Questions

210. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has assessed the emissions-reduction potential lost due to the rejection of the majority of TAMS 3 solar PV applications; whether he has requested that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to increase its approval rate in light of Ireland’s projected shortfall in meeting 2030 climate targets; and if he wil…

211. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether his Department has conducted any value-for-money analysis comparing the cost of increasing solar PV approvals under TAMS 3, with the potential cost of EU non-compliance fines for missed climate targets; and if not, whether such an analysis will now be undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4660/26]

212. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that current Government policy is coherent in circumstances where SEAI struggles to allocate its renewable-energy budget while his Department rejects the majority of farmers seeking to install solar PV; and whether he will direct the relevant Ministers to develop a unified national strategy for on-farm renewable energy…

217. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rationale for limiting approvals for TAMS 3 solar PV applications to approximately 25% of eligible applicants in tranche 9; the specific budgetary, administrative, or policy constraints that determined this cap; the evidence base used to justify rejecting the majority of farmers who sought to invest in renewable energy despite Govern…

218. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of solar PV applications received, deemed eligible, and approved under each TAMS 3 tranche to date; the total funding allocated for solar PV under TAMS 3; the total funding actually drawn down; and whether his Department has assessed the cost-effectiveness of increasing the approval rate given the high level of unmet far…

219. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has conducted any assessment of the climate-mitigation impact of rejecting approximately 75% of farmers applying for solar PV support; if not, to explain how the current approval policy aligns with Ireland’s legally binding 2030 emissions-reduction targets and the risk of EU non-compliance penalties; and if he will make…

220. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the justification for using nitrates derogation status as a negative scoring criterion for solar PV applications under TAMS 3; whether the Department has assessed the impact of this criterion on dairy farmers who have significantly higher electricity demand and therefore greater renewable-energy potential; whether the Department will rev…

221. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown of solar PV approvals, by farm enterprise type, dairy, beef, tillage, mixed and so on; whether the Department has evaluated whether the current scoring system disproportionately disadvantages full-time dairy farmers relative to lower-energy-use enterprises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46…

222. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average processing time for solar PV applications under TAMS 3; the number of applications currently pending; and the steps being taken to reduce delays given the time-sensitive nature of renewable-energy investments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4655/26]

232. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the basis on which funding ceilings for TAMS 3 solar PV were set; whether he will consider revising the allocation given the strong climate-mitigation case for expanding solar PV uptake on farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5476/26]

1798. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the negotiations he took part in prior to the EU’s decision on 13 December in relation to the fisheries deal; and if he was aware that the Hague preferences would be blocked. [74284/25]

785. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department holds, or has sought from an organisation (details supplied) or any market-monitoring source, data on the price differential paid for four and five star rams that meet Sheep Improvement Scheme eligibility criteria compared with two and three star rams in the years 2023, 2024 and 2025; and if so, to provide those average…

786. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has assessed whether the standard service contract and terms and conditions used by an organisation which assign all intellectual-property and data rights to the organisation, allows the restriction on breeders’ access to performance data and genetic-evaluation results for their own animals, allow unilateral termination of evaluati…

787. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Question No. 714 of 25 November 2025, if his Department has examined an organisations genomic services terms and conditions (October 2025) specifically Clauses 6.1 to 6.4 (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71877/25]

788. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any breeder or breed society wishing to operate their own recognised breeding programme in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 is required, in practice, to enrol in an organisations - national breeding programme (details supplied) and to comply with contractual terms and operational rules set by the organisation which are not co…

789. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the designated third parties operating performance recording and genetic evaluation in Ireland for organisations (details supplied) provide breeders and breed societies with the ability, as required under Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 and Recitals (1), (2) and (10), to autonomously define the objectives and structure of thei…

790. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he considers that, prior to approving or designating a third party under Article 27 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 to operate performance recording and genetic evaluation services on behalf of breeders, there should be a clear demonstration that such a body can provide the full range of services necessary to ensure breeders and breed so…

791. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that, in circumstances where breed societies in Ireland effectively have only a single designated third-party provider of performance recording and genetic-evaluation services, those societies many with limited legal and financial resources are not placed at a disadvantage that could compel them to accept contractual t…

792. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Livestock Breeding, Production and Trade Division (LBPTD) of his Department is the designated section responsible for the oversight and approval functions set out in regulation (EU) 2016/1012, including the approval and ongoing monitoring of breeding bodies and breeding programmes in accordance with articles four, eight and 12 of …

793. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which officials from his Department who are appointed to governance roles within designated third-party breeding organisations such as organisations (details supplied) are able to fulfil their fiduciary duties of independence, impartiality, loyalty to the State, accountability, due care and transparency; the way these official…

794. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if organisations (details supplied) are legally structured as non-State, independent entities that is, as a co-operative, company limited by guarantee or similar, rather than as public bodies or State-controlled organisations; whether this legal status is the reason that under the domestic transposition of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012 he ha…

711. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the scientific basis for statements in the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 (details supplied); and if these claims were based on his Department’s funded research or internal analyses by organisations given low scrapie prevalence and limited demonstrated performance differences. [65506/25]

712. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his Department's process for updating SIS policy where scientific evidence, including evidence derived from datasets (details supplied) or his Department's funded research, has been contradicted or superseded; and the way in which independence is ensured. [65507/25]

713. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the minimum requirements or participation conditions set an organisation (details supplied) for genomic services or involvement in its breeding-related activities comply with breeders' rights under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1012, including the breeder's right to participate in and contribute to the breeding progr…

714. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the secondary use or linkage of farmers' genomic, performance and flockbook/pedigree data (details supplied) has been assessed for compliance with EU agricultural data-governance guidance, including the EU Code of Conduct on Agricultural Data Sharing and DG AGRI principles on purpose limitation and originator control; and whether…