25. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress being made in the forgotten farmer scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52195/26]

The Long Established Young Farmers, commonly referred to as Forgotten Farmers, are a group defined as young farmers who were under the age of 40 in 2015, had commenced in agriculture prior to 2008, did not receive young farmer Installation Aid and were not eligible for young farmer supports under the CAP from 2015 due to the date they had first set up in agriculture. These basic criteria were established when the issue of "Forgotten Farmers" first arose in 2015 after consultation with farmer representatives at the time. The aim of the criteria was to identify farmers who missed out on supports for young farmers because they did not meet the changing eligibility grounds between CAP cycle changes and economic downturn from 2009 to 2015.

The Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland’s Future, contained a commitment to deliver a scheme that recognises the category of farmers known as the ‘Forgotten Farmers’. In order to deliver on this commitment, my Department opened a scheme based on the long established criteria, consultation and survey responses in July 2025.

I am pleased to say that my Department delivered payments under the scheme in December 2025, with each of the 445 successful applicants receiving the maximum amount of €5,000 as provided for in the scheme terms and conditions. Therefore, my Department has delivered on the Programme for Government commitment.

Where an applicant was unsuccessful, my Department provided them with the opportunity to appeal their rejection on eligibility grounds. At this point, these appeals are still being worked through and successful appellants will be notified in the coming months.