Martin Heydon

In the time allotted to us, I would say we will not be able to cover everything in CAP. To take the last point first, the budget is everything. While it is not part of my negotiations as chair of the AGRIFISH Council, it is a key focus of the Irish Presidency. Working with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and all colleagues across government, we will be looking to significantly progress negotiations on…

It is fair to say that across the AGRIFISH Council, all of the Ministers for agriculture and fisheries want to see the maximum budget for the next Common Agricultural Policy and the next Common Fisheries Policy. That is obviously what we would expect. At the last Council meeting, I made the point to Ministers for agriculture that we need to go back and make sure, in every member state, that if the…

To go back to the broader point about the funding, the ring-fenced budget is 76% of the past seven years. It is not enough. It is not nearly enough for what we need, what our ambitions are and what we want to do over the next seven years to support the agriculture, food and fisheries sectors. In terms of the mechanics of how we do this, we have the €45 million that President von der Leyen brought …

I thank Deputy Ward for raising this point. The targeted agriculture modernisation scheme, TAMS, 3 is a key element of the current CAP strategic plan and provides grants to farmers to invest in their farm businesses through building and-or improving a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings. Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, which establishes rules on support for strategic plan…

Whether it is farmers with particular issues that are leading to environmental issues or issues with structures that need to be replaced, we are very lucky to have capital support in agriculture. I really believe in our TAMS structure. For me, the targeted agriculture modernisation scheme gets to the heart of generation renewal and hits the issues of climate, environment and animal welfare. The sc…

The answer to the second question is that I am not aware of them, if they do exist. I am happy to talk to the Minister for housing, who regularly brings updates on the defective blocks scheme to Cabinet. The Government is using billions of euro of taxpayers’ money to support the very people the Deputy is talking about in terms of their family homes and the awful blight that has happened to people …

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue, which was discussed many times in this House earlier in the year. I welcome the report following the completion of the independent governance review into the board of Bord Bia. My Department met with Governance Ireland, which carried out the independent review, and the board of Bord Bia on the day the report was published to discuss its findings and re…

The issues in this area have been well aired, and I am on the record of the House as having clearly outlined the facts as they are. I am not going to rehash them, but the Deputy talks about things at the heart of the matter. I will tell him what is at the heart of the matter. It is the price that farmers get for their beef, lamb, dairy produce and beyond. It is about how we can best, as a country …

The work of Origin Green and Bord Bia is integral to that.

The work of the governance review has helped to strengthen that position and that work can continue.

I am not.

I am at the heart of the central point that matters to farmers, which is the income from their produce and the structures we have in place as a State to support them and get the best return for our market value.

How does the Deputy think we doubled the value of Irish farmers' exports and produce, from about €10 billion in 2010 to €20.8 billion last year? We did that through the work of Origin Green, the work of our farmers and others, and the work of Bord Bia in promoting and supporting Irish agrifood businesses that are selling Irish farmers' produce and giving that best possible price return to our farm…

I also have to look at the threats here, which include the UK post Brexit, the deals it has done with Australia and New Zealand and the price pressure that is going to put on our market sales in a country where over 50% of our beef goes. The reason we have such a strong and dominant position in the British market-----

-----is the equivalence in food standards with the Red Tractor quality assurance scheme. I will not stand for us drifting away from that and allowing the undermining of our quality assurance scheme, which has served us so well. I will not let that happen on my watch.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important point. I enjoy his engagement on all things agriculture. I am not sure how many farmers there are in his constittuency but there are a lot of consumers, and I have no doubt they appreciate and enjoy the produce of our farmers. In Ireland, the sale of raw milk for direct consumption is governed by legislation commonly known as the hygiene package. Regu…

We are getting plenty of vitamin D at the minute, which is well received. Our safety standards are beyond reproach in Ireland. When I go on international trade missions - I have just been discussing the value of our trade exports - the first thing discussed in places like Asia and beyond is how trusted our food safety standards are. That is really important. It is not something we will ever be com…

Thankfully, Irish farmers' food produce is really nutrient dense and protein rich. There is a question scheduled for later today about the threat and impact of GLP-1s on our food-producing nation. These new drugs make people consume 30% less food and drink. I see this as a massive opportunity. If you are on a GLP-1, you are more aware of the additives. People are becoming more aware all the time o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important point. A key focus of Food Vision 2030, the shared stakeholder-led strategy for the agrifood sector, is to grow the value of Irish agrifood exports in international markets, which, as I outlined earlier, we have been very successful at in recent years. In 2025, Irish exports were recorded at €20.8 billion, with exports to over 180 countries worldwide. …

I completely agree with the Deputy. This is a great success story. It is important and we are ambitious. The company the Deputy described from his constituency in County Offaly is a great example, as are many more in the Deputy's county, of the strength of our food companies. The strength of their products and their innovation is that they take farmers' produce to the market place and they are sup…

A fair indication of what we will do in the future is what we have done recently. We went on trade missions such as to Seoul Food in Korea, Japan Expo, China, Germany, London and United Arab Emirates, where we went to Gulfood. Every Minister takes the opportunity of the St. Patrick's Day missions to promote the work, with Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, of our food and drinks companies. It can be…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. We have discussed the bovine TB plan a lot in this House, this year and last year, because bovine TB is an ongoing challenge, as the Deputy is aware, for farmers in Clare and all over the country. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts bovine TB has on farmers, their families and rural Ireland. That is why I am absolutely det…

In addition to the compensation package for eligible reactor animals that are removed during a TB breakdown, my Department operates three supplementary schemes that assist farmers with the indirect losses incurred as a result of a TB breakdown on their farm. They are the income supplement scheme, depopulation grant scheme and hardship grant scheme. As part of the work of the TB forum, a dedicated …

I thank the Deputy for articulating the points as clearly as he did and with passion. I understand the points the Deputy is making but as a senior Cabinet Minister, I also need to have full cognisance of the overall cost of the TB programme. Farmers may think that putting €157 million into a TB programme does not impinge on my ability to spend in other areas of the Department where the Ministers …

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising this critical issue. It is one of the key issues of our time as regards our agricultural and fisheries sectors and beyond. It is not specific to Ireland or even to Europe. In Ireland, we have the extra challenge that farm families put huge store in educating their children very well, and are aided by the State in doing so, and those children then graduate into an e…