Parliamentary questions

156. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider the issues raised in correspondence by a national association (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52300/25]

734. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action he will take to prevent a recurrence of the weeks of gorse fires at Ticknock in August 2025 (details supplied), which caused serious air pollution and increased carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51829/25]

735. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current funding allocated to biosecurity measures in the National Development Plan for the period 2026 to 2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51116/25]

736. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagement his Department had with Inland Fisheries Ireland regarding fish mortality events in the River Blackwater since 2024; and if continuous water quality monitoring has been considered at licensed discharge points. [51155/25]

737. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has received reports of fish mortality in the River Blackwater in 2025; and if continuous monitoring of licensed discharge points is being considered. [51168/25]

738. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider an issue regarding stamp duty for young farmers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51246/25]

739. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if meat products produced through ritual slaughter methods, including halal, are required under current regulations to be labelled as such; if not, the rationale for this omission; and if he will consider changes to ensure clear consumer information. [51353/25]

740. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific meaning of the codes, such as 363 EC, found on packaged meat sold in Irish retail outlets; the extent to which these codes identify the method of slaughter; and whether the Department intends to make such information more transparent to consumers. [51354/25]

741. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the role of his Department in ensuring that consumers are provided with accurate and accessible information on the origin, processing, and slaughter methods of meat sold in Irish shops and supermarkets, including where ritual slaughter has taken place. [51355/25]

742. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount expended on cloud storage solutions in the past five years and to date in 2025; and if he will provide the data storage supplier, in tabular form. [51356/25]

743. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support calls for the introduction of an income volatility mechanism from an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51379/25]

744. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to revisit proposals from the Teagasc Pig Department regarding income smoothing measures, such as those based on the Australian model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51380/25]

745. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to support generational renewal in agriculture with the essential requirement for low-cost finance and installation aid to young farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51381/25]

746. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support amending the young trained farmer relief to ensure that this relief is extended beyond the expiry date of 31 December 2025, as it is vital to facilitate generational renewal; if he will take steps to also ensure that the age limit for young trained farmers should be increased from the current 35 to i…

747. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support calls for an accelerated capital allowance for slurry storage and associated equipment (LESS), due to expire at the end of December 2025, to be extended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51383/25]

748. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the adverse weather conditions experienced in September 2025, if he will consider extending the slurry spreading deadline by two weeks in order to assist farmers in managing slurry and ensuring compliance with regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51594/25]

749. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all contracting authorities under the aegis of his Department are in full compliance with Circular 05/2023, in particular the mandatory requirement to publish contract award notices for all contracts above €25,000; and if he will provide details of the monitoring or enforcement arrangements in place to ensure this …

750. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures in place within his Department, and across contracting authorities under its aegis, to ensure that mini-competitions conducted under public procurement frameworks are run strictly in accordance with the published award criteria and the provisions of S.I. No. 284/2016; if he will report on the oversight me…

751. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if contracting authorities under the aegis operating frameworks are required under Regulation 55 of S.I. No. 284/2016 to provide unsuccessful tenderers with written debriefs, including scoring breakdowns, the name of the winning tenderer, and the relative advantages of the successful tender; and the way in which compl…

752. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to expedite an aquaculture licence application in respect of persons (details supplied) to ensure that jobs are secured with this shovel ready project; his views that the ongoing delays in the processing of licences is not acceptable, prevents local companies from expanding, costs jobs and is …

753. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress toward achieving the target of 400,000 ha, in tillage as set out by the Climate Action Plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51798/25]

754. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that farmers in an area (details supplied) are receiving letters from his Department seeking to reduce their BISS due to an incident outside of their control; if he will ensure farmers are not punished and that these reductions in farm payments are disregarded and payments are made as normal; and if h…

755. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of vacant retail units in each fisheries harbour centre under the remit of his Department, and the current condition of each unit, in tabular form. [51837/25]

756. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if food that is recalled for reason of an outbreak of disease, or suspicion of an outbreak of disease, is disposed of; how it is disposed of; and if there is transparent oversight of its disposal. [51894/25]

757. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to extend the slurry spreading period by a week; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51908/25]