I thank the Deputy for raising this point. Of all the big issues we are dealing with and will discuss in this House, be it the budget just passed or all the other challenges, nothing is as central as the CAP, because it sets out the framework for the seven years beyond 2027. At the most recent Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, held in Brussels in September 2025, I took the opportunity to outline that the proposed governance and structure of the post-2027 multi-annual financial framework, MFF, or the overal…

I concur. It comes down to brass tacks, or money, and that is why I stress the budget dimension is of central importance. I stressed this to Commissioner Hansen. I welcome his efforts in securing a €296 billion ring-fenced EU-wide CAP envelope. This is a significant achievement in the context of there being no commitments to ring fencing beforehand. It has been very clear there was not going to be ring fencing. To get a specific amount ring-fenced, not just a percentage but €296 billion, was a significant achieveme…

In my first nine months in the job, I hope I have demonstrated that I have good, sharp elbows. In my recent budget negotiations, I secured a 9% increase on the Department of agriculture's overall allocation, whereas the summer economic statement indicated that the overall increase in Government spending would be only 6%. I think the Department has received the second largest percentage increase in current allocations compared with last year's budget. I have, therefore, demonstrated an ability to put forward a credi…

I agree that this is one of the key issues of our time. It is also the key stressor for older farmers who may not have an identified successor or who may have more than one identified successor and only one farm. There are many challenges in that space. I do not say that light-heartedly. It genuinely is a big cause of stress and concern. Obviously, the next generation who want to farm want that certainty as well to allow them to make very big life decisions. The programme for Government prioritises "supporting inte…

To give a straight answer to a straight question, we have started already. A number of the recommendations are on the extension of the reliefs to give more certainty, including agricultural relief, young trained farmer relief and relief stamp duties. Those exemptions were worth €325 million to farm families in 2024 alone.

Extending them for as long as we possibly can under state aid rules was a key recommendation of the commission. There are 31 recommendations in total. We have started this already. An implementation team has been established in my Department and it will work on the recommendations of the commission. While some recommendations are for consideration and progress in the context of the next CAP, others can be progressed in a shorter timeframe. I want to work on those practical measures with Members of this House but al…

In relation to the forgotten farmers, I have addressed that issue. The scheme opened up for applications earlier in the year. Those who qualify under the terms and conditions I inherited from an issue 20 years ago will be dealt with and will be paid by the end of this year. That is an issue that will be addressed once and for all. In terms of the broader piece, a line in the report of the commission on generational renewal jumped out at me. It stated that what will not change is that the key decisions made around s…

I thank Deputy Cleere. He raises a valid point. The IFA called a meeting in the Killashee Hotel in Kildare, which was attended by over 1,000 tillage farmers. I addressed the meeting and answered questions in a very robust debate. We got through the issues, not just financial and short-term issues in terms of supporting the sector and maintaining confidence among farmers so that they will plough, do minimum tillage or put seed back in the ground again next year. There are medium-term interventions that can be taken …

I completely agree with the Deputy. The truth is finance was found last year and has been found again for next year to support the tillage sector at a time of constrained budgets and a lot of competing demands on budgets. The farming for water European Innovation Partnership, EIP, of which tillage farmers are availing, has a budget of €60 million to support targeted on-farm additional measures to improve water quality, including establishment of cover crops, which we know have a really big impact as well. This year…

The whiskey file is one element that we can do as part of that future-proofing piece. In the meeting with the tillage farmers on the night in question I discussed the role of quality assurance, which we can make progress on if we all work together, and addressing the use of native grains, how they are used in our feed system, how they are incorporated and how we can monetise that for farmers. Teagasc will say that there is a lower emission profile using native grains as a feedstock for Irish beef. There is a story …

Bovine TB is an ongoing challenge for Irish farmers. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts of bovine TB on farmers, their families and rural Ireland. In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in bovine TB levels nationally, with over 6,000 farm families affected by a bovine TB outbreak in 2024, and herd incidence at 6.04%. The primary driver of the cost of the bovine TB programme is disease levels. In 2024, the bovine TB programme cost €100 million, which was an increase of 35% on 202…

As part of the work of the TB forum, which has done extensive work down the years, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme. Agreement was reached within the group in the past two years and there were rate enhancements to the income supplements scheme, the hardship grant and the depopulation grant, as well as enhanced ceilings for selected animals being removed as part of the on-farm market valuation scheme. In a…

I am working with the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, on farmer mental health and well-being. This really is a key stressor and when somebody can have a significant breakdown. We want to support farmers through that journey. As the senior Minister with responsibility for the approach to bovine TB, the best way I can do that is give light at the end of the tunnel to those farmers who are in that cycle of continuous reactors and follow-up tests to show them there is a clear pathway out of this; and for those 94%…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this point. I know it is a big issue in County Cork, as it is throughout the country. The income supplement scheme he referenced has been reviewed and there have been increases in thresholds across the hardship grant, depopulation grant and others. At the heart of all of these grants and supports is the fact that we have a disease that is wreaking havoc and causing great stress and strain to our farming families, and a huge financial strain to my budget. I could think of so many bet…

I cannot stress any further that I am absolutely aware of the financial impact on farm families who have continuous reactors, whose herds are locked up and all of the strain that brings. That is why the additional money I get and the significant resources I now have must go into tackling the spread of the disease. It is pivotal. I do not want future generations of families to go through that same stress, financial turmoil and everything that goes with it. This action plan, which is now fully funded, is about addres…

-----but I have to direct the financial resources I have to stopping the spread of the disease. That is my clear focus here.

Ongoing geopolitical tensions have meant that food security is increasingly at the forefront of the political agenda both at EU and global level. Ireland is among the most food secure countries in the world. As part of the EU Single Market and the Common Agricultural Policy, Ireland benefits from robust mechanisms that underpin food security across Europe. There is a series of instruments embedded in the EU policy framework to ensure food security. Safeguarding food security and reinforcing the resilience of food s…

I meet individuals from Talamh Beo at different events. It has a role to play. We need to get a handle on why Ireland is one of the most food secure nations in the world according to key metrics. It is not because we produce every bit of food that is consumed on the island; it is because of the highly integrated nature of our food supply system around the world. It means from an environmental perspective, food should be produced where it can be produced most efficiently. If we look at our livestock system, we can s…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising a critical issue for the future of our sector. The programme for Government prioritises "Supporting inter-generational farm succession". Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agrifood sector, states generational renewal in farming is critically important to ensure the future viability and social sustainability of the Irish agrifood sector and of rural Ireland. There are a number of supports for generational renewal currently available to farmers under Ireland’s CAP Strategic…

Yes, and that is why we established the interdepartmental group within my Department on its implementation. The implementation piece of this report is so important because ultimately, it is about clear action. Some of these measures require the structure of the next CAP post 2027 to be able to implement. A national budget is not going to deliver the type of succession scheme that would previously always have been in the structure of a CAP. That is not to say there are not a lot of structural things that can be done…