I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Clarke. It relates to the proposals within the CAP strategic plan to support women in agriculture. I thank my colleague Deputy Clarke for submitting this question. I commend the women in agriculture stakeholders group, which is relatively new but has clearly had an impact. There have been positive changes with regard to increasing the age limit for support from the enhanced targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, and increasing the role of knowledge transfer gr…

I welcome the progress that has been made. I have often said that there are lots of women farmers but the problem is they are not recognised as such. I just want to touch on one aspect, namely, the EIPs. The strategic plan states there will be potential for women-centred EIPs. Considering this is one of the three aspects of the plan in place to support women farmers, can the Minister give us an idea of how many of the operations will be specifically targeted to support women in agriculture? I understand there are 3…

I welcome these positive steps. They are something for which my party has been calling for quite some time. Moving beyond this part of the CAP process, it would send a strong signal today if the Minister could confirm his commitment to ensuring that the monitoring committee of CAP will have increased representation by women within its membership. The Minister and myself are at one in commending the work of the women in agriculture stakeholder group. It would be valuable if they were recognised for the work that the…

This is an area that we have discussed on many occasions. I recognise that the issue facing the horticulture and mushroom sectors is not necessarily of the Department's making but it has been allowed to develop into a full-blown crisis. This Department, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, all have a role on this. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Comm…

The horticultural sector is crucially important. It supports the employment of 17,000 people. It has particular emphasis in a number of geographical areas. My constituency is heavily dependent on the mushroom sector. The reason for that is farmers did what they were told. They were told to diversify. They were told to move out of beef on smallholdings. They did that and now they are faced with an existential crisis beyond their making. There has been too much dithering on this issue. We have had working groups, rep…

What we are missing are specific answers to the immediate crises being faced. The working paper published by the Department in conjunction with the others that I referenced places a significant emphasis on the role of Bord na Móna but there is a lack of clarity on how Bord na Móna will assist. Can the Minister of State confirm that domestic peat producers will be offered first refusal on any overhanging Bord na Móna stocks? Can she confirm whether she has met with the company to discuss the outworkings of the worki…

Has the Minister of State met Bord na Móna?

Has the Minister of State met Bord na Móna?

Yes.

I commend the Deputy Ward's proposal that the Minister would visit the centre. I had an opportunity during the recess to go there. I welcome the investment made by the Department in this fantastic facility. It is one of those initiatives that ticks so many boxes. It is good for animal welfare and it is good for the community but, crucially and above all else, it is good promotion for the Department. I consider any funding for this project to be a good investment on behalf of the Minister and the Department in showi…

One would wonder if something else is going on given that so many Members who have asked questions are missing. I have never seen it happen with agriculture questions before.

Absolutely not. I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of low-emission slurry spreading with the Minister. We are all agreed that this has a key role to play both in our emissions targets and in improving water quality. In the context of all of that, could the Minister outline his proposals to expand the use of low-emission slurry spreading and to support farmers in making the change?

I agree. This is a great example that shows that when farmers are given the technology and shown the alternative practices that can allow them to reduce emissions and reduce damage to water sources, they will embrace that and move forward. However, they need support. The Minister is correct that TAMS has been very effective in ensuring people have the necessary machinery and can acquire it in an affordable way. However, in the event that this machinery essentially becomes mandatory across the board, TAMS will not b…

I advocate that we have an exclusive scheme on this issue because we know the benefits it brings. Rather than forcing everybody through the TAMS route, which does not cater for everybody, and through a route that excludes a large cohort in the spreading of slurry - that is, farm contractors - we should have an Exchequer-funded scheme for this. I have said this at the agriculture committee. It makes no sense that, at Exchequer level, we have a direct scheme that will allow somebody who lives across the road from a D…

That is because you do not understand them.

I welcome the fact the Bill has been brought before the House. It is not before time. Ireland is renowned for its failures to adequately tackle white-collar and corporate crime. We have seen in this House and in the public discourse how that plays out. A financial scandal is followed by some form of inquiry, usually a very lengthy one, but nobody ever seems to be held to account and then it falls down on that pin as to whether laws or regulations were technically broken. Bizarrely, often the most substantive outcom…

That is okay. I have made my five-minute speech anyway.

I would appreciate it if the Minister would outline his plans to improve the pay and conditions for professionals working in the childcare sector. I would particularly appreciate it if he would give a timeframe for the delivery of those much-needed improvements.

The Minister's commitment to the sector will be judged on two measures, namely, the conditions experienced by those working in it and the costs borne by those people bringing their children to childcare facilities. Neither of those two areas has seen any improvement since this Government took office or since those thousands of people came onto the streets two years ago. We must, therefore, speed this process up, and one of my questions specifically focuses on when the Minister is going to publish and outline the ne…

I take it from the Minister's response that those childcare providers I referred to will have the full information by March. I welcome that he expects the JLC process to be complete by then and that the Department will have published the breakdown of how this process will work in future. The next point, then, concerns those people working today in stressful conditions, because childcare facilities are probably one of the last remaining areas where Covid-19 is still having an impact on staff and children. I refer as…