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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“If I am still in this position in 17 months' time as a member of the AGRIFISH Council of EU agriculture ministers, I will assume the chair when Ireland takes the Presidency in the second half of 2026. That will be a pivotal moment as Europe is agreeing a new CAP. There will be an opportunity over those six months to frame a CAP in the best interests of European farmers and recognises the important strategic goals of Ireland and its farmers. It will be a great opportunity to deliver real simplification for our farmers.”
“The CAP underpins the sustainability of the agri-food sector, rural development and environmental stewardship. This Government will continue to work at EU level to ensure we have an adequately funded CAP in the future which can maintain a stable income for farmers, support sustainable food production and contribute to climate and environmental ambitions. My role in this new Government is important in working with colleagues across government as we fight for that fair share of the multi-financial framework that is the overall EU budget. A key part of this reform in the area of CAP will be around delivering a CAP that is better suited to Irish farmers.”
“The small local enterprises this sector spawned have blossomed into world leaders. Their achievements, supported by farmers, are remarkable. This is a sector with a bright future supported by a programme for Government that recognises its critical importance and potential. This Government will continue to support farmers and the agri-food sector using every policy lever available, as well as supporting our fishers and foresters in the vital role they do. We will ensure vital farm payments are protected and expanded. An increased Vote provision of €2.5 billion in 2025 will allow my Department to provide increased targeted supports for our beef, sheep meat and tillage sectors in 2025. We will support a strong and effective CAP, having provided a combined total of €9.8 billion between EU and national financing under the current programme.”
“The programme for Government recognises the critical role farmers, fishers, foresters and food businesses play in Ireland's society and economy. The sector is responsible for the stewardship of 4.5 million ha of agricultural land and more than 800,000 ha of forestry. It comprises 133,000 farms, 2,000 fishing vessels and aquaculture sites and 2,000 food production and beverage enterprises. It employs more than 170,000 people, or 6.4% of the workforce, and a far greater proportion percentage-wise in our rural and coastal communities. We know the economic spend and benefit that economic activity has and its importance for that rural economy. It is a sector where collaborative engagement between the State's research infrastructure and commercial enterprises are resulting in remarkable innovation and ingenuity.”
“Over the course of the five or six weeks of negotiating the programme for Government, we set out and charted a course for the country that, we hope, will allow us over the next five years to build a strong, stable Government that can deliver for the country and its people. We hope it will allow us to deliver five budgets over five years to help us reach our potential, as the Minister, Deputy Chambers, mentioned, by addressing the infrastructural deficits and the many challenges we face while enabling us to be as resilient and well prepared as we can be for the many headwinds that are coming our way, both nationally and internationally. I might first reflect on the programme for Government from the aspect of my new role as Minister at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.”
“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 am particularly proud of the programme for Government because, for the first and only time in my political career, I was asked by our party leader, Simon Harris, to participate in the negotiations for it as part of the Fine Gael team. It is a responsibility I took very seriously and it was a great honour to do so.”
“It is a major priority for me to resolve this issue for the very reason the Deputy outlined, namely, achieving the confidence that is needed in this agri-environmental scheme, which so many farmers wanted to sign up for. I am proud of the fact that we were able to facilitate all of those farmers being able to access it. Now we want to ensure that those who have outstanding payments or issues are dealt with as quickly as possible.”
“We must clearly communicate so that, where there is a title deed issue, farmers know what steps they can take. I will make a commitment: if a large number of them are impacted in a similar way, I will use my office to talk to the Land Registry and others to see how we can move their cases along. Ultimately, I take on board the frustration of farmers impacted by this. The year 2024 saw a significant improvement in processing through the issues and getting on top of those that were highlighted in 2023. Some 75% of ACRES advance payments were made in 2024, which is a reflection of the fact that progress has been made in the delivery of the required IT systems. There is more to be done and I will continue to work on that.”
“We are now working through the final calculation for the 2,700 farmers who are outstanding as to exactly what amount they are due. For those who require a top-up payment, that will be pursued. We are dealing with processing of those balancing payments now on a case-by-case basis. These are some of the more complex issues. Regarding the Deputy's point about issues around probate and title deeds, talking to an official in the Department of agriculture can sort that out. I agree that we need clear communication. Farmers require that. The very officials who are working through these detailed and complex cases are the same ones who spend all of that time on the phone as well. Where there is a probate or title deed issue, it is dealt with by the Land Registry, not the Department of agriculture.”
“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 to give clarity on the record in that regard. The year 2023 was a challenging for this brand-new system, which was ambitious and had a level of complexity that previous agri-environmental schemes did not. We have to manage those complexities and challenges, and we made €4,000 and €5,000 interim payments, amounting to almost €120 million, to farmers last year to make up for that fact. The vast majority of farmers did get a payment in that space.”
“Work is ongoing to resolve these issues and every effort is being made to process outstanding payments as quickly as possible. It is important to point out that interim payments of €4,000 and €5,000, amounting to almost €120 million, were paid in February and March 2024 to 25,000 ACRES participants who had not at that point received an advance payment for their participation in 2023. I can touch on this further in my supplementary response.”
“There is significant work involved in the verification of claims and in the calculation and issuing of payments to more than 54,000 participants. Most of these applications consist of a number of actions, or there may be a number of different habitats to be assessed, and multiple scorecards to be completed and submitted. Payments have been finalised to 94% of ACRES tranche 1 participants in respect of their participation in the scheme in 2023, to a total value of €247.1 million. Balancing payments in respect of 2023 remain to be made to approximately 2,700 farmers. Certain issues such as transfer of contracts, alignment with BISS and issues with scorecards have contributed to delay in making some of those payments.”
“In response to the high level of interest in participating in ACRES, it was decided that all valid applications for the scheme would be accepted, the outcome of which is that there are now 54,300 farmers in ACRES. The roll-out of the scheme from October 2022 and the commencement of contracts from January 2023 necessitated the development of an extensive new IT functionality and the upskilling of advisers in relation to the assessment and scoring of lands. The scheme is also linked to several IT systems within my Department. For example, claims for payment under ACRES are submitted through BISS, while scores from the assessment of lands are submitted on the Department’s generic land management system. The development of these platforms had to coincide with the roll-out of the scheme.”
“The design of the scheme was informed by lessons learned through the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, the results-based environment-agri pilot project, REAP, and experience gained in locally led projects undertaken under the European innovation partnerships. ACRES has been a big change in our approach to agri-environmental schemes. It was and is a very ambitious scheme. It involves scaling up the results-based approach to national level. The level of payment is determined by the score assigned to the land. The higher the quality of the habitat, the higher the resulting payment. There are two approaches within the scheme. As the Deputy will be aware, an ACRES co-operation approach is available in eight zones which have high nature value and an ACRES general approach is available nationally outside those eight zones.”
“That communication has got to be very clear. We must clearly communicate where the impediment is. In some instances, the impact is on the farmers' side. There are issues around probate or different elements around title. We will work with them on that. What I am looking to do at the minute is get a full detailed brief on exactly how many farmers are in that space and how many are in the space where the issue is on the Department's side. Where the impediment is on our side, if extra resources are needed I am very clear that they will be found and we will do everything we can - we will move might and main - to get this addressed as quickly as possible. As the House is aware, ACRES is the flagship agri-environment and climate measure under Ireland's CAP strategic plan 2023-27, with €1.5 billion allocated to the scheme over its duration.”
“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 frustrations of those who have got caught up in the complexity of the system. I understand the significant challenges for those who have not got that clarity or do not have the full payment in that space. If farmers have not had clear communication, that too is frustrating. Farmers are a resilient bunch. We can deal with anything as business people if we know what we are dealing with, if we know the timelines and if we know the impediments.”
“My Department is working as part of the co-ordinated Government response through the National Emergency Co-ordination Group convened by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is the lead Government Department on severe weather incidents. The National Emergency Co-ordination Group continues to co-ordinate the intensive work across the whole of government to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses. With regard to farm inspections, the Department is aware that some farms have sustained significant damage and we will take inspections on a case-by-case basis.”
“This will provide an opportunity for growers to speak directly about the impact of the storm on their sector, as well as the wider sectoral issues and opportunities. I too have been engaging with a number of growers across the sectors. There has been extensive damage to trees on both farms and forestry plantations, as I said. In addition to the existing structures, the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, and I have established a wind-blown forestry task force comprising stakeholders from across the sector. The task force, which met this week, will inform my Department on the wider sector's response to the storms, with particular emphasis on dealing with safety in large areas of forest that have been blown down and how we will tackle that.”
“Damage to polytunnels has resulted in significant damage to or total loss of the plastic covering, as well as structural damage to some tunnels. Glasshouses have been impacted, with loss of panes of glass and structural damage to the house and fixed structures within the house. There has been some level of structural damage to mushroom tunnels, as well as to those structures with plastic coverings. In some cases, there have been varying levels of damage to crops and plants, with knock-on impacts on production schedules. I am working with my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for forestry, horticulture and farm safety, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. He will meet representatives of horticultural subsectors at the horticulture industry forum next Tuesday, 11 February.”
“Given all of the challenges facing them when carrying out repairs and removing fallen trees in the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, I ask them to properly assess the risks of the work they are undertaking and to keep themselves safe. I am aware of the reports of significant damage in the horticulture sector. As I said, my officials are engaging with Teagasc and other stakeholders to assess the extent and significance of the damage caused. Teagasc has been in contact with commercial growers across multiple horticultural subsectors. In some cases, growers are still assessing the situation and are unable to provide data. Indeed, the extent of the data will only become clear when repairs commence and crops develop. Nevertheless, based on preliminary data, the damage is more pronounced for protected crops, in particular the mushroom sector.”
“I take this opportunity to recognise the significant assistance farmers have provided in their local communities. Over and beyond looking after their stock and the challenges faced by them and their families, the farming community provided help within the wider local community at this busy time. They looked after neighbours, cleared roads where it was safe to do so and helped to restore access in more remote areas. The severe storm has resulted in significant damage to protected structures, particularly in the horticulture sector, sheds on farms and extensive damage to trees both on farms and in forestry plantations. I urge farmers to put their safety first.”
“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 prolonged power and water outages. The first priority was to support farmers in working to ensure we got their power and water restored. I have visited and spoken to many farmers who were directly impacted by the storm. Up in Leitrim last week, I saw at first hand the impact on dairy farmers and their livestock, in the calving season and beyond. It is a very difficult space to be in when one does not have water and power.”