funding for TAMS, no support for young farmers or generational renewal, nothing for the beef or suckler sectors and continued underfunding of the TB eradication and ACRE schemes. Farmers are being failed across the board no matter what way you cut it up, despite the announcements. Farmers in Waterford and throughout rural Ireland deserve fairness, respect and a Government that values the family farm and family farming. Sinn Féin will continue to stand with tillage farmers, listen to them and do our best to secure a sustainable and home-grown future for Irish agriculture.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-10-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:13+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-10-15