The current area under organic production is 74,000 ha and we brought in 13,000 ha from last year. Therefore, the total area either in organic or in conversion is 87,000 ha. As I said, an increase of 50,000 ha with the proposed money in the budget for next year would bring the figure to around 130,000 ha, which would represent a 57% increase on this year. In terms of the 7.5% target, it was not set to be reached by 2030. Originally, it was to be reached in the term of the Government but as that is not a set period …

I thank the Deputy. He is absolutely right. We do need to bring in large number of farmers because this will create a critical mass and allow for significant engagement, knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer work. I certainly concur with that. With regard to the current design of the scheme, the average farm size in the scheme across the board is in the region of 40 ha. They are relatively small farms. There are also smaller farms in the scheme and not many large farms. The scheme is capped at an area-based payment t…

As Minister of State with responsibility for this sector I recently commissioned KPMG to compile a report on growth opportunities in the horticulture sector, including those opportunities deriving from the global trend towards plant-based diets. The report will form the basis of a roadmap for the sector, which will outline the support and approach required to take advantage of these opportunities, and there are many. The report’s outputs will sit within our new ten-year strategy for the agrifood sector, Food Vision…

The horticulture sector has been largely ignored over the decades in terms of support. That has increased more recently and it is something we have to build on. There is a role for horticulture, particularly now with the need to shorten supply chains. There is a huge import substitution piece that we are not embracing yet, and there is certainly an intent to do that. In budget 2022, €500,000 has been allocated for examining local food systems and how to connect local growers with local consumers. There are supports…

The labour issue is going to continue to be a problem, and I ask myself where it will end. We are spiralling towards a race to the bottom and we have to get off that track. That is in supporting local food producers. Many wonderful local food producers operate off a handful of acres, maybe employing five or six people supplying a small town with quite a significant number of horticultural projects and making a good living out of it. Therefore, it can be done. It is small scale. I suppose we very much focused on the…

I am delighted to have secured the significant increase in the budget for organic farming in 2022. Funding for the organic farming scheme was increased to €21 million, up from €16 million last year, and €2 million was allocated for further organic sector development measures. This increase is welcome and will certainly address the growing demand from both farmers and consumers for this type of production. The €21 million funding is a doubling of the funding for organics since I took office less than two years. The …

On the target, I appreciate it is nowhere near the EU target of 25%. We are coming from an incredibly low base level because of low support for this sector in recent decades. I am getting us on the road to improve that. It is my hope, if we hit those targets by the end of this CAP, the door will be open to ramp them up in the next CAP. Organic farmers are not excluded from agri-environmental schemes. Sometimes the Commission rules and the regulations limit double payments on the same land for essentially the same m…

I have engaged closely with Bord Bia and Teagasc. It is my priority to direct those agencies to increase what they do for organics with regards to Teagasc's research and advisory role and Bord Bia's marketing of organic produce, including domestic marketing, which is important. This relates to the previous comments on market opportunities, particularly for livestock farmers. I know organic producers. Some take the factory route while others look at a more local base and command a very significant price for their an…

Recently, I spoke in the Chamber about an intensive dairy farmer who does not use chemical fertilisers to grow his grass. Describing how he feeds his cows on a multispecies sward, a mix of grasses, clovers and herbs, I said that I hoped I was seeing the future in the way that he and his family were farming. Since then, in budget 2022, my Department has allocated €1 million to pilot a reseeding programme. We want to support farmers to use multispecies sward seed at no extra cost in order that they can try growing ni…

I welcome this motion from my Green Party colleagues and acknowledge the work Senator Garvey has put into it. Quite simply, water is life. When it stays where it should, in proper quantities and at a correct flow rate, it supports life, whether that is ecosystems in soils, on land or in our waterways. When flow rates of water exceed the capacity of the soil, river, stream or drain, flooding will occur. It is quite simple but we see it all the time, and we are going to see more of it. At this stage I believe we can …

Tomorrow marks the UN International Day of Rural Women. I want to mark it by honouring the contribution of women and girls to agriculture and rural community development in Ireland. In agriculture, women have long been referred to as the invisible unpaid workforce on farms and there is plenty of evidence to back this up. NUIG research from a few years ago indicated that women are the sole owners of just 10% of all farmland in Ireland with most of these women owning the land through marital transfer rather than succ…

As Minister of State with responsibility for land use and biodiversity, I welcome the agriculture budget for 2022. It is fair, it is friendly to the climate and biodiversity, and it will protect farm families, farm profitability and farm safety and sustainability. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has secured a healthy gross budget of €1.858 billion for our Department. This is in addition to almost €1.2 billion in EU-funded direct payments and represents an increase of 2% on last year's allocation. Between retainin…

I will follow on from much of Senator Kyne's contribution. Seven months ago, a headline in the Irish Farmers' Journal carried some bad news. It read, "Fertiliser prices jump on the back of tight supplies". This week, Bloomberg claimed things were getting even worse and that Europe has a fertiliser crisis and prices are spiking. There are some tough times ahead for many of our farmers. Goods based on fossil fuels have shaped our society and fertiliser is one of them. In the same way we cannot live without plastics, …

I congratulate Senator Moynihan on her marriage and wish her and her husband every best wish for the future. I echo Senator Chambers's statement on maternity restrictions and concur with everything she said. It is a real thrill when places we know or are dear to us are recognised. I felt pure joy, as well as a strong sense of pride, when I saw that three midlands towns had made it onto The Irish Times 's list of the 20 best places to live in Ireland. Tullamore, Abbeyleix and Ballinakill were all there, on a list of…

I also extend my warmest congratulations to Deputy Bacik on her election. What a wonderful addition to the Dáil she will be. Irish agriculture must change. The change required to put it on course is transformational and the 2020s must be the decade that starts that substantial directional change. The last major food systems shift was in the post-war decades. The misnamed green revolution, fuelled by fossil fuels, led us along the path of abundance and growth, but at an enormous cost to our environment. The next maj…

I thank Senator Cummins for bringing this matter to our attention. It is an important issue. I appreciate the Senator's recognition of the €3.1 million investment in marine amenities in his area. The possible designation of Dunmore East as a landing port for UK-registered Northern Ireland fishing vessels is an important matter. As the House will be aware, in January 2021, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, designated five additional ports for landings by UK-registered Northern Ir…

I again thank Senator Cummins. He acknowledged the reasons behind the designation. There is quite a difference in the landing figures between Howth and Dunmore East, notwithstanding the geographically strategic importance of Dunmore East. As the Minister has indicated, the designation is open for consideration. Regarding the weighing of fish at ports, although it is unfortunate, I am sure the EU had good reason to remove the derogation. I am not sure whether this can be examined further but I will speak to the seni…

I thank the Senators for bringing this important Commencement matter to the House. As they both know, I fully acknowledge the important contribution bees make not only to agriculture and biodiversity but also as an important activity for people. Indeed, beekeepers are very passionate about what they do. In this regard, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides a range of supports and initiatives to encourage and assist beekeepers and the national beekeeping associations. These supports include fun…

I thank both Senators once more for bringing this to the House. Joking aside, this is a serious issue. We have had bees on the roof of Agriculture House. They are not there at the moment because we are getting the roof fixed but I understand they will be back next season. I look forward to it.

They absolutely better be. I will certainly make sure of that. We have made progress on this in the last couple of months, more so than what happened previously. As Senator Martin said, the beekeepers are a long time waiting for this. Hopefully the work between Department officials, the associations, the NPWS and whoever else needs to be involved will progress this. We just have to ensure that if we are going to do this, we get it right and do not leave ourselves up for challenge and have to backtrack. I wish the S…