Tillage Sector: Statements Dail Éireann — 2025-10-15 ============================================================ Peter 'Chap' Cleere (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny I welcome these statements on the tillage sector. I know first hand that the tillage sector is a vital part of the agrifood sector. I see it where I am from in places like Paulstown, Danesfort, Callan, Tullaroan, Ballyragget, Mooncoin and Graiguenamanagh, where the tillage sector is as vibrant as ever. It contributes over €1.3 billion annually to the Irish economy yet the sector is in decline. The area under tillage has decreased by 40% in 40 years. According to the IFA, the recent decline in area can be principally attributed to a reduction in cereal production, which has dropped by 50,000 ha since 2012. Ireland now has one of the lowest percentages of land devoted to arable cropping in the EU, at a little over 6% of the utilisable agricultural area. The sector faces huge input prices, competition for land against other sectors and low global markets. Budget 2026 provided funding of at least €50 million to the tillage sector. This will be channelled through various schemes. These measures will help to support tillage farm incomes and provide a strong base to protect the future of tillage farming, in particular young tillage farmers. Last night in questions to the Minister for agriculture, I welcomed his intention to consult the various stakeholders on the design and operation of a new tillage scheme in due course. I look forward to engagement with the Minister in relation to that. I ask that our younger farmers be to the forefront of any negotiations and conversations. The programme for Government specifically has a measure which states we will "Invest significantly in the tillage sector over five years to maintain and grow the sector". I acknowledge the recent budget was budget one of five. I understand the constraints within the fiscal situation we find ourselves in, but we need to find more money for the agricultural sector and the tillage sector. While I do not wish to take away from other sectors one bit, I stress that the tillage sector needs to be protected and looked after. There is a specific measure in the programme for Government which states we will "Examine facilities for processing of Irish crops and explore openings for oilseed and milling wheat processing." That is definitely an area we can explore and where there can be big wins. I will speak specifically about Irish whiskey. There were mutterings earlier in the year about the intention to reopen the technical files on Irish whiskey. Currently, Irish whiskey is defined as "A spirit distilled on the Island of Ireland ... from a mash of malted cereals with or without whole grains of other cereals". By this definition, there is no requirement to use Irish grain in the production of Irish whiskey. In my constituency, we have a fantastic distillery, Ballykeefe Distillery, which is all home-grown in Kilkenny. It is a fantastic enterprise. What Morgan and the family do there is unbelievable. By contrast, Irish cream liqueur must contain Irish milk and English whiskey must be made with UK-grown grain. Something has to be done in that regard. I would welcome if these technical files were reopened. I would be very supportive of requiring Irish whiskey to be made with grain grown in Ireland. I acknowledge there are challenges in terms of the amount of grain we produce but it should be looked at. This would seem an obvious way to support the struggling tillage sector, along with homes, families and farmers in Thomastown, Myshall, Ballinkillen, Castlecomer, Kells, Stonyford, Kilmacow, Gowran and Lisdowney, to mention a couple of places where the tillage sector is strong in my constituency. --- 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