Results 741-760 of 4,255 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Communications (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department has not been in communication with the Department for Social Protection in relation to this particular group and is not currently a member of this interdepartmental group.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (8 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Programme for Government provides a commitment to ensure that all legislation and policy in relation to the control of dogs, dog welfare and dog breeding establishments, will transfer to my Department. Discussions involving the relevant Government Departments, including my Department, on the approach to implementation of the above have commenced. These discussions will continue over the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: There is no doubt that, when a new agri-environmental scheme commences at the start of a CAP process, it brings a lot of teething problems. I remember that GLAS in 2015 struggled in that first year. It is a big undertaking. We had a number of different measures coming together at this one time. Let me be clear. While I am pointing to the momentum I have managed to build in this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Deputy is articulating the frustration that is felt by many farmers across the country. The points he raised are not ones I am hearing for the first time. We will have the Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026, and in my determination as Minister, right at the time of the AGRIFISH Council when the other 26 ministers for agriculture are all looking to agree the new CAP, Ireland...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Deputy Aird and I attended the Irish Grain Growers AGM earlier this year, where we heard at first hand the challenges and opportunities for the tillage sector, which is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a significant contribution to overall agricultural output. The Government recognises the importance of the tillage sector and wants to grow the area under tillage crops in the years...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I will go down to visit the flour mill and Deputy Byrne can get me a couple of boxes of Wexford wine while we are there.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: At the Mallow festival, I was presented with Wexford wine and it was very impressive. I am delighted to see that market go from strength to strength. The programme for Government includes support for the development of knock-on industries from the tillage sector. That value-added factor is important, in addition to the basic fundamental of the sector that Deputy Aird articulated so...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Tillage Sector (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I could not agree more. I have said previously in the House that I see agriculture as a gearbox within which all the different enterprises, including tillage, dairy, beef, sheep and pigs, are interlinked and interdependent. Should one sector of that gearbox stop working, it impacts on everything else. Tillage is a key component of that. The sector has been through a tough time. To be a...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: When I came into this role ten weeks ago, I looked at the situation with ACRES. It is unacceptable that 2,800 of the farmers who signed up to a contract back in 2023 have still not had their applications processed and that there are problems with the system. In 2024, there were 14,500 farmers who had not had their advance payments issued. That was unacceptable. I worked with the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this really important issue. Our livestock sector faces ever-increasing animal health threats. Diseases such as bluetongue threaten our cattle and sheep. I take the threat of bluetongue virus, BTV, very seriously. My Department carries out post-entry sampling of all ruminant animals and camelids from mainland Europe for BTV regardless of the bluetongue...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: We have enhanced biosecurity measures at our ports for vehicles coming in. Ireland is currently BTV free. An outbreak of BTV in Ireland would have a significant impact on animal welfare, the Irish livestock sector and trade. It is important to state that Bluetongue does not impact human health or food safety. However, the bluetongue virus serotype 3, BTV-3, has spread widely across...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Diseases (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: On the last point, as I outlined, there is no vaccine for BTV-12 but there is one for BTV-3 and that remains under consideration. On the Deputy's main point, the answer is that we are doing everything we can to try to keep this out. Obviously, we are not importing risk animals from risk areas. There is a risk, at the height of the season in high summer, of midges travelling over themselves...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I cannot do this in a minute. I will start by taking grave exception to the phrase Deputy Conway-Walsh. She stated that what is proposed will "severely disadvantage" farmers in Mayo or anywhere else in the context of GAEC 2. That is not the case. Day-to-day farming and agricultural activity will continue. On the basic point made by Deputy Connolly, and following on from Deputy Kenny's...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I was not suggesting that.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Environmental Schemes (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: No wonder farmers are concerned. Deputy Conway-Walsh can only raise those concerns and I can only answer back on numerous occasions in this House, in the media and , at farming organisations' public and private meetings to reassure farmers that this is not a designation. When words like "designation" are used and references to planning are used, as was used earlier, that sets farmers' fear...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputies Moynihan and Cleere for raising very valid points. To respond to Deputy Moynihan first, I am looking at every engagement farmers have whether on the farm when someone like the AI man, the milk collection, the vet or the farm adviser visits or on the knowledge transfer walks. The Deputy talked about farm walks. Knowledge transfer groups are a great way of addressing farmer...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this important point. European Innovation Partnership projects, EIPs, are locally led innovative projects developed by operational groups acting collaboratively towards a common goal. They are a fantastic vehicle and one I used in my previous role as Minister of State. We use such projects across a range of areas within the Department of agriculture....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Deputy will understand that I am a step removed from the evaluation process and, as such, the straight answer to the Deputy's question is that I do not know. The group will know because, if it was involved in phase 2, it would have had to make a submission. I am happy to talk to the Deputy about that but, for very good reasons, I am a step removed from the evaluation process. It is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Absolutely. The programme for Government highlights the importance of the wool sector and how we want to help develop further opportunities for wool and examine the possibility of a scouring plant. We do not have one in Ireland and that is an impediment to further development. I remember a time when the shearing of sheep and the collection of wool was a really valuable part of a sheep...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (2 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The call was launched on 5 November 2024 and 27 applicants were selected to submit a more detailed project proposal as part of the competition with this phase closing on 24 February. These have been submitted and will be evaluated in the month of April.