Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
489. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific supports and guidance being provided to tillage farmers in counties such as Offaly, to comply with the new GAEC 7 crop rotation and diversification requirements and the catch crop alternative under the 2026 BISS scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13916/26]
View answerThe changes to Good Agricultural Environmental Condition or GAEC 7 Crop Rotation / Diversification represent a simplification for farmers and is one of the 9 GAECs and 11 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) that form Conditionality and were introduced in 2023. Crop Diversification also existed in the previous CAP under the Greening Scheme so has been in existence since 2015 and farmers are well accustomed to the requirements. Conditionality is the set of baseline requirements for farmers in receipt of CAP payments.
The latest Simplification Package, approved by the Commission in December, which I fully supported, introduced a number of changes of benefit to farmers. In relation to GAEC 7, the change introduced from 2026 is where the entire holding declared (including any non-arable lands) is 30ha or less, controls and penalties will not apply under GAEC 7 which means that Crop Diversification is no longer enforced on such holdings and the applicant can grow only one crop where heretofore the applicant was required to grow 2 crops. However, where the arable area is between 10ha and 30ha and the holding declared is greater than 30ha there is no change, and the applicant is required to grow 2 crops. Where a farmer does not wish to opt for Crop Diversification the alternative of 50% of the arable area sown to catch crops each year will still apply in 2026 onwards. All farm advisors have been made aware of the changes in January of this year, they are included in the terms and conditions for BISS 2026 and in media coverage.
In relation to supports for farmers, the Irish CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) has a significant budget of €9.8 billion over five years, and more than 60% of that (just under €6 billion) is targeted at supporting farm incomes. With respect to the tillage sector alone, the specific supports include the Coupled Protein Aid Scheme with an annual budget of €10 million, the Straw Incorporation Measure with a budget of €50 million over the period of this current CAP and last year, I secured an allocation in Budget 2026 of €30 million to directly support tillage farmers in 2026 and details of that scheme will be announced in due course.
