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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“As Minister for agriculture, I have a close working relationship with the food industry and businesses. When people think agriculture, they think farmers. That is only right since there are 120,000 Irish farmers in the country who produce that top-quality food. We also have 170,000 people, or close to it, employed in this sector, however, and many of those high-quality jobs are in food processing and in those companies the Deputy mentioned. They all feed into the value of our exports, which last year alone were worth €19.2 billion to the overall economy, so it is all those jobs together. When I will lead trade missions to Asia next month, as I have to America on many occasions, I will be joined by companies.”
“The EU has a role, and the EU response has an impact. Therefore, we have to use our position, based on our close bilateral relations with the US, to best articulate what exemplifies our position. It is a case of negotiating from a position of strength from the heart of the EU. That is the only place to be and it is exactly what we did during Brexit and what we will continue to do here. We will also seek to diversify our market opportunities, which is why I will travel to Japan and Korea next month and to China later this year. The Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley and Grealish, will also lead trade missions over the course of the year.”
“There absolutely is. I continue to work with the Minister for enterprise, Deputy Peter Burke, and all colleagues across the Government. On enterprise, there is considerable pressure on our whiskey distilling sector because 40% of the whiskey we export goes to the US. Changes such as those to tariffs have a direct impact on industries. I am working with the Minister, Deputy Burke, on his plans to develop an action plan on competitiveness and to help us to control the things we control. We always consider market diversification. I am on record as saying the US tariffs challenge we face feels like Brexit mark 2. A key trading partner of ours is making or proposing a very significant policy shift, which will hurt us, our companies and consumers. It is really going to hurt US customers and companies.”
“My recent trade mission to the US offered me an opportunity to highlight the mutual benefit of our trading relationship with the US and the level of investment by Irish companies in the US market, creating jobs and adding value for local economies. Meaningful negotiations with the US remain the main focus for both the EU and Ireland. The Commission is fully engaged in discussions with the US and a negotiated solution remains very clearly the goal and our preferred outcome. We continue to work in that regard.”
“It makes Irish food and drink products more expensive for US consumers, who, as I have seen at first hand, really value our premium Irish products. However, the 90-day pause on the US side in relation to the higher tariff rates originally announced on 2 April, along with the EU pausing its countermeasures, have created the conditions for meaningful negotiation. On the tariffs, Ireland’s consistent position remains that we need to get into a calm, measured and comprehensive dialogue with the US to avoid damage to our bilateral trade. This is also the position of the EU. Ireland, as part of the EU, wants to play a constructive role and will continue to be a voice for calm and measured engagement in the time ahead. The US is the second largest market for Irish agrifood exports after the UK, with exports last year valued at almost €2 billion.”
“I thank Deputy Neville and the other Deputies present for staying up this late at night to raise very important questions. We are on the night shift here. This matter is very important. There is concern among farmers over the impact of tariffs. It refocuses everyone’s mind. We are so busy day to day on our farms that we sometimes forget that we export 90% of the food and drink we produce. When key trading partners make or propose significant policy changes it can quickly have a very big impact at farm-gate level. I am very conscious that the additional tariff rate of 10% on all imports to the US, in place since 9 April, directly impacts the competitiveness of Irish agrifood exports on the US market.”
“Some are administrative and will make a change, but the overall simplification will be in the design of the new CAP. There will be an element of national discretion whereby we this House and the key stakeholders will discuss how I can design a CAP that best suits our agricultural system. First and foremost, it is about protecting the budget and having it ring-fenced to deliver what we need it to do.”
“There are two parts to this. The multi-annual financial framework, or the overall budget for Europe, will determine so much of the second part around the CAP. That is why the Heads of State and Government, including the Taoiseach, will have a key role to play in terms of engagement at this level and at the European Council. The Government has been very fair in articulating its priorities around protecting the CAP structure and the very positive roles played by Pillars 1 and 2. I have highlighted my concerns about rumours circulating that there will somehow be a central pot that member states will pull out of, and also about the impact of this on the Single Market and cohesion. While the first part is the overall budget, the second involves ensuring a focus on delivering a simplified CAP. The points on simplification are to come this year.”
“Already, agriculture ministers from the other 26 member states are looking for bilateral meetings to engage with me and tell me what their priorities are. I want to clearly articulate to them and Commissioner Hansen what our priorities are for protecting the Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 payments and the separate fund for agriculture that is so important to our sector.”
“In my engagement with Commissioner Hansen to date, I feel he is someone who gets it, both from his visit to Ireland in January and in his vision for agriculture in the different points he has outlined. He feels like somebody who understands the importance of the CAP for our farmers and food production system. The reason I clearly outlined my core priorities and those of Ireland regarding the CAP is to get them established early. To have them established earlier, I brought a memo to the Cabinet and got approval from my Government colleagues for the approach I want to take. In the second half of 2026, when the finer details of the CAP will be in the melting pot, we will have the Presidency of the EU. At that stage, I could be chairing the EU agriculture Council.”
“The Commissioner is proposing to publish them around the same time in July in order that they can all be discussed and debated together.”
“I have and will continue to engage with Christophe Hansen, the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, and my fellow EU Ministers on the issues affecting the agrifood sector, including the CAP post 2027, at Council meetings as well as in bilateral discussions. I have my next meeting of the AGRIFISH Council next Monday in Brussels. I will prioritise these engagements at European level, particularly in preparation for Ireland’s Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026. Funding for the CAP forms part of the broader EU budget, known as the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, which is ultimately agreed by the heads of government and at European Council level. That will obviously hugely shape what comes next in terms of the CAP. We are bringing along the CAP proposals.”
“I recently set out my four key priorities for the CAP: a CAP that is more straightforward for farmers; a more flexible and responsive CAP; one which has an appropriate balance between all elements of sustainability; and an adequate and dedicated budget that is needed for an effective CAP. I am determined that the CAP will continue to play a positive role in supporting Irish farmers, the food industry, rural communities and the wider economy into the future. It is a key responsibility of Government to raise Ireland's concerns with our EU partners and to influence EU policy. For my part as Minister, I meet with my counterparts in the Council of the European Union every month to discuss and shape agriculture and food policy in the EU.”
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to do so. The CAP is absolutely critical. I wish the Deputy well in his role as chairperson of the joint Oireachtas committee on agriculture. I look forward to working with him and his colleagues in the term ahead. As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I am working closely with EU institutions and my counterparts in other member states to influence negotiations on the next CAP. The CAP is central to the EU’s success in ensuring food security, supporting farm incomes and developing rural areas. The CAP also remains critical to the agrifood sector’s resilience and competitiveness, as it has since Ireland joined the EU more than 50 years ago.”
“I remind the Deputy that the solar element is at the higher rate of 60% under TAMS in recognition of that cost. It is also a separate headline. It is there because we recognise that farmers are drying grain for tillage or whatever have very high energy bills. This is suited to them and the other schemes might be suited to the broader solar panels issue. For that alternative income, it is benefiting farmers who have those high energy costs.”
“I assure the Deputy it has been looked at. It is a challenge and a source of great frustration for farmers that have not benefited. The farmers who have mainly benefited from solar panels on the roofs of sheds, and the TAMS support for it, have been those with high energy bills, especially dairy farmers when offsetting those dairy bills. Under state aid rules, using the TAMS mechanism whereby farmers would be able to sell back into the grid, has not been a possibility for us. It comes down to the accounting at EU level. That is a source of frustration. It is something we have looked at. I would love to be able to get it changed at EU level but there is that restriction on it. It is still very important that we have the solar element.”
“On the Deputy's point on solar, I support farmers' ability to get that alternative income stream. That is why we took away the planning permission requirement for solar panels on the roofs of sheds. That allows farmers to continue to do their farming activity but to bring in alternative and additional farm income as well.”
“We are using TAMS to be as agile as possible. TAMS has seen a highly significant increase in drawdown because farmers see the benefit of it. On that support, and there is also support under TAMS for solar panels, which has seen significant drawdown for those with high energy bills and the ability to do so, the agility of the system has been so important in allowing us to respond in real time to farmers who are affected. I am mindful that many farmers availing of this will be able to draw down and get generators that could well stand to them and can build up resilience ahead of the next storm. It was not just in response to Storm Éowyn. It was also about future-proofing our farmers and recognising the impact a devastating event such as Storm Éowyn can have.”
“In addition to these existing investments and to further aid resilience, I recently announced plans to introduce grant aid support under TAMS for replacement of roofs. The application process for this specific investment will be available later this year, when systems are developed. In the meantime, I urge farmers to carry out a structural assessment of their farm buildings. The suite of TAMS schemes, which includes more than 400 investment items, is the best mechanism for ensuring that funding is targeted at the most appropriate enterprises. That is why I made this particular tranche available to farmers in March.”
“Considering the recent power outages arising from storm damage, I reviewed the scope of generators supported by TAMS to include all generators, irrespective of the drive mechanism. The grant is targeted at the generator rather than the drive mechanism. While these generators are included as an investment item under the dairy equipment scheme, the investment is open to all farmers who declare the minimum eligibility requirement of 5 ha under the basic income support for sustainability, BISS, scheme in the year of application or preceding year. There is no requirement to be milking cows to be eligible for back-up generators under the scheme. For example, foresters and farmers with forestry, for which the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, has responsibility, will very much benefit from mulchers and chippers as well.”
“I am delighted the Deputy raised the point regarding the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, particularly as it is such an important support for our farmers and farm families. It is grant aid to farmers to build or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings, many of which will assist in making farms more resilient in the face of storms. In acknowledgement of the urgency of support required following Storm Éowyn, I opened a new tranche of TAMS 3 for a three-week period in March to deal specifically with storm-related damage on farms. The specific items in respect of which applications were accepted over this three-week period are as follows: back-up power take-off, PTO, generators; sheep, bovine and equine fencing that was damaged; and wood and biomass chippers and mulchers.”
“That is the trajectory we are dealing with, so it cannot be business as usual, but I guarantee that any measures adopted are based on the best scientific and veterinary advice. Through strong leadership by all involved in the programme and by working together, we can bring in the necessary measures, as Deputy Burke outlined, that will make a meaningful difference, stop this infection increasing and drive down its spread greatly so that we can get back to credibly talking about eradication again.”
“There are two key priorities for me. I know the emotional turmoil there is with having a reactor – the impact it has on families as well as the financial impact. The two clear priorities I have is to ensure that those farmers and farm families that are currently affected or will be affected in the future by a bovine TB breakdown have a clear pathway out of that and that we ensure that fewer are affected in future. The scale of the challenge at the minute is significant and deteriorating, so it cannot be business as usual. In the whole of 2020, my Department spent €20 million on compensation for farmers who had reactors and breakdowns. We spent €20 million compensating farmers in the first four months of this year.”
“The science is very clear: there are three key contributors to the spread and escalation of bovine TB as we have seen in Ireland in recent years. One is wildlife, one is cattle-to-cattle transmission and one is the residual effect in herds that have had a significant breakdown. We must address all three issues in any final solution.”
“The engagement I had on this and all other proposed actions with the stakeholders will feed into the draft proposals to help contribute to a more effective programme that protects farmers and their families from this disease impacting their herds. I will meet the farm organisations again later this week to discuss updated proposals on foot of our discussions. This has been a deliberative process since February and we have been back and forth. I have listened and taken on board many of the points and concerns that the Deputy raised. I hope to achieve a broad consensus on these proposals but there is an urgency and I intend to move quickly to refine the programme and ensure that the necessary steps are taken to reduce the impact of this disease on farmers and their families because I know how devastating it is. However, I must be clear.”
“Only cows present as part of the milking group at the time of breakdown would have such a restriction imposed. This would not apply to calves or replacement animals in these herds if there were no reactors in those groups of animals. This proposal is aimed at ensuring residual or undetected infection does not enter into clear herds inadvertently through the sale of these high-risk animals. The risk of these animals having residual infection is highest in the first three years following a clear test, hence the necessity for ensuring these animals do not go on to transmit infection into clear herds. I will expand further in my supplementary response.”
“At the summit, I presented 30 potential actions underpinned by five key pillars to address the current rates of bovine TB: first, to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free; second, to reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; third, to detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a TB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown; fourth, to help farmers improve all areas of on farm biosecurity; and fifth; to reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB. As part of this engagement, a proposal to restrict the sale of certain cows from breeding herds of greater than 60 cows that have had an outbreak of TB with three or more standard reactors in the previous three years to other breeding herds was discussed.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I know is of concern to his constituents in Cavan-Monaghan. On 8 May, I held a TB summit with key stakeholders where discussions were held on the most effective ways to mitigate the impact of bovine TB on farm families and reduce herd incidence and spread of the disease. The backdrop to this meeting was the need to address the deteriorating bovine TB disease levels. Herd incidence increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, which was a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted. Over 6,000 farm families were affected by a TB outbreak in 2024.”
“I am keen to make sure the officials are equipped to do the job they need to do in providing transparency. It is important for the relationship across the supply chain from our primary producers, our farmers through to our processors and the retail element that we have that equilibrium. I work closely with my colleagues, including the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, on expanding elements of the markets we are in already. They are just as important as new markets and there are sometimes original contacts that make it easier. We continue to work on all those new opportunities, for example, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley's work with Seafood Expo and others.”
“That front foot forward is exactly what I am doing in leading my Department. It is why I was in the US for a series of political meetings at Capitol Hill over a couple of days and meetings with other key clients and customers across the US. It is why I will travel to Asia next month. I continue to take those opportunities to tell the story of the innovation that Deputy Clendennen referenced in our food system. Deputy Kenny just highlighted the point I was going to make on the domestic market and our supermarkets and retailers. The agrifood regulator is doing important work in that regard in bringing that transparency piece while also making sure that unfair trading practices are not happening. Since we established the office, it has had a lot of success. I am very supportive of that.”
“On all of those occasions we put the best foot of Ireland forward and tell that story of what our farmers are producing, the traceability, the safety and sustainability credentials. We will continue to tell that story because trade is such a key part and so important for our farmers and their incomes.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising those points. Trade and trade promotion has many different facets, as the Deputy outlined. In terms of the political meetings I had about trade when abroad, reassuring people about our quality assurance scheme, a nationally backed quality assurance scheme that has our farmers, our food companies all together pulling towards the one set of standards that are independently verified, is hugely appreciated and very much recognised internationally. Next month I will travel to Japan and South Korea. I will attend the Seoul Foods Expo, which is the fourth largest food exhibition in Asia, as well as World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Planning is also under way for a significant trade mission by my Department and myself to China in late autumn. We will have trade receptions in London and Paris as well.”
“Bord Bia also hosts inward buyer visits on an ongoing basis and meetings with key international companies. In April, I led a visit to the US in collaboration with Bord Bia and Enterprise Ireland. During this visit, which included Washington DC, Kentucky and Chicago, I participated in 11 promotion events as well as key political meetings with senior US political representatives, including my counterpart, Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the US Department of Agriculture. I can also highlight some of my other responses in supplementary.”
“Food Vision 2030, the shared strategy for the agrifood sector, reflects the importance of diversifying and developing new markets and new market segments for Irish food and drink products in the UK, the EU and wider international markets. Food Vision has a goal to increase the value of exports of sustainably produced high quality Irish food and beverages globally. Agrifood export value reached a record €19.26 billion in 2024. Bord Bia, a State body funded by my Department, is dedicated to promoting Ireland's outstanding food, drink and horticulture produce around the world. Its activities include participation in the food exhibitions and trade shows, digital campaigns, retail and restaurant promotions and various other trade promotions and events including campaigns around Saint Patrick's Day global events.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important point around trade and trade promotion, which has become so pronounced in the lexicon of everybody and much more in the focus of everyone who pays even a cursory glance at what happens in agriculture. When other countries talk about tariffs and changes to our trade flow, it probably brings a focus in this country from people who do not always recognise that we export 90% of the food and drink we produce. It is highly sought after at home and abroad. Any interruptions to that trade have impacts. Given our dependence on the agrifood sector in regard to exports, trade and market diversification, it is a key priority for my Department and myself.”
“However, let us be really clear here. Any suggestion, and I am not saying it is the Deputy's suggestion but it can be suggested at times, that wildlife is the only problem is factually incorrect. There are three drivers of this disease among bovines. One is wildlife, the second is cattle-to-cattle transmission and the other is residual left where there is a large outbreak in a herd. If we do not tackle all three, we will leave a gap in the fence for this to continue to seep through and I cannot let that happen.”
“I absolutely want to do this in partnership. I know the stress and strain of this. It goes beyond the financial but the financial is really significant. I want to provide a clear pathway for those 6,000 herds, their farmers and their families that are restricted and that have reactors. I want to give them a clear pathway to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel and a way out of this. Many of those who have multiple reactors really have a sense of hopelessness. I also want to make sure the 94% of farmers in this country who do not have it do not have to experience this. That is the partnership approach. On the earlier point around wildlife, in my initial response I highlighted how I have very significant proposals on changing the approach to wildlife management and significant further investment in it.”
“I have proposals for very significant increases in investment in the wildlife programme and changes to the approach there. With respect to increases in blood testing, obviously we have the challenge with the skin test that there is only 80% efficacy, but it is very accurate. When it is right, it is right, but with the 20%, there are some that are missed. On the blood test side, that increases efficacy to over 90%. I will come back in a further supplementary.”
“I reassure the Deputy that everything that is possible is being considered and everything has been looked at. I have started an engagement with the farm organisations and key stakeholders since I was appointed in January, and since the February meeting of the TB forum I have been back and forth with them looking to get their feedback and submissions, having proposals that have come back through my chief veterinary officer, and then taking on board their reactions to those proposals. I made significant changes ahead of the TB summit I had a couple of weeks ago, and I am going to meet those stakeholders again later this week with a revised set of proposals that has taken on board their points. This has been a very deliberative process, but I have made the point that this process cannot go on forever such is the level of incidence.”
“On 8 May 2025, I held a meeting of key stakeholders to address the deteriorating TB disease levels, where discussions were held on the most effective ways to mitigate the impact of bovine TB on farm families and to reduce herd incidence and spread of the disease. At that meeting, I presented 30 potential actions underpinned by five key pillars to address the current rate of bovine TB. Those five pillars were: to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free; reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a TB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown; help farmers improve all areas of farm biosecurity; and reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB.”
“At the February meeting of the TB forum, it was agreed that all stakeholders would provide proposals on new measures for inclusion in the TB programme aimed at reducing TB levels in cattle against the backdrop of surging disease levels. At the TB forum on 26 March - the following month - all stakeholders were provided the opportunity to present proposals on draft measures to be incorporated into the TB programme to address the recent increase in disease incidence over the past two years. Following that meeting, the chair of the forum wrote to me in early April outlining discussions at the meetings.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising a very important point, and he is not the only Deputy here this evening to raise points about bovine TB. It is a really challenging disease to control and eradicate. In recent years, bovine TB levels have continued to deteriorate here in Ireland. Herd incidence has increased from 4.31% in 2022 to 6.04% in 2024, resulting in a 36% increase in the number of herds restricted between those two years. As of 11 May 2025, over a 12-month period, we had a herd incidence of 6.3% with more than 42,200 reactors. This disease is having an impact on our farmers and their families, not just financially but also emotionally. It is a hugely traumatic time when this hits, and the Deputy knows that from his constituents, as I know from mine, and I know from lived experience as well.”
“We have a very strong story to tell because our farmers are making great efforts to maintain that derogation. That said, I cannot leave any weak spot in our case. It is my top priority in Europe to get a derogation beyond the end of this year. I have to implement all the measures we committed to in the previous action programmes, and this is a key part of that. It has been designed to have a minimal impact on the Deputy's constituents for this year, but the biggest reward I can get them is a derogation beyond the end of this year.”
“I appreciate the Deputy's articulation of the concerns, the great work of his constituents and the frustration I know there is on the ground with this change. He talked about rewarding his constituents. The best reward I can get his constituents and the farmers in the Timoleague catchment area is to make sure there is a derogation beyond the end of this year, and that is not by any means guaranteed. In a way, I am a little bit concerned that there is complacency coming in around the country where people think we will have to get it. We know how important it is. This is absolutely critical for our rural economy, not just for the 7,000 derogation farmers. For a tillage farmer or some other farmer besides a derogation farmer, the impact on land availability if the derogation is gone or is reduced further will be really significant.”
“As committed to in the programme for Government, the Government is doing everything in its power to make the case at EU level to secure our next nitrates derogation, given our unique grass-based production system. Access to the derogation is contingent on improving water quality. The agrifood sector is engaging in significant, unprecedented and very welcome actions to reduce its impact on water quality. It is critical this good work continues and that it supports Ireland’s case and my case to retain the nitrates derogation post 2025, which is something I am actively working on and is of utmost importance to the Deputy's constituents and derogation farmers throughout the country.”
“I absolutely recognise the great work happening in the agricultural catchment programme. The most recently published EPA data shows nitrates concentrations nationally have reduced in a representative sample of our rivers last year. It is acknowledged and welcomed that nitrate levels have also reduced in the Timoleague catchment. Nitrates levels recorded in 2024 in Timoleague were at their lowest level since recording began in 2009. However, the nitrates concentrations in the river leaving the Timoleague catchment are still approximately double what they should be to achieve good ecological status in the adjoining estuary. This is why the catchment was identified by the EPA as an area requiring a nitrate reduction measure.”
“This was necessary to best prepare for discussions with the Commission regarding Ireland’s next nitrates derogation. Within such a limited timeframe, the December date for implementation was selected to allow farmers in the Timoleague area, and indeed other areas affected, maximum time to prepare and manage their cows through the normal spring calving lactation cycle. In simple terms, derogation farmers in these additional areas will have an effective limit of 247.5 kg N/ha this year, rather than 250 kg N/ha. I will give the rest of the information in my supplementary response.”
“As part of the additional measures introduced under the interim review of the fifth nitrates action programme, with effect from this December, the maximum derogation stocking rate reduces to 220 kg organic N/ha in certain areas. The Timoleague catchment is one of the additional areas moving to this lower limit, as the Deputy highlighted. This change is happening in areas where the EPA has identified the need for nitrate reduction measures to improve water quality but that were not considered under the European Commission’s criteria for the two-year water quality review. The measure becomes applicable from 1 December as it had to comply within the timeframe of the current nitrates action programme, which concludes at the end of 2025, so it was the latest point at which it could be brought in to count as a measure under this programme.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I recently met farmers from Timoleague and I visited the area previously when I was a Member of the previous Government. I am well aware of the great work that has happened down there, supported by Teagasc and others, how passionate farmers are and the pressure there is on land availability and how any changes can have an impact. I am very committed to the objective of improving water quality and ensuring the strongest possible scientific case can be made for a continuation of Ireland's nitrates derogation beyond the 1 January 2026. Those two things are connected. Ireland implements a robust action programme of measures under our nitrates action plan.”
“On Deputy Aird's final point about the focus and simplification of CAP, this really is two parts. The first part is about the budget and I am working with all colleagues across government to make sure we put our best foot forward on that one. The second is when we know the position we are in, we will continue to have that engagement across Europe but use the flexibility open to us to deliver the most focused, simplified CAP that works for our farmers and works for our agrifood industry.”