Bord Bia
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Martin Heydon (FG), Kildare South

The issues in this area have been well aired, and I am on the record of the House as having clearly outlined the facts as they are. I am not going to rehash them, but the Deputy talks about things at the heart of the matter. I will tell him what is at the heart of the matter. It is the price that farmers get for their beef, lamb, dairy produce and beyond. It is about how we can best, as a country that exports 90% of the food and drink we produce, give the best income back to our farmers.
We will discuss a range of topics here over the next hour and a half including generational renewal, supporting the sustainable income of our farmers and more. The work of Bord Bia and Origin Green is integral to that. That is what matters to farmers. We see the income volatility across our areas. We see Teagasc's farm survey reports of exceptional prices and income for most sectors last year. We saw the pressure on beef finishers at the start of this year. We now see this price strengthening and coming back great. This is directly linked to international markets. I am happy to talk about the pressure we are coming under in the British market, which is our key export market for beef and more. These are the things that matter.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09