480. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there has been a decline in the number of mushroom growers in Ireland; and the strategies he is taking to encourage more mushroom growing. [67178/26]

The number of mushroom growers in Ireland has consolidated over time, with farms becoming larger to gain efficiencies of scale in what is an extremely competitive marketplace. Despite the lower number of mushroom producers in Ireland, overall mushroom production has remained consistent over the past five years with the sector's estimated farm gate value for 2025 of €1.8 million showing an increase of 13.1% on 2024. Irish producers export 80-85% of production to the UK each year.

With warmer spring and summer months, Irish consumer demand for mushrooms has reduced. The sector, supported by Bord Bia, is working hard to promote mushroom consumption with campaigns such as It's Not Magic. It's Mushrooms. to turn occasional purchasers into loyal purchasers and drive further consumption.

Most commercial mushroom producers belong to a Producer Organisation which allows them to improve margins through efficiencies. My Department administers the Scheme of EU aid for Producer Organisations which last year paid out €8.7 million in aid to 5 Producer Organisations.

This scheme and the Exchequer funded Schemes for Investment Aid for Innovation and Diversification in Horticulture and Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector (Budget allocated for 2026 of €8.5 million) have supported the sector in investing in automation and other efficiency initiatives to reduce costs.