Tillage Sector: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2025-10-15
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William Aird (FG), Laois

I welcome the opportunity this evening to speak on the tillage sector. I thank all the tillage farmers in County Laois who voted for me in the general election.
The tillage sector is a vital and strategic part of Irish agriculture, the rural economy and our environmental ambitions. It is a cornerstone of our agrifood system. Across Ireland, 344,000 ha are devoted to tillage, supporting around 7,000 farm families and 11,000 full-time equivalent jobs in contracting, machinery, haulage, storage, and processing. Our tillage farmers produce high-quality grains that underpin everything from potatoes, porridge and cereals to brewing, distilling and the animal feed industry. Tillage is essential to food security, feed security and environmental sustainability.
Although it covers only 8% of agricultural land, tillage generates €1.3 billion in annual output and sustains thousands of local businesses. Every euro earned on a tillage farm circulates several times in the local economy, supporting jobs, shops and rural services. The sector provides raw materials for the malting, brewing and distilling industries, the milling sector and the animal feed industry, supporting world-class dairy, beef and pig sectors. Strengthening domestic production keeps value at home, reduces imports and enhances food and feed security.
Tillage is a low-emission and land-efficient sector central to our national sustainability goals. It produces very little methane and less than 2 tonnes of carbon per hectare, which is among the lowest in Irish farming. Climate Action Plan 2024 recognises this. It mentions tillage 43 times, highlighting its potential to balance emissions and strengthen national food security.
In spite of that, the sector faces worrying trends. The tillage area has declined by 40% in 40 years. Some 3,000 ha have been lost since the tillage incentive scheme ended and 1,398 farmers have left the sector since 2022. Tillage farmers face many pressures. Approximately 44% lost money in 2024. That figure comes from Teagasc, not me. Input costs are soaring, international markets are volatile and there is competition for land. Under convergence, CAP payments are declining.
Despite the challenges, the sector has huge potential. Current supports, like the protein aid scheme and the straw incorporation measure, are not enough. A long-term plan is needed, with clear growth targets aligned with economic and environmental goals. There must be improved access to finance and capital grants. There must also be more research and innovation. Better integration with the livestock sector is needed to secure the use of Irish-grown feed. That is vital. I ensure that all the feed I buy has Irish grain in it - nothing else. The Minister could also consider new risk-management tools like income-stabilisation funds or weather-indexed insurance.
Expanding the tillage area should be treated as a national strategic priority under Food Vision 2030 and the climate action plan.
The tillage sector is a strategic pillar of Irish agriculture, a generator of rural employment, a driver of exports, a provider of food and feed security and a partner in achieving climate goals.
I attended every meeting in County Laois when we lost the beet. That caused a huge dent in the tillage sector. I was a county councillor at that time. I am now a Dáil Deputy representing the cereal growers in County Laois and I certainly do not want to stand up in this House year after year saying we are losing more people from the tillage sector. The tillage sector is of huge importance to us. We must learn from the past.
There are 200,000 suckler cows gone out of the system. Thousands of suckler farmers are no longer involved in that business. I believe that, hand on heart, had we engaged earlier with that sector, we would not have the situation we now have. I am delighted for those people who stayed with it, given the price of cattle today. It showed up everything for what it was, that is, the profits being made at the killing line by those who made money off the backs of the farmers who were producing the best cattle that could be produced. Unfortunately, those farmers were forced out of the industry. That is why I am so passionate when I speak about the tillage sector. I do not want to see the same happen to them.
About 1,000 people attended Killashee House - I also attended - not for a night out but to plead their case and to try to get an intervention before it was too late. I acknowledge the work the Minister for agriculture is doing but this sector of our agriculture is in a crisis situation at the moment. Supporting Irish tillage means Ireland will continue to lead in high quality, climate conscious food and feed production.

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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