Results 21-40 of 4,895 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Agreements (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Along with the Tánaiste, who has lead responsibility for trade policy, I have actively engaged with both the European Commission and other member states across the EU to voice Ireland's concerns on the EU-Mercosur agreement. Ireland has serious concerns on the preferential access being given to Mercosur if South American farmers are not subject to the same sustainable farming standards...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Trade Agreements (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: It is very clear, as I sit on the AGRIFISH Council, that some of my colleague Ministers for agriculture speak glowingly of the Mercosur agreement and what it would mean for their farmers and agricultural sectors. There are some countries that are very strongly of the view that this an agreement that should have been agreed ages ago. Not every country is opposed to it. We work with...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Succession Act (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Burke for raising a critical issue for the future of our sector. The programme for Government prioritises "Supporting inter-generational farm succession". Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agrifood sector, states generational renewal in farming is critically important to ensure the future viability and social sustainability of the Irish agrifood sector and of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Succession Act (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Yes, and that why we established the interdepartmental group within my Department on its implementation. The implementation piece of this report is so important because ultimately, it is about clear action. Some of these measures require the structure of the next CAP post 2027 to be able to implement. A national budget is not going to deliver the type of succession scheme that would...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Succession Act (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Very clearly there is not the bandwidth in a national budget to deliver very big succession schemes that would run to hundreds of millions of euro but the design of the next CAP is already under way, as is the fighting over the multi-annual financial framework or the overall budget for that area. I spoke earlier about how I funded a locally-led initiative in Mayo in my previous role as a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Deputy. Neglect of, or causing unnecessary suffering to, animals is not acceptable in our society in any circumstances. The programme for Government places a positive emphasis on animal welfare and specifically commits to the continued robust enforcement of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which provides a modern framework for regulating and applying standards in the area...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Food Security (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Ongoing geopolitical tensions have meant that food security is increasingly at the forefront of the political agenda both at EU and global level. Ireland is among the most food secure countries in the world. As part of the EU Single Market and the Common Agricultural Policy, Ireland benefits from robust mechanisms that underpin food security across Europe. There is a series of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Food Security (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I meet individuals from Talamh Beo at different events. It has a role to play. We need to get a handle on why Ireland is one of the most food secure nations in the world according to key metrics. It is not because we produce every bit of food that is consumed on the island; it is because of the highly integrated nature of our food supply system around the world. It means from an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I am working with the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, on farmer mental health and well-being. This really is a key stressor and when somebody can have a significant breakdown. We want to support farmers through that journey. As the senior Minister with responsibility for the approach to bovine TB, the best way I can do that is give light at the end of the tunnel to those farmers who...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Burke for raising this point. I know it is a big issue in County Cork, as it is throughout the country. The income supplement scheme he referenced has been reviewed and there have been increases in thresholds across the hardship grant, depopulation grant and others. At the heart of all of these grants and supports is the fact that we have a disease that is wreaking havoc and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I cannot stress any further that I am absolutely aware of the financial impact on farm families who have continuous reactors, whose herds are locked up and all of the strain that brings. That is why the additional money I get and the significant resources I now have must go into tackling the spread of the disease. It is pivotal. I do not want future generations of families to go through...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: -----but I have to direct the financial resources I have to stopping the spread of the disease. That is my clear focus here.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: Bovine TB is an ongoing challenge for Irish farmers. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts of bovine TB on farmers, their families and rural Ireland. In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in bovine TB levels nationally, with over 6,000 farm families affected by a bovine TB outbreak in 2024, and herd incidence at 6.04%. The primary driver of the cost of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: As part of the work of the TB forum, which has done extensive work down the years, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme. Agreement was reached within the group in the past two years and there were rate enhancements to the income supplements scheme, the hardship grant and the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Industry (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: In relation to the forgotten farmers, I have addressed that issue. The scheme opened up for applications earlier in the year. Those who qualify under the terms and conditions I inherited from an issue 20 years ago will be dealt with and will be paid by the end of this year. That is an issue that will be addressed once and for all. In terms of the broader piece, a line in the report of...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tillage Sector (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Cleere. He raises a valid point. The IFA called a meeting in the Killashee Hotel in Kildare, which was attended by over 1,000 tillage farmers. I addressed the meeting and answered questions in a very robust debate. We got through the issues, not just financial and short-term issues in terms of supporting the sector and maintaining confidence among farmers so that they will...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tillage Sector (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I completely agree with the Deputy. The truth is finance was found last year and has been found again for next year to support the tillage sector at a time of constrained budgets and a lot of competing demands on budgets. The farming for water European Innovation Partnership, EIP, of which tillage farmers are availing, has a budget of €60 million to support targeted on-farm...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Tillage Sector (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: The whiskey file is one element that we can do as part of that future-proofing piece. In the meeting with the tillage farmers on the night in question I discussed the role of quality assurance, which we can make progress on if we all work together, and addressing the use of native grains, how they are used in our feed system, how they are incorporated and how we can monetise that for...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: EU Meetings (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: In my first nine months in the job, I hope I have demonstrated that I have good, sharp elbows. In my recent budget negotiations, I secured a 9% increase on the Department of agriculture's overall allocation, whereas the summer economic statement indicated that the overall increase in Government spending would be only 6%. I think the Department has received the second largest percentage...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Industry (14 Oct 2025)

Martin Heydon: I agree that this is one of the key issues of our time. It is also the key stressor for older farmers who may not have an identified successor or who may have more than one identified successor and only one farm. There are many challenges in that space. I do not say that light-heartedly. It genuinely is a big cause of stress and concern. Obviously, the next generation who want to farm...