Carol Nolan urges stronger agri-food regulator and fair pricing
On 20 February 2025, Carol Nolan addressed the agri sector, calling for stronger powers for the agri-food regulator, simpler scheme administration, and fair prices for producers. She also pressed for clarity on carbon payments for hedgerows and grasslands and raised concern about Mark Corsor.
Carol Nolan began by wishing the ministers well in their new roles and said she looked forward to collaborating with them. She described the agri sector as a core pillar of indigenous and export markets and stressed its crucial role in the national economy.
She highlighted that the agri sector spans primary agriculture, food and drink processing, fisheries, forestry and the equine sector and estimated its contribution at more than 8.5 billion annually. Nolan argued that this contribution is undermined if producers continue to be shortchanged on fair pricing.
Nolan welcomed the existence of an agri-food regulator but said it must be given more powers as soon as possible to protect farmers and ensure fair remuneration for high-quality produce. She reported having submitted parliamentary questions on the regulator and urged continuous monitoring and rapid action on issues brought forward by farmers.
She criticised the complexity and conditionality of many schemes, describing them as extremely bureaucratic, and called for simplification to make support easier to access. Nolan noted the minister's commitment to reduce the administrative burden but insisted that concrete action is needed.
Nolan asked how farmers will be adequately compensated for carbon sequestration, particularly for maintaining hedgerows and grasslands. She ended by saying that Mark Corsor is a huge concern and that government clarity on the issue is needed.
Opening remarks
Carol Nolan began by wishing the ministers well in their new roles and said she looked forward to collaborating with them. She described the agri sector as a core pillar of indigenous and export markets and stressed its crucial role in the national economy.
Sector importance and economic contribution
She highlighted that the agri sector spans primary agriculture, food and drink processing, fisheries, forestry and the equine sector and estimated its contribution at more than 8.5 billion annually. Nolan argued that this contribution is undermined if producers continue to be shortchanged on fair pricing.
Calls for stronger regulator powers
Nolan welcomed the existence of an agri-food regulator but said it must be given more powers as soon as possible to protect farmers and ensure fair remuneration for high-quality produce. She reported having submitted parliamentary questions on the regulator and urged continuous monitoring and rapid action on issues brought forward by farmers.
Bureaucracy and scheme complexity
She criticised the complexity and conditionality of many schemes, describing them as extremely bureaucratic, and called for simplification to make support easier to access. Nolan noted the minister's commitment to reduce the administrative burden but insisted that concrete action is needed.
Carbon payments and Mark Corsor concern
Nolan asked how farmers will be adequately compensated for carbon sequestration, particularly for maintaining hedgerows and grasslands. She ended by saying that Mark Corsor is a huge concern and that government clarity on the issue is needed.
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Transcript
I want to begin by wishing Minister Hayden, Minister Grealish and Minister Healey Ray well in their roles and I look forward to collaborating with them all as we go forward. Minister, I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this core pillar of our Indigenous and export market sectors. It is a very important sector, a sector that has kept the lights on in this country in the bleakest of times, so a huge contributor to our economy and therefore it is vital that we protect farming livelihoods. We all know that the Irish agri sector encompasses a wide range of activities from primary agriculture, food and drink processing and manufacturing, fisheries, forestry and the equine sector and that is estimated to generate more than 8.5 billion annually. But what does that really mean if our producers continue to be shortchanged in terms of fair pricing? I know that many a time I have brought this issue up in this House. I know that we do have an agri-food regulator in place, that is to be welcomed, but the agri-food regulator has called to be given more powers and I think that has to happen as soon as possible in order to protect farmers and ensure that they are getting a fair price for high quality produce. I feel that also we need to ensure that there is monitoring taking place at all times in terms of issues that arise that farmers bring to our attention. They need to be acted upon quickly in terms of the whole bureaucracy of the schemes. That needs to be looked at and certainly many farming organisations have brought that to my attention. The schemes can be extremely bureaucratic and I feel that we have to try to simplify and make it easier for farmers and assist them. I recently submitted a range of parliamentary questions on the whole issue of the agri-food regulator and a wide range of other PQs on other matters to your department, including on the need to reduce the bureaucratic burden, given the increasing complexity and conditionality attached to so many schemes. Minister, I do welcome your reply to me, committing to reduce that burden, but we really need to see action as I stated previously. I also asked how you intended to ensure that Irish farmers are adequately compensated for their role in carbon sequestration, particularly in maintaining hedgerows and grasslands, and we need to make sure that that is also clear. Mark Corsor is a huge concern, Minister. We need clarity from government.