Results 81-100 of 4,109 for speaker:Martin Heydon

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

Martin Heydon: The Government’s afforestation target of 8,000 hectares per year is set out in the Climate Action Plan. The current Forestry Programme is the largest ever funded Programme to date, which provides attractive financial incentives and a broad range of planting options in order to achieve these ambitious targets. The comprehensive package of measures included in the Programme introduced an...

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

Martin Heydon: The income supports for farmers that the Deputy refers to are provided within the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and specifically on the basis of Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 which sets out the rules for support under CAP Strategic Plans. There is no similar or comparable provision in place under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in relation to primary producers in the...

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

Martin Heydon: In Ireland, fishing quotas are a public resource and are managed to provide for proper management, conservation and rational exploitation of the State’s fishing quotas. Quotas are managed as a public good that ensures that property rights are not granted to individual operators. This is seen as a critical policy in order to ensure that quotas are not concentrated into the hands of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: School Meals Programme (29 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 484 and 485 together. Funding for breakfast clubs falls under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, and I understand that milk is an option under the breakfast club for the school year 2024/2025. Separately, the EU funded School Milk Scheme falls under the responsibility of my Department. The scheme is designed to inform...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety (29 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 486, 487 and 488 together. This year, my Department is implementing a range of initiatives to improve the safety, health and wellbeing of our farming community through dedicated funding of €2.5m. One of these initiatives is the open call for proposals for farm safety, health and wellbeing projects which Minister Healy-Rae T.D., Minister of State with...

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

Martin Heydon: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is the organisation charged with the...

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

Martin Heydon: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for...

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

Martin Heydon: Commercial movement of pets is defined where a pet, or pets, is either travelling unaccompanied, or is travelling for the use of trading, or for shows, sporting events or where an owner has more than 5 pets travelling. All commercial movements of dogs require certification, the type of certification is dependent on whether the destination is to other EU countries or non-EU countries. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (29 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department is focused on tackling climate change, protecting the environment and maintaining biodiversity, as well as ensuring farmer’s livelihoods and the family farm model of agriculture is protected and sustainable here in Ireland. One of the priorities for my Department is to ensure that we continue to make progress on reducing emissions from land use by the improved...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Genetically Modified Organisms (29 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, (supported by the Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for the authorisation of Genetically Modified (GM) crops for cultivation. In 2018, the Government approved the transposition of Directive 2015/412 which enabled Ireland to opt out of cultivation of GM crops approved for cultivation elsewhere in the EU. There are no...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I wish you and the members of the committee well. It is a great honour for me to be Minister for agriculture but also to be here before the committee today to engage with members. I was a member of this committee for many years. I know its importance in holding Ministers and officials to account and in raising the important issues on behalf of people....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Food Industry (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I will pass on his good wishes to Bord Bia. I look forward to meeting him at Bloom on Thursday evening and to the fantastic bank holiday ahead. A huge number of people have put an awful lot of work in there. It is a great opportunity for us to showcase the best in our food and horticulture sector and beyond. It is something that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Food Industry (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator again. On his last point, I take my responsibility to both Houses very importantly. I always try to answer the Commencement matters or Topical Issue matters that are put to me or my colleagues within the Department. It is important and I thank the Senator for acknowledging that. This is novel legislation that would place an onus on business to supply financial data...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator very much for raising those points. They are very relevant. On the future of ACRES, the reason it is taking time to come up with the solutions we are working through is that I want to be absolutely assured that they are permanent ones. I want to restore confidence in this scheme. It is a fantastic scheme. As I have said, almost half a billion euro has been paid out to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: We have clear rules that we signed up to from a European perspective. It is a nuanced question. It is not a black and white issue. What are peatlands? There are different types of peatlands and beyond. We have set criteria that we have to meet now. From a forestry perspective, our current forestry programme is very different. When people speak about the mistakes of the past, and what...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank Deputy Newsome Drennan for raising these points. I acknowledge her comments on ACRES. As I have said already, I want to fix the problems once and for all to make sure they do not reoccur and that we learn from it for the design of future schemes. We have made progress but I will not be happy until the last case is resolved. I will continue to work full square to do this. With...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: We are talking to all like-minded countries.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: No, it is not. The process started last December when we informed the Commission that we were seeking to apply for a derogation because our nitrates derogation, as it stands, ends at the end of this year. There are four key meetings this year. The first took place in March, which was to be addressed by the EPA. It put forward the case about the progress and the impact being made by our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The next meeting is in June, and that is where we-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and Food: Engagement with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (28 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Some countries are more vehement in their opposition than others. Some are still considering it. I have spoken to agriculture ministers who are vehemently opposed, but there is not a unanimous view across every government. I have spoken to some ministers for agriculture whose finance ministers might have a different role. In general, there are countries that have significant concerns....