Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I wish you and the members of the committee well. It is a great honour for me to be Minister for agriculture but also to be here before the committee today to engage with members. I was a member of this committee for many years. I know its importance in holding Ministers and officials to account and in raising the important issues on behalf of people. I will fly through the opening statement as quickly as I can. The great benefit of this body is the questions and answers and the back and forth. I want to touch on all five points on the agenda for today in my opening statement.

As Minister, I am determined to communicate a fresh understanding of what it is that farmers, fishers, foresters and the food industry contribute to Irish society and the economy. I know that is an ambition the committee shares also. The roots of these sectors run deep. There is not a parish in the country that is not enriched by the contribution they make or where some small business does not depend on them for its existence.

The sector is responsible for the stewardship of 4.5 million ha of agricultural land and over 800,000 ha of forestry. It consists of 133,000 farms, 2,000 fishing vessels and aquaculture sites, and some 2,000 food production and beverage enterprises. It employs 171,400 people, representing 6.4% of the total workforce, but a far greater proportion in rural and coastal areas. In an increasingly globalised world, the Irish agrifood sector is a world leader. All of this is underpinned, and made possible, by the work of those producing the raw material.

The agenda items outlined in the committee's invitation are the nitrates derogation, the next CAP, GAEC 2, TB and ACRES. All of these are pressing issues and issues of concern for the farming community. Turning first to water quality and the nitrates derogation, there is now an unprecedented and significant level of engagement and support right across government, farmers and the broader agrifood industry all focused on one common objective: improving water quality and securing Ireland’s nitrates derogation. Our commitment is underlined through the establishment of the Cabinet committee on water quality, chaired by the Taoiseach, which has been established to co-ordinate water quality improvements across all sectors, not just agriculture.

At last December’s EU nitrates committee meeting, my Department advised the European Commission that Ireland is seeking permission to continue applying in excess of 170 kg livestock manure nitrogen per hectare from 2026. As the only EU member state left seeking to avail of this provision, it is going to be a real challenge for us to secure the next derogation. Notwithstanding improved water quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, last year, there is no room for complacency. In addition to working with the EU nitrates committee, there is ongoing engagement at EU level. Last Monday, I spoke with Commissioner Jessika Roswall in Brussels on the importance of the nitrates derogation to Ireland.

Over the coming months, this Government will continue to engage with stakeholders at both national and European level on the next nitrates action programme and on the nitrates derogation to ensure we put forward the strongest case possible to secure its retention post 2025.

The Common Agricultural Policy is essential to supporting a fair and sufficient income for farmers. The current CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 delivers almost €2 billion in supports to the Irish farming and food sectors annually. Ensuring that the CAP remains a key priority in the next EU budget or multi-annual financial framework is therefore absolutely essential for our country overall. The world order has changed in the most profound way since the last negotiation on the MFF. While the EU faces rising demands in areas such as defence, research and digitisation, we must ensure that the social cohesion and stability of our rural communities is maintained. If we are to protect the CAP, it is vital that we position agriculture and food as a major strategic priority for the European Union. Experiences over the past few years, from the Covid pandemic to the war in Ukraine and the current trade tensions with the US, have underlined the vital importance of our agrifood sector. Food supply chains have proved really resilient but we should not take our food or the people who produce it for granted. The Commission is expected to publish the draft CAP post-2027 regulations shortly after the MFF proposals in July of this year. I have set out my four key priorities for the next CAP and, as negotiations progress, I will continue to advocate for a distinct, two-pillar and ring-fenced EU funding programme for the CAP that supports farm resilience, environmental ambition and rural development.

GAEC 2 is a mandatory condition of the payment of the basic income support for farmers. It is intended to protect wetlands and peatlands. EU regulations require all member states to have a standard in place from the start of this year. Ireland’s agreed GAEC 2 standard, which has been developed in consultation with stakeholders, will have a minimal impact on normal farming practices as it builds on existing national requirements. On 14 May, the European Commission published a CAP simplification proposal. As with any new legislation, we will need to carefully examine the details of the proposals and evaluate the potential and possible impact for Ireland. My Department made submissions on the simplification proposals for Commission consideration. On conditionality, my Department asked for the removal of GAEC 2 from the regulations on the basis of overlap between these requirements and other national and EU legislation. However, the removal of GAEC 2 has not been included in the proposal so it will remain a conditionality requirement and will have to be applied from this year onwards. Individual farmers with GAEC 2 land have been notified that they have lands that will be subject to the new standard. Notifications have gone out as a text alert, letters have been sent in the post and there have been information leaflets.

Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. It is a disease that is having a significant impact on our farmers and their families both financially and emotionally throughout rural Ireland. In recent years, bovine TB levels have deteriorated. Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between those two years. With that, the cost of the TB programme has increased steadily for the Exchequer, for farmers and in terms of lost output. Current projections show an approach of business as usual will lead to further deterioration of disease levels. I am therefore engaged in consultation with key stakeholders on a reset of Ireland’s TB eradication programme. My overriding objective is to strike a balance between minimising the number of affected farmers and introducing impactful measures that will reduce the current levels of bovine TB. We must provide farmers who are dealing with the stress of a TB outbreak today a pathway to navigate a way out of a restriction while also protecting the 94% of farmers and their families whose herds are currently free of TB. This will involve dealing with the multiple infection routes and causes of this disease, be it wildlife, cattle-to-cattle transmission or the residual infection left behind. I hope to achieve a broad consensus with farmer organisations and key stakeholders but there is an urgency here and I intend to move quickly to refine the programme and ensure that the necessary steps are taken to reduce the impact of this disease on farmers and their families.

The agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, is the first scheme of its kind to upscale results-based payments to a national level. Implementing such an ambitious scheme has come with complexities and challenges and I recognise the frustration of those whose payments have been delayed. Almost €492 million, nearly half a billion euro, has been paid to participants since the commencement of the scheme in January 2023. Almost 98% of tranche 1 participants are fully paid up in respect of 2023. Some €209.1 million has been paid to date to 48,723 farmers in respect of participation in ACRES in 2024. This represents approximately 90% of all ACRES participants. A total of €34.3 million had been paid out so far to 45,112 farmers in balancing payments for 2024, which represents just under 84% of all ACRES participants. I want to be really clear that my Department is committed to resolving the issues that have been delaying the remaining payments as soon as possible and we are making progress in this regard. However, I recognise that all these figures I have outlined are cold comfort to those who have not been sorted. It is my absolute priority to get those cases resolved as quickly as possible. Additional resources have been deployed and my officials are systematically working through the remaining issues associated with the outstanding cases. Payment runs will continue to be scheduled every week - we have built up that momentum now and are clearing them every week - to ensure payments continue across all tranches and scheme years as cases pass the required validation checks.

Farmers have a central role to play as food producers, employers, a foundation of sustainable rural communities, protectors of the environment and guarantors of food security in Europe and the world. We must recognise and defend the essential role they play in building a sustainable Ireland for future generations. I thank the committee for giving me time to deliver this opening address this afternoon. I welcome the questions and debate that will follow.