Ministers announce funding for new EIP projects on Animal Health, Welfare, and Gender Balance in Farming
- Published on: 23 October 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett, today announced funding for four new European Innovation Partnership (EIP) projects across the themes of Animal Health and Welfare, and Gender Balance in Farming in Ireland.
Minister Hackett said:
“I’m delighted to be announcing the approval of funding for these four new European Innovation Partnership projects under the themes of Animal Health and Welfare, and Gender Balance in Farming in Ireland, and I wish the successful applicants well in their endeavours. As we all know, there are many challenges in farming today, and the EIP model is designed to facilitate innovation and collaboration in tackling these challenges, by bringing a wide range of stakeholders together to pool their resources and ideas, and to develop solutions.”
Commenting on the announcement, Minister McConalogue, said:
“The addition of these four new EIP projects brings the total we have launched under this CAP Strategic Plan thus far to six with our two flagship EIP projects ‘Farming for Water’ and the ‘Breeding Waders’ progressing positively since their launch earlier this year. This model of stakeholders coming together through operational groups is now well-established with EIPs proving to be an excellent channel for encouraging innovation in Irish farming and rural areas. This model respects and recognises local conditions, local needs, and the particular nature of agricultural activity in different areas and in so doing, they continue to contribute greatly to the vitality of Ireland’s rural communities.”
Of the four projects selected from the recent open call, three will cover animal health and welfare issues. One project will be trialling measures to address tail biting in pigs, with the ambition of enabling the rearing of pigs with intact tails in Ireland. The second will be implementing actions aimed at enhancing suckler cow health in High Nature Value areas, focussing on the Burren. The last of these projects will be taking a multi-disciplinary approach to lameness control on Irish farms.
Under Gender Balance, the successful project aims to address the needs of women on farms in relation to working with machinery and livestock.
Minister Hackett continued:
“The funding provided will enable the successful multi-actor Operational Groups to proceed with practical, on-the-ground implementation of novel and innovative approaches as proof of concept. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of these projects and their wider application across the country.”
Minister Hackett concluded:
“My department will continue to support and encourage as wide a range of EIP projects as possible, in order to build on the achievements to date and to bring new and innovative ideas into practice on farms. In that regard, I have recently launched a Call for EIP projects on Generational Renewal and Digital Technologies, and I would encourage Operational Groups to submit Expressions of Interest and be innovative in their approach. I also intend to launch a new call on environmental sustainability in the coming weeks, further details of which will follow soon.”
Notes
The EIP initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and the Irish Government under the CAP Strategic Plan. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will fund payments to farmers as well as the Operational Groups administrative costs.
The EIP initiative involves a range of stakeholders (farmers, advisors, researchers, NGOs) coming together in what are termed ‘Operational Groups’ to trial innovative solutions that the Groups themselves have developed.
European Innovation Partnership (EIP) projects are locally-led schemes which are designed and implemented by collaborative groups involving farmers, scientists, ecologists and other experts to deliver specific goals.
Following an evaluation process conducted by an expert committee with reference to approved selection criteria, three projects under Animal Health and Welfare and one project under the theme of Gender Balance were approved to proceed to full implementation, as follows.
| Project | Lead Partner | Funding approved |
| Irish pig sector stakeholders moving together towards raising pigs with intact tails. | Teagasc | €650,000 |
| Enhancing Suckler Cow Health, Welfare and Resilience in a High Nature Value Landscape. | HNVS Ltd. | €254,004 |
| Sound Cow Innovation Programme (SCIP) | Hoof Health Check Technical Working Group of Animal Health Ireland | €649,598 |
| Making Farms Work for Women | Claire Brennan, Agricultural Advisor | €650,000 |
Further information on the European Innovation Partnership initiative and the background documents for these and other EIP calls can be accessed on the department website at: gov.ie - European Innovation Partnership Scheme (www.gov.ie).