Results 421-440 of 4,255 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Government’s afforestation target is 8,000 hectares per year as set out in the Climate Action Plan. There are good reasons for this target as forests have an important role to play in mitigating climate change by sequestering and storing greenhouse gases. This can be achieved through the expansion of our forests and the increased use of timber products. Planting in recent years...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Tuna CHART programme is a catch-tag-release science-based angling fishery programme for authorised recreational angling vessels. It has been in place since 2019 and supports the collection of valuable data on the migratory patterns of Bluefin Tuna in Irish waters. This programme was developed by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Marine Institute in partnership with the Sea Fisheries...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. In recent years, bovine TB (bTB) levels have continued to deteriorate. Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between 2022 and 2024. This means over 6,000 farm families were affected by a TB outbreak in 2024. As of 11th May 2025,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Wild Fires (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Given the recent spell of very fine weather, I share the concerns of residents and farmers about the risk of fires starting and spreading around the country. In particular, I understand the worry expressed by farmers and residents in Achill about the risk to flora, fauna and indeed homes and farms from the spread of these fires. I understand that a local action committee has already...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The implementation of the Bovine TB Eradication Strategy 2021-2030 is overseen by the Bovine TB (bTB) Stakeholders Forum along with support from three working groups – a Scientific Group, an Implementation Working Group and a Finance Group to ensure all aspects of the Strategy are addressed. The Bovine TB Stakeholders Forum and its working groups comprise of representatives from...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 143 together. The Programme for Government commits to review and update the National TB 2030 Eradication Strategy. This is necessary due to the deteriorating disease levels in recent years which means even more farm families are facing the emotional and financial pressure of a TB breakdown. Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Inshore Fisheries (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Deputy for her question and would like to stress that this Government is fully committed to maintaining support for our important inshore fishing sector and promoting the sustainability of fish stocks, as outlined in our Programme for Government. In December 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 133, 142 and 144 together. The subject of planting forests on peats soils is not black and white. Forests planted on peat soils can contribute to climate, biodiversity and timber production. This is a fact. I am not in favour of planting on deep peat sites where there is a net carbon emission or planting important peat habitats, blanket bogs, raised...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. In recent years, bovine TB (bTB) levels have continued to deteriorate. Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between 2022 and 2024. As of 11th May 2025, over a 12 month period we had a herd incidence of 6.3% with over 42,200 reactors....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: ACRES is the flagship environmental scheme provided under the 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan, with €1.5 billion in Exchequer and EU funding allocated over the course of the scheme. ACRES payments continue to issue on a weekly basis as cases pass all required validation checks. Last week, I announced that balancing payments in respect of the 2024 scheme year have commenced, with over...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Control of Dogs (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Microchipping of Dogs Regulation 2015 and Microchipping of Dogs (Amendment) Regulations 2015 require that all dogs over 12 weeks of age (or younger if sold before 12 weeks) must be microchipped and the microchip number must be registered to one of 4 approved databases. Animal Welfare Officers are authorised to obtain information from the approved databases in relation to individual...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Solar Energy Guidelines (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Programme for Government has committed to introducing planning guidelines for solar farms and to provide certainty in the development of solar energy. While issues regarding planning fall under the remit of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, my Department will input into the development of these guidelines in the context of the potential impact on agricultural...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The TB Forum was established in 2018 to draw up a strategy to achieve TB eradication by 2030 which was published 2021 Implementation of the TB Strategy is overseen by the TB Stakeholder Forum group with support from working groups on science, implementation and finance. Each group reports to the TB Forum over the course of the year. The TB Forum has met 23 times and despite progress in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: EU Funding (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Access to finance is vital in helping businesses to invest, grow and to deal with economic challenges. It is one of my priorities to ensure access to long-term investment finance for farmers, including young farmers. My Department works closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Water Quality (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Programme for Government clearly sets out this Government's ambition to improve water quality and put the strongest case forward to secure retention of Ireland's Nitrates Derogation. To that end, a Cabinet Committee on Water Quality chaired by the Taoiseach and also involving the Tánaiste and several key Ministers has been established to coordinate water quality improvements...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The agri-food sector has benefited from an approach to strategic planning through the development of stakeholder-led strategies. Since their inception over twenty years ago, these have ensured that the sector has a coherent vision to underpin its continued development. Food Vision 2030 is Ireland’s current stakeholder-led agri-food strategy, developed for the sector by the sector....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Inspections (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: In relation to the various Schemes my Department administers, on-farm Inspections are a requirement of the EU Regulations and the terms and conditions. The inspection approach and reporting system used is standardised across all areas of the country to ensure consistency and fair treatment of all farmers. In relation to providing notice for on-farm inspections, as agreed in the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 is a significant piece of legislation which replaced a wide range of animal health and welfare legislation dating back over a century, including the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965. A debate was held around the issue of hunting during the passage of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 and the Dáil voted overwhelmingly to allow the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. HRI has informed my Department that the number of horses killed at Irish racecourses in 2024 was 108. This figure represents 0.32% of the 33,243 runners in the same...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Apprenticeship Programmes (20 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The development of what might be described as ‘new’ apprenticeship programmes and awards is governed by the requirements set out by the Apprenticeship Council in conjunction with SOLAS, the Higher Education Authority and Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). A key requirement for new national apprenticeships is that they are industry led. Teagasc operate under the remit...