Results 81-100 of 4,472 for speaker:Martin Heydon

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

Martin Heydon: The unpredictable nature of extreme weather/flooding events and the resulting impact on agriculture does not lend itself to a ready made scheme template where local effects vary with the event. My Department in recent years has provided a number of schemes to support farmers who have been badly affected by extreme weather/flooding. These include the Shass Landslide, The Shannon Callows,...

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

Martin Heydon: In order for a farmer to avail of funding under CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) and nationally funded farm schemes, they may in the first instance be required to submit a valid BISS and other area based schemes application. This is an annual application submitted via my Department’s online system and provides details of the area farmed and the nature of farming undertaken by the applicant in...

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

Martin Heydon: My Department operates a wide range of schemes to ensure that farmers across all enterprise types receive targeted supports. Broadly there are three types of schemes; area based, livestock based and grants for farm modernisation. For any farmer wishing to apply for area based schemes they must submit an annual area based application by 15 May. This application allows the farmer to apply...

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

Martin Heydon: The programme for Government "Securing our Future" contains a commitment to "examine a mechanism to engage with stakeholders on the design of national agriculture schemes." My Department is committed to ongoing contact and engagement with stakeholders on the design of both nationally funded and CAP funded schemes. In the case of nationally funded schemes, meetings were held earlier...

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

Martin Heydon: The new Programme for Government emphasises supporting intergenerational farm succession. Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agri-food sector, highlights that ensuring generational renewal in farming is vital for the sector’s long-term viability and social sustainability in rural Ireland. The Succession Planning Advice Grant is a relatively new scheme launched in...

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

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 710 and 711 together. My colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has policy and operational responsibility for employment permits. Arising from my ongoing engagement with sector stakeholders, my Department is in regular contact with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) regarding the labour shortages that exist...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Agreements (8 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: Ireland has consistently highlighted that the EU trade agreement with Mercosur should include legally binding commitments on sustainability, including climate, biodiversity, and deforestation protections. As it stands, it is not clear that those legally binding assurances have been secured. I am also conscious that Irish and EU farmers are subject to complex regulations requiring them to...

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

Martin Heydon: This Government is delivering on its commitment in the Programme for Government to continue to prioritise improvements in farm safety, health and wellbeing through strengthened supports, with a specific focus on farmer mental health and wellbeing. I secured dedicated funding of €2.5 million in Budget 2025 to enable my Department to deliver a range of initiatives, including...

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

Martin Heydon: Food Vision 2030 is Ireland’s stakeholder-led agri-food strategy, developed for the sector by the sector, with a vision for Ireland as a “World Leader in Sustainable Food Systems”. Working together, all the stakeholders have committed to transform our agriculture, food, forestry, and marine sectors to achieve environmental, economic and social sustainability. Food...

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

Martin Heydon: My Department has lead policy responsibility within government for animal welfare and takes the matter of animal welfare most seriously. I am committed to the policy that animal welfare standards are vigorously applied in a fair and even-handed manner. In 2021, my Department launched the Animal Welfare Strategy (2021-2025), which created a framework for engagement and collaboration with...

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

Martin Heydon: Under the Control of Horses Act 1996, local authorities may take a range of actions in relation to equines including prohibiting horses in certain areas, the issuing of licences and the seizure of horses in contravention of the Act. These powers can be used in respect of straying horses, which includes horses put on land without the owner’s permission, including public land. My...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statutory Instruments (8 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Statutory Instrument mentioned in response to Parliamentary Question No. 762 of 8 April 2025 to allow sharing of data between third party agri-loan providers and my Department has been finalised. S.I. No. 120/2025 - European Union (de minimis aid in the agriculture sector) Regulations 2025, was signed into law on 4 April, 2025, and notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I wish the Deputy and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle the best of luck in the hurling at the weekend. As a proud Kildare man, we look forward to competing for the Liam MacCarthy with both teams next year, after our win in the Joe McDonagh Cup. The Deputy can stand up here and talk sentiment, mention the word "conglomerates" a number of times and so on, but the sentiment he displays is not...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Household Incomes (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy McGuinness for raising this point. The statistic referred to by him is from the recently published Teagasc national farm survey, NFS, 2024 preliminary results. By way of context, in 2024, the NFS results were based on a sample of 818 farms with a standard output of €8,000 or more per annum, representing almost 88,000 farms nationally. Some 65% of farms in Ireland are...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Household Incomes (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I have to disagree with the Deputy, respectfully. I understand the point he makes about the impact on small-to-medium-sized farms. As regards ACRES payments, however, 99% of 2023 farmers have been paid fully, with 97% advance payments in respect of 2024 and 94% of the remainder having received their balancing payments for 2024 as well. It was not good enough when I came in. I put a lot of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Household Incomes (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: TAMS has been hugely positive, so when the Deputy suggests that the Government is failing, I disagree with that. TAMS has seen a massive ramp-up and uptake and drawdown of money, and I continue to support that. It is important that the message go out there that if a farmer is considering buying equipment beforehand, he or she is not guaranteed that it will be covered if ranking and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Solar Energy Guidelines (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I accept those valid points and the importance of the planning guidelines committed to in the programme for Government. It is why we have that commitment in there. That is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to introduce. As regards dairy farmers and concerns about the availability of land, there is huge pressure on availability as it is, be that for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Solar Energy Guidelines (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: For fear anyone mistakes me for the Minister for climate or planning, I am the Minister for agriculture. I accept the points that have been raised in that context but I wish to put on the record I was very supportive of planning guidelines for solar in the programme for Government talks. It is the right thing to do; we need a bit of structure on that. I understand the concerns raised by...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027 aims to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of Ireland's agrifood sector. It does this by supporting viable farm incomes and enhancing competitiveness by strengthening the socioeconomic fabric of rural areas and contributing to the achievement of environmental and climate objectives at national and EU levels. The CAP...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (3 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I am happy to provide the Deputy with the table in written form as result of this question. It lists the total expenditure per county for all CSP schemes, the number of beneficiaries and the average per beneficiary. It is quite even. The Deputy's county, Tipperary, saw total expenditure under all CSP schemes of €112,091,305 to 6,652 beneficiaries. The average per beneficiary...