Martin Heydon

-----and have new drainage in line with existing national planning legislation.

It has nothing to do with that.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. To reassure her, the Government cannot be any clearer on our position in relation to the Mercosur proposals. We clearly outlined it in our programme for Government. In two-and-a-half hours of debate here in the Dáil last Thursday, I discussed it at length and put clearly on the record of this House our concerns and our opposition to that in that…

I congratulate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on his elevation to his very important role. I look forward to working with him in the Dáil term ahead. I congratulate him and his family on a very prestigious honour. I welcome this opportunity to speak to the House on the importance of agrifood to the overall Irish economy. In a week in which the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe…

I join the Deputy in extending sympathy to the Coleman family. I also extend heartfelt sympathies to all of the community in Galway who have suffered significant losses. I am mindful of the impact of Storm Éowyn and the impact it had on agricultural buildings, as the Deputy outlined. In many instances, buildings have been completely flattened. In that space, the targeted agricultural modernisatio…

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for raising a really important issue. I thank her for her good wishes at the start. This is a topic that is a real bugbear for farmers. If they are caught in this, the frustration is palpable. I will go through the detail on this in a minute. Before I do so, I want to respond to the Deputy's point about the frustration with the overall scheme, especially the frustration…

The Deputy has raised a number of different issues. I have been over in the west of Ireland meeting a number of farmers affected by the storm. Many of the farmers we are discussing in terms of ACRES have been impacted by the storm in a range of ways. We stand ready to support them. Initially, we are getting their power and water back but I am conscious that this debate was about ACRES and I want t…

I too welcome Kevin and say céad míle fáilte. He is very welcome and I hope he will enjoy his visit. I also acknowledge Tony and his years of public service to the State, both here in the Oireachtas and in An Garda Síochána before that. Public service takes many different forms. We thank him very much for his contribution to the State and wish him and his family a long and healthy retirement. I a…

At this first opportunity since my elevation to the Cabinet, I thank everyone in the House for their good wishes. I look forward to working with everybody on all sides of both Houses of the Oireachtas to deliver for our crucial agriculture, marine, food and drink sector, which is so important to our overall economy. The agriculture sector has been significantly impacted by Storm Éowyn due to prol…