The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Lobbying Organisation The Irish Farmers' Association - IFA

Date published 18 May, 2022

Relevant Matter Public policy or programme

Public Policy Area Environment

Period 1 Jan, 2022 to 30 Apr, 2022

Specific Details Soil Sampling Programme

Intended results To highlight that the implementation of the Pilot Soil Sampling Programme is unworkable and the failure to organise timely soil sampling for those who were accepted into the programme means many applicants will miss out on the opportunity to participate in the programme. To highlight that owing to the delays in implementation, many of the farmers who were initially accepted into the programme have been forced to complete soil sampling at their own expense To highlight that only 7,800 farmers were accepted out of 15,800 applicants, which shows the programme is significantly underfunded. To highlight that it's vital that the number of farms sampled and the flow of results increases significantly in the coming weeks so farmers will have soil analysis results available to make informed decisions around the purchase of fertilisers. To highlight that Soil sampling and analysis will play an important future role in managing soils in an environmentally sustainable way; however, any future schemes must be better designed and have the practical realities of day-to-day farming in mind. To seek a meeting with Bill Callanan Senior Inspector of the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine.

Name of person primarily responsible for lobbying on this activity Paul O'Brien IFA Environment & Rural Affairs Committee Chair, Max Potterton IFA Cereal 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.

Email (2-5)

Social Media (1)

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.

Martin Browne TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Jackie Cahill TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Matt Carthy TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Collins TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Fitzmaurice TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Joe Flaherty TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Paul Kehoe TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Brian Leddin TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Michael Ring TD (Dáil Éireann, the Oireachtas)

Victor Boyhan Senator (Seanad)

Lynn Boylan Senator (Seanad)

Paul Daly Senator (Seanad)

Tim Lombard Senator (Seanad)

Denis O'Donovan Senator (Seanad)

Barry Andrews MEP (European Parliament)

Billy Kelleher MEP (European Parliament)

Chris MacManus MEP (European Parliament)

Ciarán Cuffe MEP (European Parliament)

Clare Daly MEP (European Parliament)

Colm Markey MEP (European Parliament)

Deirdre Clune MEP (European Parliament)

Frances Fitzgerald MEP (European Parliament)

Grace O'Sullivan MEP (European Parliament)

Luke Ming Flanagan MEP (European Parliament)

Maria Walsh MEP (European Parliament)

Mick Wallace MEP (European Parliament)

Seán Kelly MEP (European Parliament)

Bill Callanan Chief Inspector (Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine)