Go raibh maith agat, Deputy Geoghegan, for the question. I am a great supporter of the farmer markets and organic food markets. In 2023 the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine awarded €1.1 million to 12 projects to promote and develop the organic sector over 2023 and 2024. One of the successful applications was to hold an organic food fair in Merrion Square, and this was a well-attended event that took place on 31 August and 1 September 2024. In 2024, the Department held a call to promote and develop short supply chains. There were five themes to the call, one of which was “Encourage and support local authorities to expand the number of farmers’ markets, farm shops and food emporiums, and support the formation of community-owned markets in all towns, showcasing local food produce from local farmers, growers and food producers". There were over 90 applications, and 16 successful projects were announced in January this year. Many of these will be supporting local food markets, but none is Dublin based, unfortunately. A total of €920,000 in funding has been allocated for 2024 and 2025, inclusive. Earlier this year, I announced a €3 million call for projects to promote and develop the organic sector over the period 2025 to 2027. The call looked for projects that would align with the EU action plan on organics, and allowed for proposals to develop national and local food fairs. A total of 25 applications were received. These will be evaluated, successful applicants notified and projects published before the end of April. Given the ongoing process, I am not in a position to state whether or not any of the applications relate to national or Dublin-based food fairs but over the past number of years every opportunity has been provided for groups and individuals to apply for funding to support food fairs.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I thank the Deputy for his comments. It is great that a Dublin TD is talking about farmers' markets, which is very important. I spoke about this in my first speech to this Dáil when a number of the TDs from Dublin were talking about the farming community. Farmers put an awful lot into the economy in Ireland and I am great a supporter of farmers' markets. We have very successful ones in Galway and Galway City Council tries to support an organic farmers produce sales in the Black Box Theatre, which has been very successful. As I said, there is an application in place. It is in process and I hope the Merrion Square project will be successful and I hope that if it is, I will be there to visit it. I thank the Deputy for the question and I hope the application will be successful.
Sentiment score: 0.53
I agree with the Deputy on that and I will look at it, along with my colleagues here. The second call closed on 7 March and relates to a €3 million fund to develop and promote our organic sector to cover the period of 2025 to 2027. The applicants were asked to submit their applications for that. It is in process at the moment and the announcements will hopefully be made by the end of April. I hope more organic markets like this will be in our towns and villages around the country but it would be great to see more of them within the major cities and the likes of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway where farmers come in to sell their produce, as we see all over Europe. I came back from Vietnam recently and there is a market on every street. It is maybe something we could see if we could grow more here. I thank the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I thank Deputy Byrne for submitting this question. The Department operates a number of schemes in the horticulture sector. They may be availed of by wine producers in the context of the grape-growing aspect of their production. The two schemes are the scheme for investment aid for innovation and diversification in horticulture, which supports feasibility and desk studies, and the scheme of investment aid for innovation and diversification in horticulture, which provides funding for capital investment. These schemes are aimed at increasing innovation and diversification in the horticulture sector. The feasibility studies scheme is aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, engaging in primary horticulture production which would like to innovate and diversity in the horticultural industry. The capital investment scheme is intended to assist in increasing innovation and diversification in horticulture with grant aid in capital investment and specialised plant and equipment to microenterprises and SMEs active in primary horticulture production. A number of vine growers have been supported under this scheme in the past. A budget of €8.5 million was allocated for the implementation of these schemes in 2025. The call for applications closed in February. Should these schemes reopen for applications in 2026, this will be widely advertised through the Department's website, on social media, in the farming press and through stakeholders such as Teagasc and An Bord Bia. Additionally, I encourage producers to engage with their local enterprise offices. These offices are a valuable resource to local small businesses because they can provide advice and sometimes funding to assist in the development of businesses. It may also be of interest to producers to make contact with their local action groups in respect of the LEADER programme. These groups contain local representatives from the community, public and private sector and award funding to projects within their geographical area in accordance with their local development strategy.
Sentiment score: 0.40
It is important to note that my officials participated in the European Commission high-level wine group last year. This group was established to develop policy recommendations to address issues in the European wine sector. While primarily aimed at reducing burdens currently impacting larger wine-producing countries, the final recommendations document produced by the group also recognised the importance of new and emerging wine producing countries, including Ireland. This may present an opportunity for further expansion in the cultivation of vineyards for wine production in Ireland. My Department will continue to monitor the pace of growth in this sector and is happy to engage with producers wishing to pursue this as an agrifood business, as part of the horticultural strategy. I would be delighted to sit down with any producers the Deputy would like to introduce to me. If there is any help or support we can give them, we will do so.
Sentiment score: 0.41
One of the first meetings I had when I was appointed was with Bord Bia. I was very impressed with the organisation. It has 14 offices around the world. We export to 114 countries and many of those exports are drinks that are produced in Ireland. If we can promote the wine industry here, I am sure Bord Bia will be delighted to do so. I will be happy to work with Deputy Byrne to ensure that happens.
Sentiment score: 0.35