Results 1,161-1,180 of 3,707 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Services (18 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: It is important to state the Government acknowledges the vital role GPs have played, particularly during the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and, more generally, in providing essential healthcare in the community. We, as a Government, are committed to ensuring that patients across the country continue to have access to GP services, including out-of-hours services such as those the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: General Practitioner Services (18 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue and one which, I know from my discussions with him, is of major concern to him and his constituents in Cork. Under the general medical services, GMS, contract, GPs must be available to provide services in their practice premises or by way of domiciliary visits, as appropriate, for their medical card and GP visit card patients for 40 hours...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Animal Diseases (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank Senator Cummins for raising this issue,which is important nationally but obviously in the area of Waterford in particular, as the Senator has outlined. I am acutely aware of the financial and emotional burden faced by farmers after a TB breakdown. We must do everything we can, working together as a sector, to tackle this problem. I come from a suckler farm in south Kildare and I...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Animal Diseases (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for his detailed supplementary reply. I will look at that parliamentary response he received from the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. If there is a discrepancy between the numbers, it is important to note that the figures I have today do not include staff members on different types of leave. However, there is a sizeable gap between those two numbers, so I will check that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Industry (10 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising the important issue of the viability of the sheep sector and its importance to our overall agricultural and rural economies, and our food production and exports. I am pleased to see that the strong performance of the sheep sector in 2020 has continued into 2021 in terms of overall prices. It is good to see the market providing returns which goes some way to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Industry (10 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: The Senator is right. The role of the Government is to support sheep farmers in the very important work they do. With every reference year there are hard cases and challenges. It is definitely to the benefit of farmers that we move the reference year from 2014-15 to 2017 because it will bring in more ewes. The terms of reference for the wool feasibility study involve the identification of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I acknowledge the Senator's passion for farm safety and the engagement I have had with him on his proposed Bill. I acknowledge the meetings we have had on farm safety. It is a topic very close to his heart. There is no single action that can solve the problem. If it were easily solved, the unacceptably high rate of fatalities on Irish farms would have been addressed long before now. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Martin Browne for his contribution. I am a suckler farmer based in south Kildare, with a mixed enterprise involving tillage, and I am acutely aware of what the Deputy has outlined. On hoping that the €2 million will be enough, to be honest this is not all about money. Much of what is involved is a change of culture and ensuring that all of us in the farming set-up,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Carthy for his points and questions. I agree, and I acknowledge the cross-party consensus on farm safety. We all want to see success in this area and it is one of those issues where political differences remain outside the door because we are all in the same boat. We all know of families in our constituencies that have been impacted by farm safety incidents. I assure the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: The charter is a valuable document in terms of the role it plays in recognising the importance of farmers as equal stakeholders in this process. My experience is that the charter is fully upheld. If there are incidents where farmers believe that has not been the case, I ask them to come forward and let us know. The charter was drawn up in consultation with the farming organisations and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: As regards TAMS, there is a significant number of measures that have a farm safety element and are funded through TAMS. Obviously, farm safety will be an integral part of the new TAMS but it is not the only mechanism through which we can support farmers with investment. I refer to the accelerated capital allowance scheme. It is a proposal we got through in the Finance Act last year and has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: Embrace FARM has significant knowledge of the experience of farm families in the aftermath of fatal incidents, as well as of practical measures such as those highlighted by the Deputy. It has raised these issues previously with my Department and that actually brought about a change whereby we put in place a dedicated point of contact within the Department for such families to deal with....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: Will I answer the individual questions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Deputy for his questions. With the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, every investment in a farm has a farm safety element to it because we are upgrading facilities and the conditions in which farmers work. It is making farms much safer. We have not signed off the decision for the new TAMS yet. Measures are being reviewed and new options are being considered...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: The Deputy is referencing the work experience element of the green cert.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: As I said earlier, farmers' mental health and well-being is integrally linked to farm safety. As far as I am concerned they are the same and one cannot look at them in isolation. I definitely share the concerns. Farmers work in isolation anyway. It is the nature of the job and it then makes it harder when the pressure is on. We are all aware of the impact that Covid has had on farmers....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Vice Chairman, the Chairman, Deputy Cahill, and members of the committee for inviting me this evening to speak on the important topic of farm safety. I am joined this evening by officials from my Department, Mr. Michael Moloney, senior inspector and head of crop policy, evaluation and certification division with responsibility for farm safety, and Dr. Robert Leonard, agricultural...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for his comments. He is right. The point that struck me from what he said was that no one expects a farm safety incident to happen to them. I tend to refer to incidents rather than accidents because they are unintentional but, many times when you engage with families after a tragic incident, they admit there was an element to it that was probably preventable, if an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: I apologise for the poor connection. It is not 100% but we cannot blame it on the Irish national broadband plan. I am in Glasgow at the COP26 meeting and our Scottish broadband could do with being a little bit better. I was determined to participate in the committee today and when the invitation came in I asked the Chair if he could change the timing. I embraced that change so that I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety: Discussion (3 Nov 2021)

Martin Heydon: Whatever is easiest.