Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue has said that any effort to introduce crop insurance for tillage farmers is “primarily a matter for the tillage sector”.
Minister McConalogue was responding to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on agriculture, food and the marine Claire Kerrane.
Kerrane had asked the minister if he had considered the introduction of crop insurance, given the experience the tillage sector has had with regard to weather conditions and crop losses this year.
The Roscommon-Galway TD also asked the minister if he is aware of, or has engaged with, insurance companies which may be interested in providing such insurance, and if he has engaged with the Minister for Finance on the matter.
In response, Minister McConalogue said: “I am acutely aware and fully appreciate the many challenges that tillage growers have experienced in 2023 as a result of unfavourable conditions throughout the crop growing season, and I am aware of some unharvested crops in a number of areas.”
According to the minister, the case for a crop insurance measure was considered for Ireland’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan 2023-2027, but this measure was not progressed due to a lack of support from stakeholders.
“Thew case of additional risk management tools, such as voluntary insurance schemes, were examined in the preparation of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. There was the option to allocate some funding towards mutual insurance-type schemes to provide cover for the loss of crops due to adverse weather,” he said.
“However, there was little support for this proposal from stakeholders and it was not included in the agreed CAP Strategic Plan.
“In relation to the introduction of crop insurance, this is primarily a matter for the tillage sector,” the minister added.
“I would strongly encourage engagement by the sector with insurance companies to see if commercial crop insurance can be provided so that the sector can be protected from potential losses in the future due to adverse weather,” he said.