Martin Heydon
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine of IrelandWikipedia
15
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9
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8
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Search complete. 15 mentions across 9 episodes found for "Martin Heydon".
Sep 24, 2026
Micheál LehanePANELIST
Yeah.
Micheál LehanePANELIST
So fuel and further supports for farmers are gonna be extended, and talks between Jack Chambers and Martin Heydon, the agriculture minister, are underway now.
Micheál LehanePANELIST
That, I think, the government are trying to get ahead of that meeting in Moate on Sunday, where a lot of the people who were involved in the protest last April are going to gather and see what the next steps will be.
Micheál LehanePANELIST
So what you have from government now is a confirmation that the excise on fuel is going to next February or March, and now support for farmers, and I presume fishers as well, as they're called, uh, will be included in that.
Aisling O'BrienHOST
Now, the department has also confirmed that, uh, 5.7 million doses of bluetongue vaccines have been licensed for import into Ireland, uh, since the start of this year.
Aisling O'BrienHOST
But Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that his department doesn't actually track the number of cattle or sheep that are vaccinated because he said that remains a commercial matter between livestock owners and their vets.
Aisling O'BrienHOST
But he did say that vaccination remains the best tool, uh, through which we can combat bluetongue virus, and he's urged, uh, farmers again, who have not already done so, to talk to their vet about whether vaccination is right for their flock or for their herd.
Aisling O'BrienHOST
And bluetongue is a notifiable disease in this country.
John S. DoyleCORRESPONDENT
Who are the largest landowners in Leinster House? Ask Cormac McQuinn and Cillian Woods before supplying the answers.
John S. DoyleCORRESPONDENT
As it happens, the Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, tops the list, and he gives the paper its front-page lead with a photograph of him and some of his herd.
John S. DoyleCORRESPONDENT
Deputy Heydon owns two hundred and forty-five acres of land in Kildare and Laois and received about forty-four thousand six hundred euro in EU funds under the Common Agricultural Policy over three years from October 2022.
John S. DoyleCORRESPONDENT
The Fine Gael politician insists that his receipt of EU farm payments does not clash with his role as Minister for Agriculture, the paper says.
SarahHOST
Well, we are here at the 95th Annual Ploughing Championships in Scraggan, in County Offaly.
SarahHOST
And to talk about some of the big issues facing farmers and farming, we're joined now by Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon.
SarahHOST
And Minister, thank you so much for joining us here in the RTE Big Top.
Martin HeydonGUEST
Morning, Sarah.
Will FaulknerHOST
An Irish Times investigation has examined the agricultural interests of our TDs and senators and founds, uh, finds rather that roughly one in seven has an interest in farming.
Will FaulknerHOST
And the biggest farming landowner in Leinster House is the Minister for Agriculture himself, Martin Heydon.
Will FaulknerHOST
Cormac McQuinn is one of the journalists behind the report.
Will FaulknerHOST
Cormac, good morning.
Cormac McQuinnCORRESPONDENT
And, and it, it's really, you know, it, it ranges from small fields here and there to quite large farms with, with large herds of cattle, uh, with varying levels of, of cooperation from, from the, the TDs in, in general, uh, in response to findings we had from looking at land registry records and, uh, you know, trying to estimate land values and, and trying to determine how much CAP payments they get.
Cormac McQuinnCORRESPONDENT
So in fairness to, uh, TDs from the Midlands, uh, they were among the more transparent and the more engaging and forthright of those that we, we dealt with.
Cormac McQuinnCORRESPONDENT
Uh, we, we did find that, uh, Fine Gael TD, Martin Heydon, the Kildare South TD, uh, emerged as the, the biggest farming landowner, uh, with two hundred and forty-five acres across Kildare and Laois.
Cormac McQuinnCORRESPONDENT
Uh, he also is, is in receipt of Common Agricultural Policy payments, about forty-four thousand euro in, in the three years from October 2022.
Amy FordHOST
Here she is now.
Hannah FurlongCORRESPONDENT
In terms of young farmers, your colleague, uh, Mar- Minister Martin Heydon is pushing for a succession scheme.
Hannah FurlongCORRESPONDENT
Will you provide this, um, funding for this in the budget? And then also on Thursday, the Farmers Journal will release a survey of 1,000 farmers, and it shows the lowest level of support for Fine Gael in about, like, 20 years.
Hannah FurlongCORRESPONDENT
Is Fine Gael still a party for rural Ireland and for farmers?
Simon HarrisSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
And I want to acknowledge that it's a really tough time to be a farmer.
Simon HarrisSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Uh, not because of any fault of a farmer, not because of any fault of the government, quite frankly, but because of international forces and international events.
Simon HarrisSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
Um, what we will do under Martin Heydon's leadership is continue to support our farmers.
Simon HarrisSOUNDBITE_SPEAKER
As I say, not because it would be nice to farmers, so that's no harm, but it's actually also about recognizing that it's a really important part of the indigenous Irish economy.
Anton SavageHOST
[upbeat music] So new research reveals that one in three farmers would rather not be farmers and are planning to exit the industry if they possibly can.
Anton SavageHOST
With us is Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Martin Heydon.
Anton SavageHOST
And looking at some of the numbers, uh, Martin Heydon, if that's their current feelings, it's only going to get worse with fuel prices and a potential reduction in CAP.
Martin HeydonGUEST
Uh, good morning, Anton.
Martin HeydonGUEST
And, uh, look, agriculture and farming is always a challenge.
Fran CurryHOST
Now, personally, I wouldn't go out to the garden to see them, but, but there you go.
Fran CurryHOST
Uh, The Irish Times, uh, the lead story on The Times today, Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, has emerged as the biggest farming landowner among TDs and senators, an investigation by The Irish Times has found.
Fran CurryHOST
And there's a picture of Minister Heydon there, uh, in front of his, uh, very healthy looking stock.
Fran CurryHOST
Um, also on The Times today, uh, Sinn Féin has warned the British government not to block an Irish border poll as it joined the nationalist leaders of Scotland and Wales to sign a pact predicting Westminster's time, Westminster's time even, uh, is coming to an end.
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
Absolutely.
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
And, and for the, um, for the presentation yesterday, uh, uh, the, the whole world at this stage heard, um, you know, in the middle of the presentation, he removed tariffs off of, um, Irish whiskey, uh, going into the United States, which is obviously something that, um, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, um, Martin Heydon, will be delighted about, as will all the, the distillers up and down the country, 'cause the United States is a massive market for us.
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
Um, but look, it's a, it was a, it was a lovely occasion to be at, and great credit, I think, has to go to the, to the resort, An Garda Síochána, to our county council, um, my own department, um, Sport Ireland, and everybody involved in, in organizing it.
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
It was an enormous policing operation, um, to make sure that everything went acc-according to plan.
PaulHOST
Um, you mentioned there, he left us with the, the parting gift, removing tariffs from Irish whiskey.
PaulHOST
Can you, can you explain to us what the impact of that will be?
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
Well, the Department of Enterprise now, with Peter Burke, um, who is responsible for exports, um, and, uh, Martin Heydon as Minister for Agriculture, they'll, they'll, they'll obviously assess it.
Patrick O'DonovanGUEST
Um, you know, we'll, we have a, an opportunity now to do some fairly aggressive advertising in the United States, um, that, uh, the, the prices will have, have come down.