Results 181-200 of 3,701 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) Scheme is an income support paid directly to farmers, which is 100% funded under EU Regulation. Applicants are paid per hectare of eligible land farmed and for which they hold payment entitlements. Historic iterations of this scheme would also have governed the criteria applicable at the time as to whether land was eligible or not under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Suckler Carbon Efficiency Programme (SCEP) aims to provide support to beef farmers to improve the environmental sustainability of the national beef herd. The programme aims to build on the gains delivered in recent years through the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) and the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme (BEEP) by improving the genetic merit of the Irish suckler herd. ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Policies (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Wool is a natural and renewable fibre produced by sheep reared in both lowland or upland settings. It is natural product, produced sustainably. The determination of the sustainability of wool value chains is undertaken using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and this type of analysis distributes the emissions of sheep farming among its different products to reflect their contributions as...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 783 and 784 together. There is EU and National legislation in place to protect the welfare of animals during slaughter for human consumption. The legislation is clear that animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs must be spared any avoidable pain or suffering during the slaughtering process and that they must only slaughtered by persons who are properly...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Legal Cases (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I am aware of the legal challenge brought by the named organisation against the European Commission, relating to the registration of the Irish Grass Fed Beef PGI, before the Court of Justice of the European Union. At the request of my Department, Ireland has through the Office of the Attorney General intervened in the case. My officials and the Office of the Attorney General are fully...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Properties (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department has no vacant or derelict buildings in Dublin-Rathdown.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Communications (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department has not been in communication with the Department for Social Protection in relation to this particular group and is not currently a member of this interdepartmental group.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Programme for Government provides a commitment to ensure that all legislation and policy in relation to the control of dogs, dog welfare and dog breeding establishments, will transfer to my Department. Discussions involving the relevant Government Departments, including my Department, on the approach to implementation of the above have commenced. These discussions will continue over the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: There is no doubt that, when a new agri-environmental scheme commences at the start of a CAP process, it brings a lot of teething problems. I remember that GLAS in 2015 struggled in that first year. It is a big undertaking. We had a number of different measures coming together at this one time. Let me be clear. While I am pointing to the momentum I have managed to build in this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Deputy is articulating the frustration that is felt by many farmers across the country. The points he raised are not ones I am hearing for the first time. We will have the Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026, and in my determination as Minister, right at the time of the AGRIFISH Council when the other 26 ministers for agriculture are all looking to agree the new CAP, Ireland...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Deputy Aird and I attended the Irish Grain Growers AGM earlier this year, where we heard at first hand the challenges and opportunities for the tillage sector, which is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a significant contribution to overall agricultural output. The Government recognises the importance of the tillage sector and wants to grow the area under tillage crops in the years...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I will go down to visit the flour mill and Deputy Byrne can get me a couple of boxes of Wexford wine while we are there.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: At the Mallow festival, I was presented with Wexford wine and it was very impressive. I am delighted to see that market go from strength to strength. The programme for Government includes support for the development of knock-on industries from the tillage sector. That value-added factor is important, in addition to the basic fundamental of the sector that Deputy Aird articulated so...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I could not agree more. I have said previously in the House that I see agriculture as a gearbox within which all the different enterprises, including tillage, dairy, beef, sheep and pigs, are interlinked and interdependent. Should one sector of that gearbox stop working, it impacts on everything else. Tillage is a key component of that. The sector has been through a tough time. To be a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: When I came into this role ten weeks ago, I looked at the situation with ACRES. It is unacceptable that 2,800 of the farmers who signed up to a contract back in 2023 have still not had their applications processed and that there are problems with the system. In 2024, there were 14,500 farmers who had not had their advance payments issued. That was unacceptable. I worked with the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this really important issue. Our livestock sector faces ever-increasing animal health threats. Diseases such as bluetongue threaten our cattle and sheep. I take the threat of bluetongue virus, BTV, very seriously. My Department carries out post-entry sampling of all ruminant animals and camelids from mainland Europe for BTV regardless of the bluetongue...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: We have enhanced biosecurity measures at our ports for vehicles coming in. Ireland is currently BTV free. An outbreak of BTV in Ireland would have a significant impact on animal welfare, the Irish livestock sector and trade. It is important to state that Bluetongue does not impact human health or food safety. However, the bluetongue virus serotype 3, BTV-3, has spread widely across...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: On the last point, as I outlined, there is no vaccine for BTV-12 but there is one for BTV-3 and that remains under consideration. On the Deputy's main point, the answer is that we are doing everything we can to try to keep this out. Obviously, we are not importing risk animals from risk areas. There is a risk, at the height of the season in high summer, of midges travelling over themselves...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I cannot do this in a minute. I will start by taking grave exception to the phrase Deputy Conway-Walsh. She stated that what is proposed will "severely disadvantage" farmers in Mayo or anywhere else in the context of GAEC 2. That is not the case. Day-to-day farming and agricultural activity will continue. On the basic point made by Deputy Connolly, and following on from Deputy Kenny's...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I was not suggesting that.