Results 281-300 of 4,778 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: Coursing is regulated under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), subject to the general control and direction of Rásaíocht Con Éireann. The granting of licenses for the netting and tagging of hares is a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage – National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). A monitoring...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Assisted Animal Reproduction (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Assisted Animal Reproduction (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Veterinary Council of Ireland (VCI) announced in April 2024 that it had updated its Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Practitioners to prohibit veterinarians from carrying out surgical artificial insemination in dogs due to ethical and welfare considerations. However, this new prohibition does not apply to greyhounds, as the practice is provided for in legislation under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Usage (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The nitrates derogation is very important to Ireland’s agri-food sector, particularly in the context of supporting sustainable and economically viable dairy and livestock production. I continue to emphasise, in all relevant fora, the critical need to retain a workable derogation framework that balances environmental protection with farm-level implementation. My Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Communities (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The primary source of funding for the seafood sector, which includes small-scale fishermen, is the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) (2021 – 2027). The EMFAF Regulation is aligned with the objectives of the CFP. Neither Regulation makes provision for income supports for fishers, as such it is not possible to implement income supports under our funding programme...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Grant Payments (29 Jul 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. This participant requested to transfer to a Registered Farm Partnership in April 2023. I acknowledge the difficulties created for the person referred to, and for other ACRES participants, who have not yet received their...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The staff full-time equivalents (FTE) for the Department as at 21.07.25 broken down by grade is outlined in tabular form at the link below.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Information and Communications Technology (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s Digital Strategy (2023-2026) includes a stated goal to create a proficient digital workforce, with staff trained to be proficient in the relevant digital skillsets and tools, including cybersecurity.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Grant Payments (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The persons named submitted separate applications under the ACRES Co-operation stream and were both approved into Tranche 1 of the scheme, with a commencement date of 1st January 2023. Both of the participants named have had payments to their individual contracts finalised in respect of the 2023 scheme year. These participants requested to transfer to a Registered Farm Partnership in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Grant Payments (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: Since the time my Department was first approached with regard to the group commonly referred to as forgotten farmers, the group was defined as young farmers who were under the age of 40 in 2015, had established their holdings prior to 2008 and were not eligible for young farmer supports under the CAP from 2015. In recognition of the withdrawal of the Installation Aid Scheme in October...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Agreements (29 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: Animal Diseases (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The answer to the Deputy's queries are found in the below table and corresponding notes underneath. - 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 YTD - €000's €000's €000's €000's €000's €000's €000's Bovine...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department provides a range of financial supports that focus on compensating farmers for both direct and indirect losses incurred as a result of a TB breakdown on the farm. The On Farm Market Valuation Scheme is the principal compensation measure available to Herd-owners whose herds are affected by a bovine TB breakdown in their herd. The Scheme aims to compensate farmers up to the open...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Industry (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The CSO Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates that 169,300 people worked in the Agri-Food sector as a main occupation in 2024, representing 6.1% of total employment in Ireland. Of these, 108,450 (64%) worked in "Agriculture Forestry, and Fishing", and 56,850 (36%) worked in the "Manufacture of Food and Beverages". 50,225 of the people employed in the Manufacture of Food and Beverages worked...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Sector (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: Irish Grass Fed Beef was registered as Protected Geographical Indication on 27th November 2023. It is necessary for producers seeking to produce the PGI product to have their processes verified by my Department. A number of such controls processes have been undertaken by my Department following requests by operators. The first of these was followed by the launch of the first Irish Grass Fed...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: There are currently two research projects underway which include examination of novel and scalable approaches for wool scouring in Ireland. In 2024, my Department announced funding of over €550k for the SPRINGWOOL project. This project will, among other things, examine the feasibility of, and design of, a mobile wool scouring unit. Scouring is a key enabler for an effective and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: TAMS reference costs are updated periodically to ensure that they reflect actual/market costs for the construction of farm buildings and facilities, and farm equipment. To achieve this objective, the review of the reference costs is typically based on a comparison with receipted costs. In this regard an adequate number of receipted claims is required. My Department has been reviewing the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: I am committed to meaningful stakeholder input as we prepare for the next CAP post-2027. I have established a CAP Post-2027 Consultative Committee and addressed its first meeting on 17 July, the day after the Commission's proposals for CAP and the EU Budget (MFF) were announced. This stakeholder group will provide critical inputs as we analyse the proposals, shape our positions, and work to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Information and Communications Technology (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: Since the implementation of EU regulations requiring that all applications for direct payments must be received electronically by 2018, my Department has implemented a programme of continuous development and improvement of its application systems. An example of one such improvement is the warning messages to help farmers and advisors where common errors have been detected. These have...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (29 Jul 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Nursing Homes Support Scheme, commonly referred to as the Fair Deal scheme, is a system of financial support for people who require long-term residential care. Participants contribute to the cost of their care according to their means, while the State pays the balance of the cost. My colleague the Minister for Health has responsibility for the scheme. A 3-year cap was introduced in...