The issue is fully covered. With regard to the point earlier on, the behaviour was outrageous, as was the allegation by Deputy Mattie McGrath's colleague as to why the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, was here, given she was elected as a Minister of State by this Dáil to carry out her function. A very quick Google search will point the Deputy to where that particular Deputy who made the allegation about organic farming declared it previously at an Oireachtas committee in these very Houses.

I am sure the Deputy will find the information very useful.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As she knows, I have long supported the cohort of farmers known as the forgotten farmers and I have committed to supporting those farmers who find themselves in this situation, through no fault of their own in many cases, and I have committed to addressing this issue. We are working on a tailored support package for these farmers and I want to conclude the process as soon as possible. My Department has developed a preliminary outline of a proposal to provide support to the…

I will be having a meeting with the team in my Department shortly for a full update on all of the work I have asked them to do and to progress. The same team has been working on rolling out all of the various new schemes which are opening week-on-week. I have sought to give as much certainty as possible to those farmers in the forgotten farmer category that this will happen but I have also made it clear that it will take time and that it cannot happen quickly. It will be a number of more months but I want to progre…

We have received submissions from the various farming organisations on this issue and on how they feel it should be addressed. The various options and ways forward are being looked at by my officials so we do not have full clarity on that yet because a range of options are being looked at. As soon as I have that clarity I will bring it but there has been engagement and we have gathered information from farm representatives on their views on the issue and how best we could address it.

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this. I start by again reaffirming my commitment to our domestic tillage sector. It is dynamic, sustainable and world-class and I am committed to securing the long-term future of the sector. I want to see it grow in the years ahead and we understand the tillage sector's importance and how it is an integral component of our industry. We also know it makes a significant contribution to the overall agricultural output. Last year it was estimated at €1 billion in value at farm gate pri…

I have a massive commitment to the tillage sector. It is a very important one that has been shrinking in recent years, but that we need to see expand and for the trend to be reversed. Some of the measures I have introduced have been unprecedented in terms of the support level. I talked about the tillage incentive scheme last year.

I also referred to the straw incorporation measure, which is very important. I introduced it for the first time and it is now plugged into the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP. Some €10 million was paid last year for that. There was also a doubling of the protein aid in terms of the coupling under pillar 1. Those are supports that were never there before and are there again. It did achieve a reversal last year. Thankfully, we saw it start to go in the right direction. We are in a very different year this year with u…

I am hungry for ideas in this regard. I put a big effort into trying to grow and support the sector. Under the straw incorporation measure, an individual tillage farmer can get up to €10,000. That was a significant injection into it. We are in a new TAMS this year, so even if farmers have maximised their investments last time around, they now have a new €90,000 investment ceiling. We have also expanded the range of equipment that they can apply for under TAMS. The big pressure obviously is the challenge around rent…

The Government has sought to support tillage in a way that has never happened before, through a range of measures. We had made progress. This year has different types of pressures, ones which there are not necessarily obvious answers to address. I want to pool all the ideas together to see how we can support this sector. I certainly welcome any ideas Deputy Cairns or any other Deputies have in that regard. I welcome in particular the committee I have put together of all of the people in the tillage sector to advise…

In December 2022, I approved the National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development following a public consultation process and subsequent refinement. The plan establishes a vision for Irish aquaculture up to 2030, which reflects the common direction set out in the EU's strategic guidelines for more sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture for the period. It visualises a sustainable, profitable, competitive, and market-focused aquaculture industry making the maximum long-term economic and social cont…

I take Deputy Connolly's point. There is a sense of urgency in terms of finalising the publication of the report. As I say, it is going to be published by the end of this quarter. In the meantime, we have seen significant supports and work for the development of the aquaculture sector. In July of last year I announced a €20 million sustainable aquaculture growth scheme, which is providing stimulus for aquaculture businesses to grow and meet the growing demand for Irish seafood. My Department’s European Maritime, Fi…

I thank Deputy Connolly. I checked with my Department to see if there has been any engagement on the issue of seaweed in that location. I will ask the Department to revert to the Deputy directly. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue today. Our aquaculture sector does not get enough recognition or discussion in the Chamber, or indeed recognition in wider society around its potential. The Deputy is absolutely right that it must be done in a way that is sustainable, in a way that integrates with the environment ar…

I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this matter. As he knows, I have recently returned from leading a successful trade mission to China in co-operation with Bord Bia. The trade mission showcased, as we would expect, the very best of Irish food and drink to key existing and potential trade customers in China. As a country, we have a hard-earned and well-deserved reputation as a supplier of safe and high quality infant formula to international markets, including China. It was our sixth most important agrifood export …

Bord Bia and the dairy companies working with it have been making significant efforts to build on the significant reputation we have as a quality, sustainable, safe and nutritious dairy exporter and increase various other strands of product into China. Infant formula is obviously a very important product that has to be produced to the highest of standards. Everyone takes very seriously what they feed their children. The fact we have such a strong presence in the infant formula market in China and other parts of the…

Bord Bia works on that on an ongoing basis with the companies concerned. There has been a change in dynamic, that is, a significant increase in domestic supply and a preference in China for domestically produced infant formula in recent years. As the Deputy pointed out, a few years ago, the preference was for imported infant formula. That has been a change in dynamic. The level of market share of infant formula we had developed in China reflects the esteem in which our milk is held, and rightly so, given how we pro…

Both the Department and I are fully committed to supporting sustainable One Health, One Welfare initiatives in line with the programme for Government and Working Together for Animal Welfare, our animal welfare strategy for the period up to 2025. We continue to support a number of urban horse projects nationwide as a result of our approach. These projects foster community leadership on education and responsible ownership for young people from disadvantaged communities and backgrounds. Supports for the projects are t…

Deputy Gould is right in that it is an important issue and there are many challenges throughout the country. We all need to work to try to address this issue and provide support. The local authorities play an important role in that and the support, work and engagement with my Department is very important in that regard. We welcome ongoing engagement and further proposals. We continue to have a lot of work to do and progress to make to address the issue. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and the project.

There is a role for everyone. Leadership is required from my Department in this regard, which we are determined to provide and have been providing. The animal welfare division in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has commenced communications with local authorities with a view to arranging a conference to encourage greater participation in urban horse projects nationwide. The seminar is expected to be attended by local authorities and representatives from existing projects, non-governmental organisa…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is important to clarify at the outset that my Department only permits animals to be transported in compliance with the EU's animal welfare legislation, which is among the most progressive legal frameworks in the world. Furthermore, Ireland has national rules to protect the welfare of livestock being exported to third countries on ships, which lay down controls that are more stringent than EU rules and which have been held up as an example by the European Commission to …