Relevant Matter
Matters involving public funds
Public Policy Area
Agriculture
Period
1 May, 2024 to 31 Aug, 2024
Specific Details
Unharvested Potato Crops
Intended results
To highlight the difficult harvest period for growers. Harvest 2023 has been reported as one of the most difficult in recent memory. Widespread flooding in October further compounded the difficult conditions. It was almost inevitable that losses would occur. Growers managed to get the majority of the crops out of the ground which was referred to as a ‘salvage operation' by many.
A proportion of potatoes remained unharvested because of the challenges and frost conditions in mid-January destroyed significant amounts of these crops.
To emphasise that this issue is causing a huge financial and mental toll on those affected. Some have attempted to harvest the crops; however, saleable yield is negligible and will not cover even a proportion of the cost of production.
To highlight that this has put huge financial strain on the affected growers, some of which had over 100 acres unharvested. The cost of growing an acre of potatoes was at an all-time high last season according to a Teagasc report.
To propose a compensation fund for potato farmers to be put in place without delay.
Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity
Francie Gorman IFA President, Alice Doyle IFA President, Sean Ryan IFA Potato Chair, Niamh Brennan IFA Senior Policy Executive,
Did any Designated Public Official(DPO) or former Designated Public Official(DPO) carry out lobbying activities on your behalf in relation to this return? You must include yourself, and answer Yes, if you are a current DPO or a DPO at any time in the past. (What is a Designated Public Official?)
No
Did you manage or direct a grassroots campaign?
No
Was this lobbying done on behalf of a client?
No
Lobbying activity
The following activities occurred for this specific Subject Matter Area.
Informal communication (2-5)
Designated public officials lobbied
The following DPOs were lobbied during this return period on this specific Subject Matter Area. These DPOs were involved in at least one of the Lobbying Activities listed above, but not necessarily all of them.
As returns are specific to a Subject Matter Area the above Lobbying Activities may be associated with multiple returns.
Amii McKeever
Adviser to Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Charlie McConalogue
Minister (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Louise Byrne
Deputy Chief Inspector (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)
Matt Shanahan
TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)