The decision to suspend the Straw Incorporation Measure was a decision the Minister for Agriculture “had to make at very short notice," he has said.

On Wednesday of last week, a couple of days into harvest 2024, the Minister announced he would be suspending the scheme for this year.

“The approvals were to issue and we were getting close to the harvest starting or just commencing. There needed to be a quick decision as to whether we proceeded with approvals.

“I know there’ll be different views on this, and it’s not something I expect everybody to agree with, but as the minister I do have the responsibility of looking at the bigger picture and also it will be on my shoulders as well in terms of the autumn if there is a fodder challenge,” Charlie McConalogue told the Irish Farmers Journal.

He confirmed he did not consult with his two ministerial colleagues, Martin Heydon and Pippa Hackett, or the farm organisations on the matter last week.

He reiterated that his only objective is making sure the country is fodder ready for the year ahead.

“I’ll be listening to all the feedback that’s there, but I certainly have taken the decision not to proceed with it. I’ll be engaging to see what people’s views are in relation to that.

“My message more broadly to the farming community, particularly livestock farmers, is to go out there and buy the straw. If you’ve space in your shed you should be filling it up,” he said.

The minister said he is a strong believer in “trying to make sure we can plan for the year ahead. It’s easier to prevent something than it is to solve it afterwards,” he said, the irony of which is unlikely to be lost on tillage farmers.

€100/ha payment

When pressed on when tillage farmers would see the €100/ha payment for crops sown for 2024, he said his budget for the year is already committed.

Minister McConalogue said that he will be looking to ensure that the €10m from the straw scheme is kept in the sector this year, and that the €100/ha scheme, which has a total budget of €30m is a separate scheme.

“I’ll be engaging further with the Department of Public Expenditure to deliver that, but I always made it clear that that was funding which wasn’t factored into my budget for this year. It may be the case that I’ll have to secure that in the upcoming budget if there’s no way of there being additional funds there this year,” he added.

ACRES

Farmers in the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) can expect to receive their scorecards in the next week or two, he said.

He admitted that the scheme has been “really challenging to administer” within his Department and has tasked his officials to ensure that the current issues around ACRES are resolved.

Non-productive investment approvals are to issue in quarter four of 2024, he confirmed.

Dairy

When asked what support he will give to the dairy sector in light of farmers being left out of the fodder scheme, some dairy equipment being excluded from the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), the VAT reclaim issue and the concern over the nitrates derogation, the minister said he is looking to support the sector “very significantly”.

A new 70% slurry storage grant, originally announced during Budget 2024, is a means of trying to support dairy farmers, he maintained.

“I’m very supportive of the sector. I acknowledge it’s a sector that’s been under pressure, and we are working hard to ensure we maintain the derogation. It had a good year two years ago, it’s into a second quite challenging year,” he said.

Solar energy and land

Two week’s ago, Teagasc director Frank O’Mara said he doesn’t want to see a reduction in Ireland’s food production capabilities as a result of land being used for solar energy.

When asked if he was concerned about Ireland’s ability to continue to produce food as a result of increased land being used for solar, the minister said it’s something the sector must look at very closely.

“While there’s good opportunity there in relation to solar, we also have to respect the role of land and the importance of land from a food production point of view. It’s relatively small so far [the area under solar panels], but I think it’s something we as agricultural stakeholders have to engage with,” he said.

Sugar industry

The minister was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal in Tuam, Co Galway, following the Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) AGM. Tuam was one of the four locations of Ireland’s former sugar factories. Does the minister ever see a scenario for the Irish sugar industry to make a return?

“I don’t know, you just don’t know how agriculture and food evolve. The big challenge last time was that it would have required big levels of subsidisation to be viable. We don’t know how markets will evolve.

“It doesn’t seem to be particularly viable right now, but it’s very hard to predict the future. I think what’s important is that as we go forward, we try and work with farmers to make sure that farming activity which is profitable is supported in terms of maximising farm income from it. Were there to be an opportunity in sugar beet – absolutely that’s something we should work on and look at with farmers too,” he said.

Minister McConalogue confirmed he plans to run in the next General Election and has been nominated in Donegal for Fianna Fáil, with a convention to take place in the coming weeks.

When asked if he would like to remain in the agriculture portfolio in the next govehe said: “I would be delighted to be returned as minister”.