I join with Deputy O'Shea in extending my sympathies to Deputy Burke and his family on the passing of his mother-in-law.
Gender equality in agriculture is a priority of mine and it is included in the programme for Government. Food Vision 2030 also recognises the importance of gender balance to the long-term sustainable future of the sector and committed to holding a national dialogue on women in agriculture.
The di…
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
Show as a table
| 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
I thank the Deputy. It is timely this year because 2026 has been identified by the United Nations as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. My Department recently held a conference to launch the year in Ireland and to celebrate International Women's Day. I was delighted to announce the new International Year of the Woman Farmer ambassador, who will represent Ireland in Irish agriculture. She will raise awareness…
I agree with the Deputy. As he can see from my earlier response, it is not about on intervention that will change things and move the dial. It is a series of different things. When I looked at this previously when I was a Minister of State, the feedback from female farmers was that male-dominated knowledge transfer groups were a challenge. Having female-only knowledge transfer groups in certain instances has worked r…
I know how important milling is to Laois and beyond-----
As is the tillage sector. The tillage sector is an integral part of Irish farming, producing high-quality animal feed and bedding for the livestock sector and ingredients for the food and drink industry. The sector makes a significant contribution to the Irish economy, as the Deputy knows, estimated at €1.9 billion per annum over the 2018 to 2022 period. It is also important in terms of employment and is estimated to…
I thought Deputy Stanley was going to break into a bar of Trudi Lalor's "Lovely Laois" for a minute. I am well aware that some of the best tillage land in the country is in Laois because it is right beside Kildare. We have it too. The Deputy has many constituents, as I have, who are dependent, who are tillage farmers and are very worried about the future. They have had three really tough years due to a mixture of bad…
I completely concur. We should never have lost the sugar beet industry. It was a detrimental blow to those of us in south Kildare, Laois and beyond who made very good money out of the campaign every year in delivering it into Carlow, as they did in Tuam, Thurles and Mallow.
I take the points regarding Alan Ahearne's report on board. It is why the Government has invested and supported Irish agriculture to the extent …
The board of Bord Bia met on 2 March to discuss proposals to resolve the situation whereby Bord Bia’s offices were being occupied by protestors. Following that meeting the board issued an agreed statement. This statement noted that the terms of reference of an independent governance review which I had proposed were agreed by the board, and that the protest inside and outside the offices would be stood down.
As agree…
The end of April.
It will be finished by the end of April.
The reason we are talking about the end of April – which is both a very tight timeline and ambitious – is because it is something I want to bring to a conclusion. There needs to be a lot of honesty in the debate. I agree with Deputy Kenny that we need to reflect on everyone’s fiduciary duties when they sign up to a State board.
A great deal of responsibility comes with that, and that applies to every member of a boa…
That is it exactly. We want to move on, but we want to ensure that as we do so, there is a clear understanding of the highly integrated nature of food trade globally. We export 90% of our food and drink. It is really important that our farmers clearly understand that. The whole tenor of the debate over the five-week period focused on the 10% consumed in Ireland, understandably, because it is very important market in …
I will share my time with the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. I thank the Deputies for seeking the opportunity for statements on the fishing quotas for 2026. The Minister of State and I welcome the opportunity to further discuss this important issue and the concerns that continue to affect our fisheries and seafood sector.
The reduced level of quotas available for 2026 has caused considerable concern not only for …
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for slating the really important issue of the situation regarding bluetongue in Ireland and giving me the ability to be able to address the House on it today.
Bluetongue is a viral disease caused by bluetongue virus, which can cause severe clinical signs in ruminant species such as cattle, sheep, goats and camelids - alpacas and llamas. There are many different serotypes of bluetongue vir…
I agree.
I addressed it last week and also this week.
I thank all colleagues in the House for taking the time to engage in what is an important debate and asking a number of questions I would be happy to answer. I acknowledge the presence of hill farmers from Galway and Roscommon, as well as the president of Macra na Feirme and other representatives with Senator Brady.
In wrapping up, I will come back to each of the points that has been raised directly. I thank the Dep…
I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "further notes that" and substitute the following:
"— the Board of Bord Bia, including the Chair, is made up of 15 members from across all areas of the agri-food sector, and its function is to promote, assist and develop, in any manner which the Board considers necessary or desirable, the marketing of Irish food and livestock;
— the Department of Agriculture, Food …
That is not surprising. Explaining global food supply chains and contingency planning does not make for good social media clips. It is much easier for them to come in here and roar and shout as Deputy McGuinness is doing about giving a man the sack. Did Sinn Féin make any attempt to seek a briefing from the chair of Bord Bia on this issue before calling for his head? I did not think so; there is silence.
It is the same briefing I got and members of Bord Bia got. The Members opposite could have sought it before they called for a man to resign. Maybe the facts would not have been helpful as they are trying to whip people up. They have form on this. Their leader Mary Lou McDonald called for the head of the Garda Commissioner the day after riots in Dublin. Their housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin called for a senior Departme…
If this was about price, it would be a lot more than 1%. The Deputy does not like what I am saying. I did not interrupt him.
If this were about price we would be talking about a lot more than 1%. It is not. In general, if an Irish food company-----
I did not interrupt you lads.
I will offer the time afterwards to my colleagues as well.
Can I get his time afterwards?