Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh agus a Sheanadóirí. I am pleased to be in the Upper House to contribute to this important debate. I thank all Members of the Seanad who tabled this Private Members' motion on agriculture and have given us this opportunity to air a really important topic for our whole country, not just our rural economy, though it is the bedrock of that. I thank those who have contributed already for the points made. I will go through a number of key issues in my brief.

Reflecting back to when I was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, one of my priorities outlined at the start was to communicate a fresh understanding of what our farmers and the food industry contribute to Irish society and our economy. The roots of the sector run deep. There is not a parish in the country that is not enriched by the contribution of farmers or where some small business does not depend on the sector for its existence.

We are living through a time of immense change and agriculture has not been immune to that, but we should never take our food or the people who produce it for granted. That is why this Government is committed to supporting the sector. I therefore welcome the opportunity to address Senators on a range of issues facing the sector, and I will try to touch on as many as possible. Some have been raised already and some will be raised afterwards.

My Department provides a range of supports to the sector with estimated total expenditure of €3.3 billion in 2025, including €2.1 billion in Exchequer funding and €1.2 billion in direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy. The primary vehicle for supporting the sector over the medium term is the CAP. It is the driver for the transformation of Irish agriculture since our accession to the EU and it is as essential today as it was then. The Irish CAP strategic plan, CSP, has a significant budget of €9.8 billion over five years. More than 60% of that, just under €6 billion, is targeted at supporting farm incomes. Over €3.7 billion has been paid out since the start of 2023 on CAP schemes. This equates to an annual average payment of over €15,000 per farmer for all CAP-funded claims. To date, Ireland has the highest drawdown of funding for the CSP of all EU states. Of course, the CAP is not the only lever; it is supplemented by regulation, industry intervention and other Government intervention at national level to achieve the series of objectives set out in our shared vision for the future of Irish agriculture, Food Vision 2030.

The EU Commission proposals for the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and CAP for 2028 to 2034 signal a significant change to the structure of the EU budget. The proposed structure of the next CAP looks quite different from what we have now. The proposals for the next MFF include a guaranteed minimum ring fence of almost €300 billion for CAP. The obvious concern is this represents only 80% of the budget in the current MFF, which is €387 billion. My focus is on working closely with EU institutions and my counterparts in other member states to influence these ongoing negotiations. There is a long way to go and I see these proposals as an important starting point. It is my intention to seek an increase in funding to ensure an adequate allocation for Ireland as we progress through the detailed budget negotiations, which must be agreed by the Heads of State and Government in the European Council.

Looking at trade and markets beyond the EU, recent geopolitical developments have been a stark reminder of the volatility in global markets. They have served to underline the importance of the Irish agrifood sector as our largest indigenous exporting sector, one which has a strong well-earned international reputation as a supplier of high-quality, safe, nutritious and sustainably produced food and beverages. Our export markets are reasonably well balanced between the UK at 38% of export value and the EU market at 34%, while markets outside Europe account for the remaining 28%. Market diversification plays an important role in facilitating producers and businesses to navigate the current changing trade environment. Government is committed to maintaining and strengthening long-established relationships with existing markets and diversifying opportunities to deepen relationships with new and emerging high-growth markets.

Trade missions play an important role in this work and I most recently led a trade mission to the US earlier this year, taking in important visits to Washington DC, Kentucky and Chicago. I remain committed to amplifying the promotion of agrifood trade in existing and new markets through collaboration with Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland and our overseas embassy network. The issue of Mercosur was raised earlier. As a sector, agriculture for the most part benefits immensely from free trade, given that we export 90% of the food and drink we produce. We consider each trade agreement on its merits, and in all negotiations there will be offensive and defensive points. In relation to Mercosur, though, the Government has been actively engaged with EU counterparts to voice Ireland's concerns about the EU-Mercosur agreement. We have repeatedly emphasised Ireland's requirement for credible, legally binding commitments on matters relating to trade and sustainable development, including climate, biodiversity and deforestation protections. The Government also has concerns about the preferential access given to Mercosur if South American farmers are not subject to the same sustainable farming standards as our farmers. We have repeatedly emphasised that the beef sector, in particular, is a very sensitive one which is vulnerable to negative impacts from the Mercosur agreement. The Commission recently announced its proposed approach to ratification. We will of course examine the proposal in detail to see if it provides any of the additional assurances required. Pending that examination, Ireland's position on the EU-Mercosur agreement remains as clearly outlined in the programme for Government: "Work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal."

Closer to home, I know an issue on many farmers' minds is succession and generational renewal. It is critical for the future economic viability and social sustainability of the sector that there is renewal. Every industry needs new blood, but we must also ensure that those who have given a lifetime to the sector and possess so much corporate knowledge are supported. Demographic challenges are not unique to Ireland, and the challenge of attracting young people into farming is recognised at national, EU and global levels. Farm succession is a complex issue and there are many factors that impact farmers' decisions. The Commission on Generational Renewal in Farming was established to examine these issues, and earlier this month I announced publication of its report. It has produced a thorough analysis and made 31 recommendations across a wide range of areas. An implementation group within my Department is now working through and carefully considering the recommendations and will engage with agricultural stakeholders and the relevant public bodies. Ultimately, generational renewal happens at thousands of kitchen tables in farmhouses the length and breadth of the country. What I want to do as Minister is put structures in place that support farm families in the area of succession. That is always a very sensitive discussion, whether there is more than one identified successor or none at all.

An area which will have a significant bearing on generational renewal in many cases is the nitrates derogation. It is of critical importance not just to the farms and families that rely on it but also for the wider agriculture sector and the rural community. We are in the teeth of a renewal process, which requires the development of a new nitrates action programme and making a number of presentations to the nitrates committee, comprised of all member states. To date, three presentations have been made to the committee, the most recent of which was made less than two weeks ago. The derogation is contingent on improving water quality, and I have seen the commitment that is there among farmers and across the sector to that cause all across the country. I met with the European Commissioner for the environment and water resilience, Jessika Roswall, in Brussels last week. She accepted my invitation to Ireland and will come to Ireland in November to view first-hand the collaborative work being done by our agrifood sector to improve water quality. Her planned visit follows a visit by senior officials from the Commission's DG-ENV in recent weeks. It is my firm view that our outdoor, grass-based livestock production system justifies a continuation of our derogation, but we will also have to address compliance with the habitats directive as part of that renewal, which is the first time we have had to do that. We continue to engage intensively with stakeholders and the Commission as part of our efforts to secure a continuance of Ireland's nitrates derogation.

A number of speakers, including Senator Boyhan, have raised the area of tillage, and I know the agriculture committee in the Oireachtas is dealing with that today as well. The tillage sector is of great importance and is a critical part of the agriculture sector, producing high-quality animal feed, bedding and ingredients for the food and drink industry. The sector is facing significant pressures, not least the challenging market outlook and downward price pressure this season. I recently engaged directly with farming organisations and their members to hear their concerns at a very well-attended public meeting that reflected the mood of the sector. I know a number of colleagues in the Seanad were at that meeting on the night. It is Government policy to maintain and increase the area under tillage crops. Recognising the importance of this sector, significant direct supports have been provided to tillage farmers in recent years. In February of this year, I announced €32.4 million in payments under the tillage and horticulture support scheme. The budget for protein aid has increased to €10 million annually from 2024. The straw incorporation measure has an allocation of €50 million over five years. It is a hugely popular scheme among tillage farmers and one I am a major supporter of. Approximately 66,000 ha were submitted for straw chopping in 2025, and I have committed to paying all farmers who have applied under the scheme this year. The tillage sector is also being supported through other schemes, including the farming for water EIP, to which 1,400 tillage farmers have applied, the tillage capital investment scheme, ACRES and the organic farming scheme.

The programme for Government commits to investing significantly in the tillage sector over five years to maintain and grow the sector. This Government will continue to work with the tillage sector and provide targeted Government support where possible, given the importance of the sector. In advance of the forthcoming budget, I will continue to work closely with my colleagues across the Government to ensure that essential, targeted supports are provided where possible.

On the particular points that were raised about the gold standard of Irish grain, there are a lot of things we can do that constitute more medium-term support for the sector beyond just looking at financial supports on an annual basis for the sector. There are elements there that can support the value of Irish grain and its use more broadly, whether it is in animal feed, monetising that for the farmer or the end company or in the area of Irish whiskey, where we are looking at the Irish whiskey technical file.

The drystock sector is a vital part of Irish agriculture. My Department has a wide array of measures and schemes aimed at promoting a viable, resilient and sustainable drystock sector. These supports consist of Exchequer-funded and EU co-funded schemes specifically tailored to farmers engaged in beef, sheep, dairy beef and mixed enterprises. There are three dedicated beef schemes with budget allocations totalling €88 million operational in 2025 and two dedicated sheep schemes with a budget of €42 million. The CSP dairy beef welfare scheme has a budget allocation of €25 million over four years. Taken together, these national and CSP schemes aim to protect family farm incomes while playing a meaningful role in advancing the environmental sustainability of the sector.

In relation to our farmers operating in areas of natural constraints, ANCs, ANC payments are a valuable source of income support for farmers situated in areas of natural and other specific constraints. The aim of the scheme is to support farmers to continue to farm land designated as facing significant hardships due to remoteness, difficult topography, climatic problems and poor soil conditions. The annual indicative financial allocation for the intervention is €250 million. For 2025, advance payments commenced on 17 September with 100% of cleared applicants paid. To date, 89,000 applicants have been paid approximately €189 million.

Senators Brady and P. J. Murphy have rightly raised the point about TB and the huge issue and cause of concern it is here. Reference to the C and AG's report has also been made. It is not the first year the C and AG has made a report, an intervention, on bovine TB. I am very determined, however, that the changes I have made and the plan I have put in place will mean that the huge drain this has been on agriculture Ministers' overall budgets and on farmers and farm families themselves, who have had to bear a huge cost and an emotional toll, will not continue at the current escalating scale.

The programme for Government commits to review and update the national TB 2030 eradication strategy. As a sector, we have been grappling with this issue since the 1960s. Unfortunately, we have seen a significant increase in bovine TB levels nationally in recent years. Over 6,000 farm families were affected by a bovine TB outbreak in 2024, and herd incidence was at 6.04%. I am determined not only to stop this increase but to turn the dial and drive this trend back in a positive direction. Behind each percentage point is another farm family and another farm that is enduring the significant emotional and financial hardship associated with a TB breakdown.

That is why, on 9 September, I launched Bovine TB Action Plan: Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland, which has five measures and 30 actions underpinned by scientific research and veterinary expertise. Those five measures are supporting herds that are free of bovine TB to remain free; reducing the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; detecting and eliminating bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a bovine TB breakdown and avoiding a further breakdown; helping farmers to improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity; and reducing the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB. I believe the actions in this plan strike a balance between recognising the practicalities of livestock farming, which I am all too familiar with myself at home, and the necessity to tackle a disease which has been increasing year on year. This action plan represents the single largest reset of the bovine TB programme since its inception to put in place the measures necessary to tackle the current disease situation. It is vital that all necessary measures are taken to reduce disease levels. This has required difficult decisions, but it is important to remember that we need to take these decisions to protect the livelihoods of all farmers. This Government is committed to ongoing constructive engagement with all stakeholders in order to help the farming community, but it is vital that all involved in the programme continue to work together to protect farmers from bovine TB.

As part of the work of the bovine TB forum, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme.As a result of the agreement reached in this group over the past two years, there have been great enhancements to the income supplement scheme, the hardship grant and depopulation grant as well as enhanced ceilings for select animals being removed as part of the On Farm market valuation scheme. In addition, the financial working group also expanded the eligibility criteria under the income supplement scheme and hardship grant schemes. Due to the increased cost of the bovine TB programme in recent years, the focus is on reducing the levels of disease, which will reduce the impact of bovine TB on Irish farm families and reduce the cost of the programme, which has risen to more than €100 million in 2024.

I accept the point the two Senators have made in relation to that cap and the challenges that provides. I have to leave, unfortunately, and cannot remain for the rest of this debate because I have my meeting on the budget with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, very shortly. Everybody who has an interest in agriculture wants that meeting to go as well as possible for me. When I see the impact that TB is having on those negotiations and on my budget ask, it is clear to me the measures I am taking are about making sure we reduce that drain on this Department to free up more money to be spent on other areas of agriculture. I can think of so many other better ways to spend that money proactively supporting our farmers and our farm families.

I thank the Cathaoirleach and Seanadóirí for this opportunity to address the motion put forward. I again thank this House for the opportunity to speak on the importance of agriculture to Ireland. I appreciate Senator Daly's allowing me to come in when I did. When the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, takes my place, I will get a full readout of the contributions I will miss later on. I apologise for that but, as I say, I was not going to turn down a budget meeting because I have been waiting a while for one.