Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon has called for the return to a whole-of-farm approach to allocating payments for environmental schemes.

His comment was made in response to a question from Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice on the RTÉ Radio One show Today with Claire Byrne.

Currently, farmers are assessed in a cost incurred/income forgone model to monitor and deliver such farm payments.

However, Deputy Fitzmaurice said that compared with payments two decades ago, farmers are receiving less money along with a carbon tax.

“Would there not be a scheme without a carbon tax?”

“In 2007 and 2008, when the country wasn’t awash with money like it is now, we were able to give €10,000 to those same farmers and we didn’t have to have a carbon tax. So how do you justify a carbon tax and then give €6,000 less to each farmer?”

Payments

Responding to the complaints about the ACRES scheme, Minister Heydon said the government is restricted in how much money it can give to farmers.

“The system for allocating money under environmental schemes has changed from a whole-of-farm approach to the cost incurred/income forgone model which does restrict how much money you give.

“I do believe we should go back to a system that is a whole-of-government approach where farmers can get profit on those environmental measures.”

In response, Deputy Fitzmaurice added that the current government has not delivered for farmers and changes in supports must be made.

“Do we want food produced well in this country?

“If we want that as a nation, then we have to put our hands in our pockets as a government and make sure we look after the farmers that are producing the goods in this country.

"Not leaving them with an income that isn’t sustainable and leaving the next generation wondering ‘will I go back or will I go away from it?’.”