Results 181-200 of 4,911 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: EU labelling regulations do not require meat labels to indicate the method of slaughter. There are no current moves in the EU or in Ireland to change this position.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department does not collect data on the market destination of meat from animals slaughtered without pre-stunning. There is no EU regulatory requirement to collect such data.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: There is EU and Irish legislation in place for the protection of animals at the time of slaughter. The relevant EU legislation is Regulation No. 1099 of 2009 on the Protection of Animals at the Time of Killing and the Irish legislation is S.I. 292 of 2013, as amended. The legislation requires animals to be stunned (rendered unconscious) before they are slaughtered. However, slaughter of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Currently there is EU and Irish legislation in place for the protection of animals at the time of slaughter. The legislation requires animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered. However, slaughter of animals without prior stunning, as prescribed by religious rites, is also permitted under the EU legislation, under derogation. My Department is responsible for implementation of the above...

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

Martin Heydon: The person named submitted an application under the ACRES Co-operation stream and was approved into Tranche 1 of the scheme, with a commencement date of 1st January 2023. I have made enquiries and can confirm that payments are up to date for this herd. Balance payment in respect of scheme year 2024 issued on 16 May 2025, in the sum of €959.20. Payments in respect of scheme year...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Feedstuffs (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: The focus of feed legislation is to ensure that feedingstuffs do not endanger food safety, do not pose a risk to animal health or the environment, meet the minimum standards prescribed, are accurately labelled, and are fully traceable. Feedingstuffs controls are implemented through inspections and sampling at all stages of the feed chain, including importation, storage, manufacture, transport...

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

Martin Heydon: My Department carries out sampling and analysis on fertilising products to ensure that they are in compliance with EU and domestic legislation. Testing of protected urea is carried out using a quantitative method for determination of the urease inhibitors N-(n-Butyl) thiophosphoric acid triamide (NBPT) and N-(n-Propyl)thiophosphoric acid triamide (NPPT) content in urea-based fertilisers...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: In relation to bovine TB, herd depopulation is not routinely practised. However, full or partial depopulation is considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the situation. In certain cases where large numbers of reactors in more than one cohort group are disclosed at the breakdown test or subsequent clearance tests, immediate depopulation may be considered. A decision...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: On 1st September 2025 there were 6,620,314 cattle in the national herd. The number of moves per animal was counted and a breakdown is set out in the table below. Number of moves Number of animals 0 3,471,532 1 1,913,339 2 880,405 3 243,583 4 76,356 ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Slaughter of Animals Act 1935 has been repealed by The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. Animal welfare at slaughter in the European Union is governed by Regulation 1099/2009 which is enforced under SI 292/2013 in Ireland. This Regulation has a similar requirement to minimise pain and suffering, while at the same time having a derogation for slaughter under religious rites. This...

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

Martin Heydon: My Department takes samples of fertiliser products placed on the market to verify compliance with Irish and EU legislation on labelling of products and minimum nutrient requirements. The fertiliser products are tested for a range of parameters specified in the legislation, including Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. To date in 2025, 162 fertiliser samples have been taken. Of these,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Budget 2026 (1 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: In advance of the Budget I have engaged extensively with agri-food stakeholders, including the organisation to which the Deputy refers. All the submissions made to me are taken into consideration in developing proposals for the Minister for Public Expenditure on expenditure and the Minister for Finance on taxation. Beyond that, it would not be appropriate for me to comment in advance of...

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

Martin Heydon: The Department's allocation under the National Development Plan for the period 2026 to 2030 are currently being finalised. Further information on the National Development Plan will be announced on Budget Day.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Inland Fisheries (30 Sep 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 736 and 737 together. My Department was involved with the interagency group (IAG) investigation of this incident on the River Blackwater which determined that there was no indication that livestock health, or food of animal origin from primary production, was affected by this incident. My Department participated in the IAG and attended the IAG meetings in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tax Exemptions (30 Sep 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Programme for Government prioritises “supporting inter-generational farm succession”. Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agri-food sector, states that generational renewal in farming is critically important to ensure the future viability and social sustainability of the Irish agri-food sector and of rural Ireland. There are a number of supports for generational...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering (30 Sep 2025)

Martin Heydon: Meat products produced through ritual slaughter methods, including Halal are not required to be labelled as such under EU Regulations. There are currently no moves to make it mandatory to include slaughter method on meat labels in the European Union or in Ireland.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Labelling (30 Sep 2025)

Martin Heydon: Where a food business handles and/or processes foods of animal origin that may need approval under the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 22/2020) they must apply to their Competent Authority and undergo a series of inspections. Once approved by the relevant competent authority, the food business is assigned a unique reference number called an ‘approval...

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

Martin Heydon: My Department is responsible for verification that labelling of meat produced in establishments approved by my Department is compliant with EU Regulations, particularly EU Regulation 1169/2011 on food information for consumers. The particulars required to be present on labels include the name of the food, net weight, date of minimum durability, country of origin, storage instructions,...

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

Martin Heydon: For operational and security reasons, my Department has been advised by the National Cyber Security Centre not to disclose particular arrangements in place in relation to IT tools and services or details which could, in any way, identify potential vulnerabilities in Departmental Cybersecurity arrangements.

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

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 743, 746 and 747 together. While taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of my colleague the Minister of Finance, I work closely with him on taxation issues relating to the agri-food sector. Following consultations with stakeholders and consistent with the Government’s priorities, I make an annual submission to the Minister for Finance on...