Two weeks.

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue. I know how important tillage is for the south east and the Wicklow-Wexford area. The straw incorporation measure is a really positive support measure for tillage farmers, with very positive impacts on organic carbon levels in soil. I am acutely aware of how important it is to farmers from an income perspective as well. This year has seen a really high level of applications, far exceeding the €10 million allocated for it. At present, all possible options ar…

The Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, outlined the Government's position very clearly in the debate last Thursday evening. The Government will be opposing Deputy Murphy's Bill.

I thank Senator Andrews for raising this point. It is something I am deeply passionate about. Reform of the legislation governing dog welfare is a key priority for me and for the Government. 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 as part of our programme for Government commitments. In both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for o…

Obviously, I am in the hands of the Oireachtas on the timing of the legislation. There will be pre-legislative scrutiny through the agriculture committee where members will be able to have their say. The Chair of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, is working with me to have that fast-tracked and take place before the summer recess with legislation to be introduced early in the autumn. I am determined to deliver on this very quickly. The Bill addresses concerns about ex…

The strengthened improvement notice regime will explicitly empower authorised officers to require a reduction in the number of dogs on premises where welfare concerns arise. Local authorities also retain the ability to set conditions on the number of breeding females as part of the registration process and this avenue remains open to them, particularly in respect of new applications. It is about putting best practice into place. While non-statutory guidelines for dog breeding establishments were published in 2018, …

I thank Deputy Collins for raising this important issue. The Food Vision seafood sector group was launched on 16 February by me and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley. The group was established in a response to the significantly reduced fishing opportunities for 2026 and will operate under the auspices of the Food Vision 2030 group, through which we have had a series of Food Vision subgroups to look at and tackle key areas. It is considering the challenges facing all three components of the Irish se…

Yes.

And the very cafes she would advocate for.

I thank Senator Boyhan for raising an important issue and making many constructive points in his motion. The esteem in which he is held by his colleagues is evident from the contributions to and participation in this debate. I thank all Members for their indulgence in my having to leave the Chamber on a few occasions for votes. I promise to drive on now and not stop. As many Members of the House shared personal stories of their grandparents, mothers, sisters or others, I will start by doing the same. Senator Conway…

I thank Deputy O'Donoghue. I am delighted to see thousands of farmers and farm contractors applying for our fuel support scheme for them. That has a very clear definition. Under EU state aid rules, we have to define the activity and in this case it is agricultural production. The Government has committed to and is working on separate lines of support for those in the plant industry. Where agricultural contractors are using green diesel or marked gas oil and it is directly linked to the production of agricultural pr…

Nobody has a monopoly on passion or care for animals, including horses and dogs, or any other elements of animal welfare. As Minister with responsibility for animal welfare, I am determined to drive an agenda of change in a whole host of areas. I was part of the negotiations on the programme for Government when we transferred the control of dogs back to my Department, which is the right place for it. This is a clear outworking of that. What was agreed yesterday by the Cabinet was the heads of a Bill on dog control …

I thank the Deputy for raising a really important point. When I reflect on the key things throughout my term in this position, different issues will come up to be dealt with from day to day but I have always been clear there are a number of big things I will ultimately be judged on. Last year, nitrates was the key headline figure that you could never take your eye off. Throughout that time, I was building relationships with colleagues across the AGRIFISH Council in preparation for our Presidency at a time when CAP …

I take those points of view on board. It is important to bear in mind and to explain to the public the process this goes through. There are three legs to the stool in terms of CAP and overall EU policy. The Commission puts forward the proposals around the CAP. The Council of agri ministers, of which I am a member and which I will chair when we have the Presidency from July to the end of the year, involves each of the 27 Ministers for agriculture and fisheries. In that AGRIFISH Council, we will agree our position, w…

The Deputy's points around generational renewal are very valid. We need to make sure that we have fairness and a balanced distribution of supports across the board. We want to learn from the mistakes of the past. The old retirement scheme was a mistake. It banished older experienced farmers from farms completely and replaced them with newer farmers. There needs to be a partnership approach. I know from my family circumstances at home down through the years that , the corporate knowledge the older farmer had was rea…

I thank the Deputy for asking this question. I reassure him that specialist horticulture has not been forgotten. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, and I have mentioned it when we talked about fuel support and securing the €100 million package. We talked about farmers, farm contractors, fishers, forestry and specialist horticulture. That will form a part of this support package. It is different because the producers do not use marked gas oil as the Deputy outlined in his question. After what has been a tumultuou…

I agree with the Deputy that it is a very important sector. It is more important than just for the Deputy's constituency in north County Dublin. It is really important to the overall ecosystem of how our food is produced. It is a sector that is feeling real pressure, and I recognise that. It is a sector that has become quite marginalised and narrowed down and pressure from very large retailers has made it a very difficult space for people in the horticulture sector to be in. I and my Department are absolutely deter…

Because of the importance of the horticulture sector, and specialist horticulture in particular, my Department already provides significant support measures to the Irish horticulture industry through a range of initiatives. We provided €15.7 million in supports to the sector in 2025, excluding supports under basic income support for sustainability, BISS, targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMs, and organics. In addition, the protected crop sector can benefit from carbon tax relief for natural gas and LPG u…

I thank Deputy Cooney for raising what is a significant issue, not just for farmers in County Clare but also for their counterparts across the country. The straight answer to a straight question is that I do believe eradication of TB is possible and is something that can be delivered. However, there was no way it was going to be delivered by means of the trajectory we were on up until last year, when we were seeing an exponential growth in numbers of reactors and herds impacted. The definition of madness is doing t…

Budget 2026 provided an increased budget for the TB programme, with a record €157 million allocated for this reason in 2026. This will allow the TB programme to focus on driving down the disease through the implementation of measures laid out in my 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 those herds currently free from bovine TB to remain free. The objective of the new measure…