Martin Heydon

I am happy to discuss the proposal on the trade agreement. I have held the Government position, as outlined in the programme for Government, to work with like-minded countries, as I have done since 23 January, which share similar concerns about the Mercosur trade deal and the impact it could have on trade. It is a different point from the question. The Mercosur trade agreement is about tariff rate…

I will answer on the trade agreement.

I was answering the specific point on SPS first and I am happy to discuss the trade agreement also. Throughout the EU Mercosur negotiation process, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, who has lead responsibility for trade agreements policy, and I have actively engaged with the European Commission and other member states to voice Ireland's concerns about the EU-Mercosur agreement. While I a…

The nitrates derogation has been my number one priority since I was appointed Minister at the beginning of this year, and for very good reason. Our derogation farmers are making great efforts and strides around improving water quality, operating to a higher standard of conditionality. Our pasture-based system is very different from the rest of Europe. These have been very challenging and sensitive…

Farmers are on that journey already in a variety of ways, particularly in the area of water quality. Requirements include the need for Ireland, as outlined during the summer, to conduct environmental assessments to address the habitats directive at catchment level in order to demonstrate compliance with the directive. This is a massive undertaking. It will require significant investment of time an…

Where did the Deputy get that from?

I am happy to confirm all my engagement with Commissioner Roswall has been around the substance of the nitrates derogation. It has a very important role here and the Commissioner saw that first-hand when she visited. The Deputy will forgive me in not taking her direct advice because if I had taken that earlier in the year, the Social Democrats and the Deputy would have had us wave the white flag a…

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this point. I am aware of the joint committee's report regarding Lady's Island Lake and I am working closely with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, who is leading the Government's engagement in this area. My Department, along with Teagasc experts, are centrally engaged in the interdepartmental Lady’s Island oversight group led by Wexford C…

Yes, I can confirm that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, is taking the lead on this but we are working closely in consultation. I am not deflecting in saying this, but it will be worth raising this point with the Minister of State as well because he is dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. We are providing, as I said, financial support of €50 million through the ASSAP programme. I agree …

I will do so. I agree with the Deputy that this is about partnership. As with all areas related to addressing environmental challenges, the partnership approach is what works really well. As I stated, Wexford County Council, with the guidance of the interdepartmental group, has developed a site-specific action plan to address the challenges faced by Lady's Island Lake within the framework and mech…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this important issue. Once a month, I go to Brussels to meet the other 26 ministers for agriculture at what is known as the AGRIFISH Council. The most recent meeting took place in Brussels on Monday, 17 November. With Ireland's Presidency of the EU commencing in less than eight months, I took the opportunity to continue my proactive engagement with ministerial coll…

As a proposed trade agreement, Mercosur is the responsibility, first and foremost, of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. As Minister for the agriculture sector and farmers, I continue to highlight the sensitivities of this trade proposal for our beef sector in particular. I believe strongly that Ireland and our agriculture sector benefit greatly from our open trade policy and from being p…

These are the pertinent points for all the negotiations on the new CAP. We are aligning that discussion on what the new CAP will look like with the proposals around the multi-annual financial framework at the same time. Ultimately, at the heart of what the CAP can deliver beyond 2027 is the question of how much money is in the pot for it. We know Commissioner Hansen secured a ring-fenced commitme…

Very quickly, Commissioner Hansen has expressed in his draft proposals really strong ambition on the area of generational renewal. I want to be able to design approaches in the new CAP that address the issue of generational renewal. However, what I have just talked about in relation to my efforts and the ongoing efforts across the Department of agriculture to retain the nitrates derogation is key …

Generational renewal is at the heart of everything we do and will be at the heart of negotiations for the new CAP as well.

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising this point because under the current proposals for CAP post-2027, there is a mandatory requirement for member states to put in place risk management tools. Risk management tools were optional in the current CAP strategic plan, running from 2023 to 2027, and the case for inclusion of crop insurance was examined in its preparation. However, its inclusion was not supp…

There are many different tools in our armoury to be able to support the tillage sector as part of the CAP negotiations. I attended a meeting with the Irish Grain Growers and the IFA in Killashee Hotel to which more than 1,000 tillage farmers turned up. Deputy Byrne and I know tillage farmers do not protest much or in those kinds of numbers but they did on this occasion, such is the level of desper…

We absolutely need to design this scheme and make sure the €30 million I have secured for budget 2026 is targeted at the farmers. I want to do this differently from the last scheme. The last scheme provided a much-needed €100 for every hectare that had seed in the ground, with no capping or conditionality around it. We can be more targeted with this €30 million, get it to those who need it the mos…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important point. Since early November, there have been four outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI, caused by the H5N1 virus in turkey flocks in counties Carlow, Meath, Monaghan and, most recently, unfortunately, Laois. My Department has been implementing disease control and eradication measures in line with the EU animal health law provision…

In terms of compensation in general, the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 provides that compensation to owners of animals may be payable if a cull of those animals is directed by the Department of agriculture in the event of an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza. The compensation may relate to the animal that is culled, or to an animal product, animal feed or similar item that is dest…

I confirm it is very possible that the Deputy will be able to eat turkey on Christmas Day. I very much hope that will be the case. We all know how important that is. I do not jest. This is important to our turkey farmers. I have huge sympathy for the four flocks that have been impacted. It is a devastating blow to an individual flock owner. On the broader scale, it is important to reiterate to the…

I thank the Deputy for raising this point. While he is in a different constituency, he is the TD who lives closest to me, as we straddle the border between Kildare and west Wicklow. The challenge of generational renewal in farming has been widely recognised at both national and EU level. The programme for Government prioritises supporting intergenerational farm succession. Food Vision 2030, our s…

I agree with the Deputy in many ways. The question I am most often asked about generational renewal is whether there will be a scheme in the next CAP or what it will look like. I want to be able to develop a succession scheme and I hope to have the resources to do that, but young trained farmers will not make life-long decisions based on whether they get one grant in 2028 and put everything on hol…

The fair deal scheme has had a specific impact on farmers. While it is not under my remit or that of the Department of agriculture, I have engaged with previous Ministers for Health on it and I would be happy to work with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on this area as well. The last Government made changes around it and we want to be able to give certainty, clarity and comfort to people wh…

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising an important point. It gets to the heart of what we do. From a food safety and public health perspective, a lot of the conversation in Ireland has tended to be about sustainability in recent years, what our farmers are doing, producing food sustainably and profit. When we travel abroad on a trade mission, the first thing that is mentioned, particularly in places li…