Fuel Supports to the Agricultural Sector: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-21
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

I thank all of the Members who contributed to today's debate and put forward thought-provoking points and clearly articulated the experiences they have had in recent weeks. I have highlighted a number of questions they want answered, which I will go through. I reflect on some of the comments made about how Government engaged with the public and beyond that. The point about democracy was referenced in simple terms. I am a democrat, and I am proud of our democracy. I will fight to the death for people's right to have a different view to mine and to be clearly able to articulate that in a constructive way.
Any power I have in my role as Minister for agriculture and as a TD is derived from the people through the democratic process. We have elections. Those processes come and go. People in this House were elected through a democratic process as well. That process gives us the power that is derived from the people. When future elections come, those who are not Members of this House or the Lower House but who wish to be will have the ability to put their names forward. Until then, we have been charged by the people democratically to make decisions to protect these sectors as much as we can. We do that to the best of our ability.
Senator Brady talked about simplification, which he made very clear in his point. He asked about 2026 and 2025. This is based on usage in 2025. It will be self-declaration. When talking about simplification, it does not get any easier than self-declaration but there will be a robust audit process because this is taxpayers' money. We will always protect taxpayers' money. Some of the contributions make it sound like there is a bottomless pit or it is our or someone else's money, but it is the people's money. We are charged through the democratic process with minding it and using it to the best of our ability to support the public. That is what we are doing in supporting our farmers, fishers, farm contractors, hauliers and more.
Farmers and farm contractors will have to prove their usage in 2025. There is a very good reason for that. If they were proving their usage in 2026, we would not be able to pay them until after the end of the process. We want to pay them before this process ends. This covers until the end of July. It is my clear intention that people will be paid in advance of that because they need the money quickly. As to how soon this can be done, as soon as possible. As to how soon it will be open for applications, as soon as possible. We have made good progress since I got approval last Sunday week. I anticipate I will be able to bring this to Cabinet very soon to be able to open for applications. We are making progress. I ask people to bear that in mind.
On who will be covered, the scheme is focused from a farmer's perspective on the undertaking that it is active primary production of agricultural products on farms. There is a clear definition from the Commission as to what that is. Farmers and contractors are both covered.
Senator Brady asked about state aid requirements. Discussions are ongoing around a state aid temporary framework to cater for the consequences of the crisis in the Middle East. It is expected that this will come into effect in the coming weeks across the EU, which is an important point to reflect on as well.
The Senator also asked about price caps. There is a good reason we have not introduced price caps - they do not work. International evidence from Hungary, France and Slovenia shows they can lead to shortages, queues and rationing. It does not remove the costs, but transfers them from the individual to the taxpayer, which is still everybody's money. It costs billions of euro in the short term and would significantly undermine economic stability, leaving consumers much worse off. It is not in people's best interests to have price caps. I am happy to be able to clarify that.
Senator Brady also asked if the Government was profiteering from this. When the price of fuel went up, Exchequer funds were increased by about €4 million a week as a result. When we introduced the first package of €250 million, that was an Exchequer intervention to support the public across a range of areas to the tune of €4 million a day. We have as a Government used taxpayers' money by taking away and covering the NORA levy as well. We are subsidising fuel now by around 32 cent a litre, so it is far from profiteering, which was the message that deliberately misled the people through social media in very simple terms. It takes a few minutes for me to explain that back. This is the challenge the Government will always have - "When you are explaining, you are losing". It is hard to win over hearts and minds when you have to explain these intricacies but the Government will continue to do that. On that basis, the Government was far from profiteering. This is all taxpayers' money. We were using it in a very targeted way, as we clearly did again subsequently.
Senator Boyhan spoke about simplification, clarity and the need to manage expectations. He made a point around fodder schemes and tillage supports. I have an ongoing budgetary process. I always have to agree a clear set of priorities for the year in terms of next year's budget and beyond. I will continue to do that. Work in my Department never stops. Previous schemes and communication are important.
A number of Senators referenced ACRES. I think Senator Collins referenced it in particular. I am very proud this week that we have expended €37 million of taxpayers' money on 47,000 farmers in balancing payments under ACRES. It is a properly functioning scheme. It had challenges at the start. I was not happy with it when I came in. I worked closely with my officials and we have it going very well. Those farmers were very appreciative of receiving that payment. They are the farmers who put their hand up for a higher environmental ambition in their work, taking on that extra measure, and they are being supported in doing that. On the points around carbon tax throughout this debate, in excess of €1.5 billion is the cost of ACRES because we took in additional people who applied in the second round. Some €170 million of carbon tax this year goes to fund that element of ACRES. Farmers are direct recipients and beneficiaries of that. I take on board the genuine points expressed about that and the lack of an alternative source. A private individual has the option to purchase an electric car and put solar panels on their house but a farmer who has a tractor does not have the alternative of an electric tractor. This has to be reflected upon. It is a challenge for us.
Senator Boyhan referenced farm bodies and representative groups of farm contractors, as did Senator Paul Daly, and asked that I engage with them. They have a mandate from their members but we listen to everybody. We engage with the people. We are messengers of the people as TDs and Members of the Upper House. Similarly, Members' engagement as elected representatives of the Oireachtas is also important in terms of their input in our policy-making. I respect the mandate of everybody here. That is why when they ring and they reach out, I am happy to refer back.
Senator Daly asked if it would be enough. A few other contributors asked what the future held. We do not know for sure. We do not control the cause of the energy shock. We did not create the war between Iran, the US and Israel and we cannot be sure when it will end. We all hope and pray it will end as soon as possible, primarily for the people directly affected, but also to be able to get back to a more normal way of operating. I am acutely aware of the impact energy shocks have on everyone's lives. That is why the Government cannot spend every euro available to it now. To those who ask us to do so, it would not be a responsible thing for the Government to do. We have to manage and have a robustness in the Exchequer funds that allows us to get through what could be a very tough winter and to have that set of interventions. I am not in a position to give any commitments beyond the €100 million and where we are at. I do not know what the future holds or if interventions will be needed.
In making the case I did to my Cabinet colleagues when seeking €100 million to support farmers, fishers and farm contractors, I reflected that we were in the busiest time of the year for the use of green diesel in agricultural activity and producing our food. Whether you are a dairy, tillage or other kind of farmer, we are heading into a very busy silage season and into July we will be into the cereal season. This intervention is a direct support at the time it is needed the most.
On the points articulated across the House about the cash flow challenges posed for contractors, in all of my engagements with farm organisations, I put two options to them. There was the option of direct intervention in a flat rate per hectare payment, which would be quicker but would not be targeted on usage. The clear majority view was it was better to design a new scheme, which takes time because you are not working off the blueprint of a previous scheme. We never had a scheme for contractors before. We are making great progress in having that open for applications very soon. There will be no delay but it takes a little more time do something new. It was the majority view across the representative bodies to have something targeted based on usage. Contractors by their nature use a lot more, so they will get more of the subsidy than individual farmers, but that benefits every contractor's customer because they will see a lower contractor bill than they would have if this intervention had not been made. Every farmer who uses a contractor will benefit from that, just as they will benefit from the subsidy themselves.
Senator Daly's point on food security is relevant. The scheme details will be available as soon as possible. We are working night and day on that. We have made great progress in a little over a week on in.
The Senator's point around fuel distributors is also valid. I will be meeting with representatives from a number of the banks tomorrow. In engaging with them, I will make the point about ensuring that latitude is given and that there will be forbearance. A key point, which was highlighted by Senators Collins, McCormack and O'Reilly, is that contractors just want the reduction at the pumps. Senator O'Reilly said that this is the only way contractors can see it happen. That is because they never had a scheme previously. I will be the first Minister for agriculture ever to have a directly targeted scheme based on usage to which contractors will be able to apply. Of course, they cannot see that because they have not experienced it before. However, the best way to do it is on the basis of their usage, etc. We will do that in a targeted way.
Senator Collins mixed up her thousands with her millions when she referred to a figure of €750,000. It is €750 million of an intervention.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-21