Results 21-40 of 3,701 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (7 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The person named submitted an application under the ACRES General stream and was approved into Tranche 2 of the scheme, with a commencement date of 1st January 2024. I have been advised that payment has not yet issued in this case as it is one of a cohort of cases containing rotational actions, in respect of which payments are expected to start issuing in the coming weeks. As the Deputy may...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (7 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: In 2006, the EU introduced a restructuring mechanism intended to reduce overall production of sugar, acknowledging the then global over supply and resultant low prices. Ireland received€353 million as part of the reform package with some €220 million being distributed to beet growers and a further €6 million to machinery contractors in the sector. Since 2006, a number...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (7 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department received state aid approval letter for the Afforestation elements of the Forestry Programme in August 2023. Among the conditions of the approval was condition 63 which reads “The inappropriate afforestation of sensitive habitats such as peat lands and wetlands will be avoided, as well as the negative effects on areas of high ecological value including areas under high...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (7 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: As part of Budget 2025 my Department secured an allocation of €5 million for 2025 to support the group of farmers commonly referred to as forgotten farmers. Work is ongoing to address a number of remaining issues, before the details of the eligibility requirements and benefits to successful applicants under any scheme can be finalised.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (7 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: This felling licence application was received on the 12th February 2025. It is currently going through my Department's forestry licensing process. Registered foresters can see the progress of the application on my Department's Licence Tracker through the iNET facility and applicants can access it through their Agfood account. If an applicant does not have an account for Agfood, they can...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I recognise how important the dairy industry is to west Cork and to the wider rural community. As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am committed to doing everything in my power to develop the sectors for which I am responsible and to communicate a fresh understanding of what it is. Our farmers, fishers, foresters and the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising a vital issue. It is important it be discussed in the Seanad today. I accept his invitation to west Cork. I look forward to going down and meeting many of those farmers with him and seeing the great work happening in that space. This is all about trends and all about the science backing up our argument. We know the economic argument for this. I am clear...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Inquiries (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department recognises that the recent storms Darragh and Éowyn, have caused varying degrees of damage around the country, including significant damage to trees and in some cases electricity infrastructure and that this presents challenges to all stakeholders in forestry. My Department is in regular contact with the ESB, particularly in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Following the latest payment run on 25 April 2025, 43,368 ACRES participants, or just under 97%, are fully paid in respect of the 2023 scheme year. This means that 1,492 participants have not yet had their 2023 contract finalised, of which 1,198 have already received an interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000, respectively. In relation to the 2024 scheme year, 47,477...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: On an annual basis, my Department completes a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) to examine the overall impacts the possible fishing opportunities for the following year could have on the sustainability of the fishing sector from a biological, economic and social perspective. The SIA is based on the advice on fish stocks published by the International Council for the Exploration of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance and their parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, thereafter. My Department, as a sub-scheme of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, provides limited...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Data (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department, under a sub-scheme of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, provides limited funding to assist coastal local authorities in carrying out small scale shovel-ready projects for the development and repair of piers, harbours and slipways in their ownership. Applications are evaluated, taking into account the Terms and Conditions of the scheme,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Data (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues concerning sea-fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. Under the Act, I am...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: In 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines, was announced. This measure, however, was the subject of extended legal proceedings resulting in the measure being overturned in 2023. In 2024, over a period of eight weeks, the Minister held a new public consultation on a review of trawling...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I recognise that the recent storms Darragh and Éowyn have caused varying degrees of damage around the country, including significant damage to trees and that this presents challenges to all stakeholders in forestry. All licence applications with affected areas of windblow will be prioritised by my Department. We are currently examining all potential options to support those...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Forestry in Ireland operates within a legal and regulatory framework – the Forest Act 2014 and the Forestry Regulations 2017 (SI No 191 of 2017). The Forestry Act requires that forest owners who wish to fell their forests require a felling licence. The reason why a felling licence is required, in general, is to ensure that trees in a forest are harvested and removed in a way that...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Firstly, the Programme for Government clearly sets out this Governments ambition to present the best case possible for continuance of Ireland's current derogation whilst working with farmers to deliver improvements in water quality. To that end, a Cabinet Committee on Water Quality chaired by the Taoiseach to coordinate water quality improvements across all sectors and work with farmers...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Contracts (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department is committed, through our People Strategy, to build an agile future-ready workforce through enhancing employee experience, prioritising inclusivity and well-being, and fostering a supportive and high-performing environment. Occasionally, the Department engages services from external HR specialists when further expertise is required to optimise service delivery to employees in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together. Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The...