Results 1-20 of 3,588 for speaker:Martin Heydon

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I recognise how important the dairy industry is to west Cork and to the wider rural community. As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am committed to doing everything in my power to develop the sectors for which I am responsible and to communicate a fresh understanding of what it is. Our farmers, fishers, foresters and the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I thank the Senator for raising a vital issue. It is important it be discussed in the Seanad today. I accept his invitation to west Cork. I look forward to going down and meeting many of those farmers with him and seeing the great work happening in that space. This is all about trends and all about the science backing up our argument. We know the economic argument for this. I am clear...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Inquiries (1 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: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department recognises that the recent storms Darragh and Éowyn, have caused varying degrees of damage around the country, including significant damage to trees and in some cases electricity infrastructure and that this presents challenges to all stakeholders in forestry. My Department is in regular contact with the ESB, particularly in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Following the latest payment run on 25 April 2025, 43,368 ACRES participants, or just under 97%, are fully paid in respect of the 2023 scheme year. This means that 1,492 participants have not yet had their 2023 contract finalised, of which 1,198 have already received an interim payment of either €4,000 or €5,000, respectively. In relation to the 2024 scheme year, 47,477...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: On an annual basis, my Department completes a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) to examine the overall impacts the possible fishing opportunities for the following year could have on the sustainability of the fishing sector from a biological, economic and social perspective. The SIA is based on the advice on fish stocks published by the International Council for the Exploration of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The responsibility for the development and maintenance of local authority owned piers, harbours and slipways rests with each local authority in the first instance and their parent Department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, thereafter. My Department, as a sub-scheme of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, provides limited...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Data (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department, under a sub-scheme of its annual Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme, provides limited funding to assist coastal local authorities in carrying out small scale shovel-ready projects for the development and repair of piers, harbours and slipways in their ownership. Applications are evaluated, taking into account the Terms and Conditions of the scheme,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Data (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006, all operational issues concerning sea-fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. Under the Act, I am...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: In 2018, a transition period to a ban on vessels over 18 metres trawling in inshore waters, inside the six nautical mile zone and the baselines, was announced. This measure, however, was the subject of extended legal proceedings resulting in the measure being overturned in 2023. In 2024, over a period of eight weeks, the Minister held a new public consultation on a review of trawling...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: I recognise that the recent storms Darragh and Éowyn have caused varying degrees of damage around the country, including significant damage to trees and that this presents challenges to all stakeholders in forestry. All licence applications with affected areas of windblow will be prioritised by my Department. We are currently examining all potential options to support those...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Forestry in Ireland operates within a legal and regulatory framework – the Forest Act 2014 and the Forestry Regulations 2017 (SI No 191 of 2017). The Forestry Act requires that forest owners who wish to fell their forests require a felling licence. The reason why a felling licence is required, in general, is to ensure that trees in a forest are harvested and removed in a way that...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Usage (1 May 2025)

Martin Heydon: Firstly, the Programme for Government clearly sets out this Governments ambition to present the best case possible for continuance of Ireland's current derogation whilst working with farmers to deliver improvements in water quality. To that end, a Cabinet Committee on Water Quality chaired by the Taoiseach to coordinate water quality improvements across all sectors and work with farmers...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Contracts (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: My Department is committed, through our People Strategy, to build an agile future-ready workforce through enhancing employee experience, prioritising inclusivity and well-being, and fostering a supportive and high-performing environment. Occasionally, the Department engages services from external HR specialists when further expertise is required to optimise service delivery to employees in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: I propose to take Questions Nos. 145 and 146 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: In July 2021, Jim Power Economics produced a report on The Economic & Financial Significance of the Irish Greyhound Industry which was commissioned by RCÉ. This report follows earlier similar reports produced by Jim Power for RCÉ in 2010 and 2017. I am not aware of any related updated analysis currently being conducted by RCÉ.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Budgets (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Year Allocation January-April Spend Percentage 2025* €334,583,000 €111,517,372* 33.33% 2024 €363,900,000 €80,281,127 22.06% 2023 €490,450,000 €92,394,632 18.84% Please note that the 2025 figure is made up of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Data (30 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The amount of food products which were seized by my Department in Dublin Port and Dublin Airport to date in 2025 is:79.21 tonnes of commercial consignment6.02 tonnes of personal consignments including products seized at Temporary Storage Facilities (TSFs) and passenger baggage Commercial consignments undergo documentary, identity, physical, sampling and, if necessary, laboratory inspections...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (10 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: The table below shows the total costs associated with the Ministerial Trade Mission to Nigeria and Senegal in September 2023. The costs shown below are in respect of travel by the previous Minister and six officials from my Department. Flights €30,801.19 Hotels €5,461.21 Transport €2,605.95 ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (10 Apr 2025)

Martin Heydon: Coillte was set up as a commercial State body under the Forestry Act, 1988, and is therefore independent from my Department in relation to operational matters, as specified in the Act. As one of the shareholders of Coillte, I have responsibility for the oversight of the Company in accordance with the Act and I also have expectations in relation to Coillte’s engagement in climate...