I thank Deputy Timmins. For farmers in Wicklow and beyond - and I live very close to the Wicklow border - I know the scourge of bovine TB and the impact and challenges it has. I have been able to implement the biggest step change in approach in the 75 years that bovine TB has been on this island. My new bovine TB action plan is working and this is being proven by the figures. There is a 10% reduction in the number of…
TDs / Martin Heydon
Martin Heydon
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
128,151
words spoken in the chamber
127,978 as a minister, 173 as a TD
404
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 530 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
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| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 7 |
| March 2025 | 8 |
| April 2025 | 38 |
| May 2025 | 41 |
| June 2025 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 28 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 59 |
| November 2025 | 53 |
| December 2025 | 13 |
| January 2026 | 61 |
| February 2026 | 31 |
| March 2026 | 39 |
| April 2026 | 15 |
| May 2026 | 44 |
| June 2026 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 42 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 1 |
| October 2026 | 45 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 425 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Kildare South 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 23 January 2025 to now
Many of those deer run down from Wicklow into County Kildare. I am all too aware of the challenges they present. In many parts of the country, farmers talk about the role badgers play in spreading the disease. In Wicklow and some other parts, it is deer that are the big challenge. That is why we have 16 deer management units, one of which is in Wicklow, which are helping us to address the challenges associated with d…
One of the key drivers of bovine TB is cattle-to-cattle transmission. A challenge the new plan is addressing is the residual TB that was going undetected. Our biggest challenge with bovine TB is that we do not have a single test that is 100% foolproof. The annual skin testing has an 80% efficacy rate, which means that one in five animals that tests negative is actually positive and will be missed. When young breeding…
I thank Deputy O'Rourke. The tillage sector is an integral part of Irish farming and makes a significant contribution to overall agricultural output. The Government recognises the importance of the sector and the challenges it faced this year, particularly higher input costs and the impacts of prolonged dry weather on crop yields and quality. It is the Government's ambition to grow the area in tillage in the years ah…
The Deputy is right to say land availability is a challenge in this space. As I said earlier, one of the key things in my mind when I was fighting to secure an extension to the nitrates derogation last year was not just for 7,000 derogation dairy farmers to continue to be able to avail of that because of our pasture-based system, it was because if they were at a reduced stocking rate, dairy farmers predominately woul…
Deputy Kenny made a point on producer organisations. We do not do enough producer organisations among farmers. It is challenging for farmers because they are signing up to a set of terms and conditions that are challenging. Very good farmers go into producer organisations because they understand directly what the market requires and they produce to the exact specification that is agreed at the start of the process. M…
I thank Deputy Heneghan for raising this point. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who has responsibility for the OPW. My Department's responsibilities include seafood policy and management and the regulation and sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. While projects combining coastal flood protection measures with the enhancement of marine habitats and biodiv…
The Deputy raised a very specific point in relation to Clontarf and the concern that holds for his constituents, which I have no doubt is the case. I have no doubt that the Minister of State in my Department, Deputy Dooley, will be happy to engage in a meeting with the Deputy. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is amenable to that from the OPW side as well. We can go through those specific points and make su…
I thank Deputy Heneghan again for raising this important point. More broadly, Ireland aims to expand its marine protected area, MPA, network to reach 30% of MPAs in Ireland's maritime area by 2030, aligning with one of the goals of the 2030 EU biodiversity strategy. The lead Department is the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment. My Department and its agencies are providing valuable input to this process…
We agree that there is an issue here that needs to be resolved. I hope the Deputy takes at face value my determination and ambition to address anomalies and to address gaps that allow for some bad practices I am deeply concerned about but also to recognise that there are some people who do dog breeding very well in this country and who are passionate about it. For them, there is nothing to fear from my proposed legis…
On a high level, the nature of legislation is that when I bring forward proposals here, I am taking on board the points and discussions that are happening at the joint Oireachtas committee's pre-legislative scrutiny. It will have its observations back. Every Member, from Second Stage through Committee Stage and in the Seanad, will have their say here as well. I will take those points of view on board. I will also hig…
There is a huge amount of detail. There are 17 different elements to the draft legislation. What I will publish is a very extensive draft legislation, as heads of Bills go.
For the first time, dog breeding establishments will be legally required to employ a minimum of one full-time staff member for every 20 breeding females on the premises, ensuring animals receive proper daily care and attention. That, in itself, i…
Despite a sustained period of global volatility, Ireland’s economy continues to be strong and resilient. That is due to the hard work of the Irish people and, in the case of my own area of responsibility, that of farmers, fishermen and women, foresters and agri-food businesses across our rural and coastal communities. As a Government, we are tasked with using available resources to support households, boost resilienc…
What is wanted by most farmers, even those who support Sinn Féin, is for us to pay those supports as soon as possible. I am determined to see that money reach their accounts before the year end.
Alongside these immediate supports, budget 2027 will be the latest step in delivering tangible action in priority areas such as water quality, animal health and welfare, generational renewal and on-farm investment. Animal he…
Do you not want farmers to get €77 million this year?
You are misleading the House.
You know well.
I move:
(1) THAT for the purposes of the taxes charged by virtue of the Capital Acquisitions Tax Consolidation Act 2003 (No. 1 of 2003), that Act be amended in the definition of "group threshold" in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to that Act—
(a) in subparagraph (a), by the substitution of "€420,000" for "€400,000",
(b) in subparagraph (b), by the substitution of "€44,000" for "€40,000", and
(c) in subparagr…
I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this point and for his engagement with Macra in Wexford. We deal with Macra and with all of the farm organisations across the board. Generational renewal is one of those key issues that are at the forefront of my mind in every decision I make as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. It is not just about one scheme at the end, although it is my ambition to include generation…
No.
I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this matter, for his ongoing work as chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and for his personal interest in the issue of sulky racing, which he has been raising for some time. As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am responsible for animal welfare. The question of who is permitted to operate on roads is a matter for the Department of Transport and enforcement i…
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 the multi-annual fi…
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 minister for agricu…
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 forward as a proposa…
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 plans to be drawn up by …