The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food meets on Wednesday (April 22).

Beginning at 3:30p.m, it will hold two separate sessions for engagement on the definition of a farmer within the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 and separately on dog welfare.

It will meet in committee room 4 of Leinster House. 

Committee meeting

Speaking ahead of the meeting, committee cathaoirleach deputy Aindrias Moynihan said: “Our committee focuses on discussing the definition of a farmer within the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 and separately on dog welfare at the meeting on Wednesday. 

“In the first session, we will discuss the definition of a farmer within the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 with officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM).

"The committee are interested in the criteria used to define a ‘farmer’ in this context of the scheme and any impacts in terms of the operation of the scheme.”

The farmer definition within the Afforestation Scheme 2023-2027 was reviewed recently with a "view to reducing administrative burden on farm families".

This means that an applicant will now "simply have to pass" the department’s 'active farmer check' and have received a valid payment under the Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme prior to the completion of planting.

Dog welfare

On dogs, Deputy Moynihan said: "We have looked at issues surrounding dog welfare such as chipping, dog control, the warden system and sheep worrying in previous meetings.

"We welcome representatives from the Dogs Trust to the meeting in order to get their insights and perspectives."