Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food

Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

2:00 am

Photo of Martin HeydonMartin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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It is a statutory instrument, which is a form of legislation. That has to go through the legal services section of our Department. It is a lengthy enough process. Obviously, with all legislation, you have to be sure that it is right, the Attorney General has to be happy with it and it has to be robust and not have any unintended consequences. A memo will go to the next Cabinet meeting next week. It will address the delegated functions and the roles of the Ministers of State, Deputies Healy-Rae and Grealish. I hope and anticipate the functions of the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, to follow a week or two after that in terms of fisheries. I am in the hands of the officials on the legal services team as to how quickly they come through. I do not accept that the Ministers of State's hands are tied behind their backs. Everybody knows the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, has clear roles and responsibility, the same with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who was with the Commissioner in Cork last week, and the same with the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, who is doing very important work in the area of new market development and research and innovation.

That work continues. The paperwork issue will be resolved.