Agriculture Schemes
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Charlie McConalogue (FF), Donegal

I thank Deputy Dolan again for taking up the mantle in relation to this important issue, and for trying to drive it on and achieve real progress. It is a crucial issue for maximising the potential of Irish agriculture and food production on this island, and it will be driven by young people coming into the sector. That is why I set up the commission for generational renewal just about two years ago. The good work done by the many good people who were on that commission, under the chairpersonship of Aidan O'Driscoll, was foundational and important in distilling what the challenges were around generational renewal and in putting in place that evidential and policy platform to consider how we can best go forward in attracting young people into agriculture.
Many supports are already available, and we all acknowledge they need to be built on. The supports currently in place amounted to €428 million in 2024, which is significant, but we need to build on that further. I will quote Aidan O'Driscoll, who was the chair of the commission on generational renewal, in terms of his key perspective on the report and the issue. He said:
Ultimately, the really important decisions on this issue will be made around the kitchen tables in farmhouses throughout this country. The rather sterile term “generational renewal” translates on the ground into intensely personal and family decisions, which many farm families find difficult. This crucial context is also reflected in this report and addressed in our recommendations.
Those are important matters to consider as well, but the key bottom line is that agriculture has to be a sustainable livelihood for people. It is a really exciting time for Irish agriculture and so many wonderful things are happening in it in terms of the sustainability journey and that great capacity through new learning and technology and new ways of working with the environment to be really productive from a food-producing point of view, while at the same time nurturing and protecting the environment around us. That can only be driven forward by young people, and I thank Deputy Dolan for the work he is doing in seeking to drive it forward and deliver the tools and supports within the next CAP, which will see more and more young people take up that career.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17