Martin Heydon
Kildare South · Fine Gael · Ireland
“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.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important point. A key focus of Food Vision 2030, the shared stakeholder-led strategy for the agrifood sector, is to grow the value of Irish agrifood exports in international markets, which, as I outlined earlier, we have been very successful at in recent years.”
“All producers selling raw milk must register with my Department and are subject to risk-based official controls that include inspection, audit and sampling.”
“Whether it is farmers with particular issues that are leading to environmental issues or issues with structures that need to be replaced, we are very lucky to have capital support in agriculture. I really believe in our TAMS structure.”
“I was delighted to be able to introduce the tillage sustainability support scheme earlier this year. I have not been found wanting in standing up and supporting a tillage sector that has been under pressure in recent times. The same applies to horticulture.”
“Following the publication of the report, I wrote to the chairperson of the board on 22 June 2026, requesting that the board develop a timely and effective action plan to address the recommendations in the report, and I will be seeking regular updates on its progress. I want to see these recommendations implemented and progressed.”
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“Foster care centres are also used where RCE forms the view that the care and welfare of greyhounds in a person's control is not of the required standard. We also have a traceability system, the RCETS, which is operational and provides traceability for all microchipped racing greyhounds from 1 January 2021, together with all active greyhounds in the racing management system. Data from the RCETS at the end of quarter 1 of 2026 indicated a total of 64,486 greyhounds were subject to traceability. This data is constantly being updated and captured.”
“The Deputy answered her own question in a way at the start by saying we have heard all these things about traceability and beyond. I can outline what is there, the fact we have undertaken a review of the fund and how it is done. That report is there for all to be seen. Rásaíocht Con Éireann operates a range of welfare initiatives to ensure the high standards of greyhound welfare are maintained within the industry. These initiatives include greyhound care centres, which provide high quality accommodation and training to help greyhounds to adapt to a range of different home environments and foster care centres, which provide care and welfare for retired greyhounds awaiting transportation to their forever homes in the United States or other locations.”
“In its approved budget for 2026, RCE allocated €5.6 million to regulatory care and welfare expenditure. The RCE allocation to traceability, care and welfare matters for quarter 1 of 2026, was €1.1 million.”
“I thank the Deputy. As regards the economic and employment impact and benefit of the greyhound racing industry, this is outlined in the economic and financial significance of the Irish greyhound racing industry report. I concur on the importance of care and welfare. A strong commitment to improve animal welfare in the greyhound racing industry is set out in the programme for Government, which requires Rásaíocht Con Éireann to continue to provide financial support for the Irish Retired Greyhound Trust, IRGT, and to contribute to rehoming greyhounds. Since 2020, my Department has ringfenced 10% of the fund allocation to RCE for welfare, including integrity. A key priority of the board of RCE is the continued expansion of the welfare and care initiatives, which include a range of measures.”
“In July 2021, Jim Power Economics produced a report on the economic and financial significance of the Irish greyhound racing industry, which was also commissioned by RCE.”
“I have no plans to introduce legislation to provide a separate Exchequer funding mechanism for HRI and RCE and the industries they support. An independent review of my Department's governance of the fund, which included consideration of the efficacy of the fund in ensuring the highest standards of greyhound and equine welfare, has now been completed and a copy of the final report has been sent to the public accounts committee. One of the report’s key recommendations is to increase over the medium term the share of the fund ringfenced for welfare purposes. My Department will work with the bodies to implement this and other recommendations contained in the report over the coming months. A copy of the report is available on my Department’s website, under review of governance of horse and greyhound racing fund Ireland.”
“For the horse and greyhound fund, this is economic activity that generally tends to happen in rural areas where there are not the same other employment opportunities as there are in the larger cities and beyond. The horse and greyhound racing industries, via Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, and Rásaíocht Con Éireann, RCE, receive financial support from the State through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. In budget 2026, €99.1 million was allocated to the fund, of which €79.3 million will be allocated to HRI and €19.8 million to RCE. The allocation is subject to Oireachtas approval and is split 80:20 between HRI and RCE, respectively, as set out under section 12(6) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001.”
“I thank Deputy Ní Raghallaigh for being in for agriculture questions today. It is great to see her here for this. A very important pillar of Government policy is to ensure the horse and greyhound racing industries achieve their maximum potential, and in so doing, contribute to economic and social development over a wide geographic distribution. The Deputy is well aware that our own constituency of Kildare South benefits greatly from employment levels and economic activity in this regard. Government funding, in addition to supporting these key industries, presents an excellent opportunity to yield a high return for its investment, leading to a flow of income right through the economy, thereby providing widespread benefits for our society.”
“We have had the discussion on pension proposals and generation renewal. That was looking to mandatorily take the single farm payment from farmers who receive the State pension. It is not an issue for France because France does not pay it to them already. It is a huge issue for us because we have many farmers who do not have an identified successor and we would be taking a single farm payment from them. That has been moved from being mandatory. Our position is that we are going to have that as a voluntary position to be offered but not mandatory.”
“It is important to point out that we are talking about the Commission's proposals. Commissioner Hansen put forward the Commission's position last year as to how he would like to see the next CAP going. He has a lot of recommendations in that. My job, as part of the Presidency, is to progress the Council's position on the AGRIFISH Council for next six months. The Council is the 27 ministers for agriculture and fisheries across the EU and we will progress what our agreed position is. Our goal is to get a partial general approach agreed - the bits that do not involve the budget. If we do not have the budget agreed globally, we cannot agree the budget elements in that. However, if we have a partial general approach, we have a fair set on what the Council of Ministers say their proposals should be.”
“We obviously want to maximise our return from being members of the European Union. There are huge benefits from being a member of that Common Market with over 450 million people. On the financial return, 75% of our receipts come back through the CAP. This is not just a matter for us here discussing agriculture and for people in rural areas. This matters to the whole economy because if we see a reduction in CAP, it will reduce the amount of money available to come back to the economy from Europe.”
“What is fairly clear from all utterances in the 17-odd months I have been in this job is my strong desire to protect the CAP budget, building alliances with member state colleagues in the AGRIFISH Council but also here in government and at Cabinet, articulating exactly why the CAP is so important to us. Ireland is a net contributor to the EU; we pay in more than we get back. That is something we should be proud of as a nation. We took the structural funds in the early years of being members of the EEC and we built an economy, a country and a society here that can be prosperous enough for us to be a net contributor. It is something we should be proud of. Those in certain other member states tell me they strive for that and look forward to the day their economies have such success that that is where they are at.”
“Our objective is to advance negotiations towards a partial general approach on the CAP regulation, which essentially means to agree all elements that do not have a financial or budgetary component that is still to be resolved by the negotiations on the post-2027 EU budget, which will be finalised at Head of State and Government level in the European Commission.”
“However, I would prefer that to having a system where every rule is the same for us as it is in Slovenia, France, Spain or Italy because we farm differently. We have to strike that balance. To support this work, Ireland is engaging bilaterally with all member states to better understand their priorities, identify the issues that are of greatest concern to them and clarify areas of the legislative proposals where further work is required. We have also invited member states to submit written comments on the legislative proposals. This engagement will inform the preparation of Presidency compromise texts, with the aim of building consensus, resolving outstanding issues and advancing negotiations.”
“That is a challenge we are going to have to try to navigate in these discussions. It sounds nearly contradictory that on the one hand we want protect the commonality of the Common Agricultural Policy - our farmers have greatly benefited from being part of the Common Market of over 450 million people - but at the same time in designing a new scheme, if every measure is mandatory and if it is one-size-fits-all for every member state, it takes no account of the fact that we farm differently in Ireland than they do another member states, and we need that flexibility. I have been warned to be careful about how much flexibility I ask for because I might just get it and then have to own every decision.”
“I thank Deputy O'Hara for his question. Negotiations on the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy have progressed since the European Commission published its proposals last year. As President of the Council of the European Union, Ireland is now building on the progress made under the Danish and Cypriot Presidencies. Our priority is to facilitate discussions on the remaining political and technical issues, on the CAP-specific provisions transferred into the CAP regulation from the national and regional partnership plan regulation, and on the appropriate balance that must be struck between maintaining the common nature of the Common Agricultural Policy and providing member states with sufficient flexibility to design and implement interventions that reflect their national farming systems and circumstances.”
“In that sector in particular we see products being sold at very low prices, demeaning the value of Irish vegetables, which is not in any of our interests as an island nation.”
“I was delighted to be able to introduce the tillage sustainability support scheme earlier this year. I have not been found wanting in standing up and supporting a tillage sector that has been under pressure in recent times. The same applies to horticulture. It is gravely concerning that the vegetable and fruit crops element has been greatly narrowed down. We have lost businesses in that sector such are the tight margins. In terms of that market here in Ireland and what Irish consumers consume, a key reason Government set up the Agri-Food Regulator, and why I gave additional funding and additional powers to that regulator last year, is to support it in ensuring equity in the relationship between the primary producer, the processor and the retailer. Any sharp practices on the retail side need to be examined and rooted out.”
“The fertiliser impact was real too; it is just that there is a lag with that. In allowing for that impact and not knowing where we will be in the autumn as well, there will be an allocation of €15 million under the fertiliser support scheme from the Commission. I am working through the opportunities to try to add to that and how we would do that with a mechanism that would be real for farmers. I reassure the Deputy that I am in no way complacent and absolutely determined to support farmers through this very challenging time.”
“Deputy Burke's points are well made. I can assure him and the House of one thing, which is that there will be no complacency from me or my colleagues in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in terms of the price pressures this has on all of our sectors. Our sectors are very vulnerable. As I pointed out in my earlier answer, we had a good year, by and large, in terms of commodity prices for our products last year, but it is the input costs that can really get people when something like this happens. We saw it with the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia back in 2022 and the knock-on impact that had on energy costs and input costs for farmers, which was significant. Commissioner Hansen has put forward a support package on the fertiliser side. The fuel impact was real and immediate.”
“The recent Government announcement of the further extension of the full excise rate until the end of August will provide reassurance and certainty to farm families and businesses. In addition, I introduced the fuel income support scheme as a targeted income support to assist farmers and agricultural and forestry contractors facing unprecedented increases in fuel costs. I also put separate targeted schemes in place to support the fishery sector, which the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, has been administering, and the specialist horticultural grower sector, which the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, has been overseeing. In total, €100 million funding has been made available to support these agrifood and marine sectors and I expect payments under these schemes to commence in the coming weeks.”
“Furthermore, the elevated cost base of the sector is a risk to its overall competitiveness. While 2025 was a strong year for farm incomes, with average family farm income estimated to be up by about 49% in the national farm survey, 2026 has seen higher input costs and lower output prices. The CSO reports on output prices and input costs on a monthly basis and my Department will continue to monitor their effects on farm income and viability. The Government recognises the exceptional pressures rising fuel costs place on farmers, contractors and fishermen and fisherwomen. A substantial support package has been put in place, with the full removal of all non-carbon excise on green diesel.”
“I thank Deputy Burke very much for raising what is no doubt a key point. From early 2021, the Central Statistics Office, CSO, agricultural price indices, which measure the level of input costs and output prices paid and received by farmers, saw significant growth and volatility relative to previous years. Unprecedented shocks including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine contributed to these trends. The conflict in the Middle East renewed pressure on global supply chains and has emphasised our vulnerability to changes in the availability and price of fuel and fertiliser both in Ireland and the EU. Input cost increases have serious implications across all sectors in our economy, including the agrifood sector, adversely affecting farmer incomes and food affordability.”
“We have measures in there that will naturally limit how many dogs somebody can have, as well as the capping in terms of staffing and how many litters the dog can have. These are all measures we will work through. The Deputy mentioned funding. Obviously, I work closely with the Minister, Deputy Browne, with his responsibility over local authorities and the dog wardens. However, through my Department, I fund animal welfare charities to the tune of over €6 million, which is a huge increase on the €2.4 million that was paid out to them in 2020. We have continuously invested more in the area of animal welfare and in this area.”
“We will get an opportunity to discuss all elements of this through the five Stages of the legislation when I introduce it to the House and get it cleared. I have not made a decision on the cap yet. I still have an open mind. I have advice from the Attorney General. There are challenges around it that we will get to discuss through the detailed phases of the legislation. Are we comparing like with like in terms of the sizes of premises, such as the difference between a garage and a warehouse? There are challenges and there could be complexities in the law in that regard. However, measures are being proposed in the heads of the Bill. We have 17 heads already, so it is quite a detailed draft Bill.”
“I have asked for it to be listed as priority legislation for the next term. I have engaged with our colleague, Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, to deal with the pre-legislative scrutiny in tandem so that we try to get this Bill through as quickly as possible. It is really important that we do that. As well as the point around staffing rates and beyond, the limit and the cap of one litter per year will prevent repeated breeding, which is obviously very bad practice. There will be a limit on how many Caesarean sections a breeding dog can have and a cap on the number of litters in her lifetime as well. These are all really important measures.”
“I thank Deputy Dempsey for those points. First of all, to reassure her, the constituents she has met and the dog breeders across the country who do dog breeding well have nothing to fear from this legislation. This is to stop bad practice by any bad actors who might be in this for monetary gain, who do not care about the dogs and who are doing it to exploit any vulnerability that is in the law at the minute. Our job as legislators is to make sure we have tight and robust measures here. It was definitely an area that I felt needed tightening up. I am sure good dog breeders like Alma, who the Deputy referenced, are not doing the kinds of practices we are talking about here. There are measures we are seeking to bring in. In answer to the Deputy's question around timelines, it will be as soon as possible.”
“On 19 May this year, I introduced draft legislation, the dog breeding establishments Bill 2026, to Cabinet to update the existing regulatory framework for dog breeding establishments in Ireland across three key areas: welfare and breeding; sales and record-keeping; and administration and enforcement. The Bill was approved for priority drafting and will be referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food for pre-legislative scrutiny. 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 bitches on the premises, ensuring animals receive proper daily care and attention. There are other measures in the Bill I am happy to expand on in my supplementary response.”
“Inspections of dog breeding establishments are carried out by my Department and by local authority dog wardens. All registered dog breeding establishments undergo an annual inspection. Additional inspections, which include unannounced inspections, are carried out according to a risk assessment. My Department also introduced an updated dog breeding establishments inspection form to create uniformity when conducting an inspection of a dog breeding establishment. This updated form is used by both my Department and local authorities and will be kept under review in light of key developments in the areas of animal welfare and the law, having regard to the practical lessons learned from conducting inspections.”
“I thank Deputy Dempsey for raising this really important issue. It is something I am passionate about. In order to bring a coherent approach to dog control, policy and legislative responsibility under both the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to my Department last year. That was part of the agreement in the programme for Government. It was a wise move. I supported it during the talks on the programme for Government. Responsibility was spread across three Departments, which was challenging. As my Department has responsibility for animal welfare, also having responsibility for the control of dogs makes a lot of sense. As the Deputy will be aware, in both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for all operational and enforcement matters.”
“It said that ultimately, no matter what supports were available, decisions around succession on a farm will still be made around the kitchen table when the family has that discussion. We need to aid and support all of that. I do not believe any one succession grant scheme alone will be the key determinant in that very big decision for the retiring farmer and the young farmer. A lot of things feed into it. Income is obviously a huge issue. The work I am doing on bovine TB, on securing the nitrates derogation and on supporting the tillage sector will all help with generational renewal, as will the very strong measures we are looking for in the next CAP.”
“I agree that the goals are ambitious. They need to be because we have a very big problem here. The average age of a farmer is 57 or 58. That is far too high. It is creating a whole range of challenges from farm safety to delayed innovation and investment and beyond. These wider issues are a nut we really need to crack. I recognise the role of Macra. I guarantee the Deputy that its president, Josephine O'Neill, is very good at articulating Macra's position and desire for a succession scheme. I really want to be able to deliver such a scheme. The commission on generational renewal summed it up very well. It talked about all the barriers, including access to finance, access to land, gender balance and women in agriculture.”
“The commission on generational renewal estimated that the total financial support for generational renewal in Ireland was €428 million in 2024. That is really significant. A lot of that goes unseen because it is provided through tax incentives. We have seen what happened in the UK when people just assumed tax incentives for the inheritance and transfer of land would always be there. When such measures are messed with, it absolutely devastates generational renewal. It can mean the loss or sale of land that a family member had intended to pass on to another family member. I never take this for granted. I know my party and the Deputy's party would never mess with these measures but people need to be aware of this because I am not as confident about what other parties would do.”
“That is absolutely the intention. On the funding element, we obviously cannot make any commitments as to what the next CAP will look like for us here in Ireland until we know how much money we have to play with. However, the Deputy is right about Commissioner Hansen's ambitions. The EU's vision for agriculture and food identified generational renewal as a priority. This is reflected in the proposals for a post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy, as the Deputy outlined. The European Commission has also presented a strategy for generational renewal in agriculture. The increased focus on generational renewal at EU level is welcome. The EU strategy comes to many of the same conclusions as our own commission.”
“A collaborative farming grant scheme provides financial support to encourage farmers to form partnerships with young trained farmers and the succession planning advice grant provides financial support towards the costs incurred in accessing independent legal and financial advice in respect of succession planning for older farmers. Nationally, there are very strong taxation measures to facilitate succession and assist with land mobility. For succession, agricultural relief is a key measure. Along with 100% stamp duty relief, consanguinity stamp duty relief and long-term leasing income tax relief, it supports access to land for young farmers and provides a route to retirement for older farmers. A number of taxation measures already exist. I can go into more detail in my supplementary response.”
“Farm succession is a key priority for the Government to ensure the long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Irish agriculture. A range of supports are in place to encourage timely succession, facilitate generational renewal and assist young farmers in establishing viable farm businesses. Ireland's CAP strategic plan for 2023 to 2027 provides substantial resources to achieving generational renewal. Measures include: the complementary income support for young farmers; the national reserve scheme, which prioritises young farmers; and a higher grant rate of 60% for qualified young farmers under the TAMS capital investment measure.”
“I thank Deputy Byrne for raising this critical issue. It is one of the key issues of our time as regards our agricultural and fisheries sectors and beyond. It is not specific to Ireland or even to Europe. In Ireland, we have the extra challenge that farm families put huge store in educating their children very well, and are aided by the State in doing so, and those children then graduate into an economy at full employment with a lot of alternative options. That is all positive. It is a bit like the challenges the rising price of beef brings. These are positive challenges to have, but they are still very real challenges. We are trying to win the hearts and minds of young people who are considering a career in agriculture and farming in what is a very competitive space.”
“In those negotiations, a clear and explicit determination was given to me, which was that this money was to be used to drive down the incidence of the disease. I understand the points the Deputy is making. We will now be having new budget negotiations. Engagement with officials in the Department of public expenditure will involve a detailed analysis of the trajectory of the disease, where the money is going and the impact it is having. I will also be making the points the Deputy has raised regarding compensation levels.”
“I thank the Deputy for articulating the points as clearly as he did and with passion. I understand the points the Deputy is making but as a senior Cabinet Minister, I also need to have full cognisance of the overall cost of the TB programme. Farmers may think that putting €157 million into a TB programme does not impinge on my ability to spend in other areas of the Department where the Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley, Collins and Grealish, would like to spend, but that is not borne out in reality. In 2019, just seven short years ago, the entire cost to our Department was €37.5 million. It is now €157 million because of the scale of the challenge we are focused on. I came to last year's budget negotiations with a new plan and a very bold approach that I had spent the summer negotiating.”
“Seeing a reduction in numbers in the past year is positive. It has been directly linked to our open discussions about risk categorisation of animals and buyers being more aware of that. We know we will see an increase in bovine TB levels so we cannot be complacent. The focus at present is on reducing the levels of disease, which will reduce the very significant impact of bovine TB on Irish farm families, and also reduce the overall cost of the programme.”
“In addition to the compensation package for eligible reactor animals that are removed during a TB breakdown, my Department operates three supplementary schemes that assist farmers with the indirect losses incurred as a result of a TB breakdown on their farm. They are the income supplement scheme, depopulation grant scheme and hardship grant scheme. As part of the work of the TB forum, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme. As a result of the agreement reached in this group, over the past two years, there were rate enhancements to the income supplement scheme, the hardship grant and the depopulation grant, as well as enhanced ceilings for select animals being removed as part of the on farm market valuation scheme.”
“The primary support scheme is the on farm market valuation scheme under which animals removed as reactors receive compensation subject to scheme ceilings equivalent to their market value in the event they had not been disclosed as TB reactors. To the end of May 2026, of the 11,476 animals valued under the on farm market valuation scheme, just over 85% of animals were valued below the scheme ceilings.”
“I am confident that this increased budget will allow the revamped bovine TB programme to focus on tackling disease levels through the implementation of the measures laid out in the new bovine TB action plan. It will support and enable farm families who are currently dealing with the stress of a TB outbreak to navigate a way out of a TB restriction and protect herds that are currently free from TB from the stress of a TB outbreak in the future. The objective of the new measures in the bovine TB action plan is to reduce the number of farms affected by bovine TB and decrease costs for farmers and the taxpayer. My Department provides a range of financial supports that focus on compensating farmers for direct and indirect losses incurred as a result of a TB breakdown on the farm.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. We have discussed the bovine TB plan a lot in this House, this year and last year, because bovine TB is an ongoing challenge, as the Deputy is aware, for farmers in Clare and all over the country. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts bovine TB has on farmers, their families and rural Ireland. That is why I am absolutely determined to drive down the number of farm families affected by this and who have to experience the awful trauma of having a reactor and a locked up herd. I secured an increased budget allocation of €85 million for bovine TB in budget 2026, providing a total budget of €157 million for this year.”
“However, when companies come to us about a niche market, such as duck - they can tell us where there is a huge opportunity and they need to get market access - we reflect on it and if the economic return is there, we will put huge effort into engaging with the relevant authorities to get it. That process is slow but when we get it, we have the opportunity to build relationships, like we did when we gained access to Korea for beef.”
“A fair indication of what we will do in the future is what we have done recently. We went on trade missions such as to Seoul Food in Korea, Japan Expo, China, Germany, London and United Arab Emirates, where we went to Gulfood. Every Minister takes the opportunity of the St. Patrick's Day missions to promote the work, with Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland, of our food and drinks companies. It can be Irish whiskey, dairy produce, beef or other things because we are exporting to more than 180 countries around the world. It is a collaboration. Getting market access is slow.”
“We do that in consultation with food companies because the food companies can identify market opportunities. Bord Bia can also do so. The Department works with the relevant authority to gain market access, which is a lengthy process, and when we get it, I and colleagues go on ministerial trade missions to try to open those markets, create opportunities and make connections for companies.”
“I completely agree with the Deputy. This is a great success story. It is important and we are ambitious. The company the Deputy described from his constituency in County Offaly is a great example, as are many more in the Deputy's county, of the strength of our food companies. The strength of their products and their innovation is that they take farmers' produce to the market place and they are supported by the State through Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia. There are 13 or 14 agricultural attachés, off the top of my head, who are members of staff of the Department of agriculture, based in our embassies in key markets around the world. That is the level of investment by my Department in growing, emerging markets in south east Asia and beyond, where there are great opportunities.”
“They also present opportunities to expand Ireland’s trade and investment profile and to promote Ireland’s strong international reputation as a producer of safe, nutritious and sustainable food and drink, for example through extensive business-to-business engagement, networking opportunities and high-level political discussions. The destinations and markets targeted by my Department for trade missions focus on the best opportunities to develop new markets and to promote our agrifood products in collaboration with our stakeholders, which include Bord Bia, Sustainable Food Systems Ireland and Enterprise Ireland. Once market access is in place, which can be a lengthy process, Bord Bia in particular will work to promote Irish produce and assist companies in maximising those opportunities to export.”
“Bord Bia works to promote Ireland’s outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce around the world. Its activities include participation at food exhibitions and trade shows and the running of digital campaigns, retail and restaurant promotions as well as a range of other trade promotions and events including campaigns around the St. Patrick's Day global celebrations. Bord Bia also hosts inward buyer visits on an ongoing basis as well as meetings with key international companies. Ministerial trade missions are led by me and the Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley, Collins and Grealish, over the range of our different responsibilities. They are a key element of the strategy to deliver on the Food Vision priorities to develop and diversify markets and to increase the value of Irish agrifood exports.”