I move: 1) THAT section 99A of the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999) be amended, with effect as on and from 25 March 2026, by the substitution of the following for subsection (3) (as amended by section 42 of the Finance Act 2019 (No. 45 of 2019)): "(3) Where – (a) gas oil has been purchased on or after 1 January 2020 and before 1 January 2026, or on or after 1 July 2026, then, subject to a maximum repayment rate of €75.00 per 1,000 litres, the amount to be repaid per 1,000 litres of gas oil under subsection (2) is d…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to provide an update on the situation. Bluetongue is a viral disease that can cause severe clinical signs in ruminant species, such as cattle, sheep, goats, deer and camelids, such as alpacas and llamas. There are many different serotypes of bluetongue virus, and bluetongue virus serotype 3, BTV3, is the serotype circulating in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Bluetongue does not affect human health or food safety, and meat and milk are …

In my initial answer I said that different forms of testing have discovered those cases. The very first case was found in the standard testing of a carcase post-slaughter in an abattoir, which identified that there were antibodies present indicating that the disease was present last year.

Yes, exactly. We investigated the remaining animals in that herd and in the neighbouring herds within the radius of the farm. Some of them were found to be positive, in the sense that they had it previously. If it is the case that we find one that is positive in January or February, how we respond in January is very different from how we respond in July because an animal will only be infectious for about 60 days, so therefore they would not be infectious heading into the high-risk period and beyond. The first ten o…

First and foremost, the cost of the vaccine is a commercial decision. We have made sure there is enough availability, working with the private suppliers of the vaccines. I am reviewing all options open to me to be able to support the sector in what is a very new challenge for us at a very challenging time. This is a real and dynamic response to a real and dynamic situation that has been evolving. We did a remarkable job keeping it off the island. I commend both private veterinary practitioners working with farmers,…

On Deputy Kenny's point about wildlife, this is not passed from animal to animal but obviously it will be a challenge if the deer population has it and a midge lands on it but they will not pass it to each other.

I have a response here to the question the Deputy put down on the animal welfare strategy. The term of Ireland’s Animal Welfare Strategy 2021-2025: Working Together for Animal Welfare, our first ever animal welfare strategy, reached a conclusion at the end of last year. In 2025, a process was initiated to develop a new animal welfare strategy, which will act as a framework for engagement and collaboration to direct future activities with the aim of benefiting both animals and Irish society. Development of the strat…

It is unfortunate that if the Deputy intended to concentrate solely on greyhound racing, she did not just ask-----

It is unfortunate she did not ask a question specifically on that because her question was on the broader animal welfare strategy, which is much broader than that. I disagree with some of the points she made, which are a dreadful slight on the thousands of people who work in our greyhound racing industry and who love the dogs and care for them greatly.

A throwaway comment on the floor of Parliament where she says that there is hardly any traceability is not borne out by the facts. The financial support my colleagues in the Department of agriculture and I are happy to provide for the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund has seen increased allocations towards the area of welfare. On the question that was raised, I want to look at some of the success of the previous strategy on animal welfare from 2021 to 2025. Funding to welfare charities increased from the 2020 budget …

As I said, responsibility for canine welfare, and the control and breeding of dogs, has recently come into my Department. I fought for it in the programme for Government talks. I feel it is a better fit coming under the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine because we also share the responsibility for animal welfare. I look forward to introducing legislation later this year to tighten up measures and make improvements in dog breeding and so on. I have said that previously on the floor of the House. The pub…

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising the important issue of live exports. Whether it is live exports or agrifood, my role and that of my Department is to ensure market access for Irish farmers' produce. We need to provide the greatest number of opportunities and outlets to give the best possible return for those who export it and the companies that handle it. Obviously, that will drive a return for the farmers who produce that agricultural produce. At present, I do not have any plans to introduce a fund or specif…

While I accept that and accept it is difficult for exporters at the moment, and they are meeting a lot of competition from farmers in the marts for these cattle, too, because of a shortage of cattle and a big demand from farmers for them, which makes it a challenging space, I think we would be having a much different conversation here if I had failed to reopen trade with Northern Ireland and if we had failed to gain access to the likes of Algeria and Tunisia. I understand that the conditions for exporters are chall…

As I said, there is ongoing engagement between exporters and officials in my Department, particularly in the veterinary health section. That was recognised in terms of the revised health certificates for Tunisia, which were secured on 18 February, and Algeria, to which we saw approximately 3,500 cattle exported in 2025 and 2,000 in 2024. That is all really important. The Deputy is dead right that live exports are an important part of Ireland's livestock industry. I understand they play a role in the price in other …

I thank Deputy Cleere for raising the really important issue of the Common Agricultural Policy. Ireland's priorities in negotiating the CAP post 2027 are to ensure that the CAP remains properly funded, continues to support viable farm incomes and contributes to food security, rural development and environmental sustainability. The CAP plays a vital role in supporting farmers and rural communities and in underpinning the production of safe, high-quality food across the European Union. Ireland also considers it impor…

I concur completely on the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy. We can talk about all the structures, all the rules and all the simplification that we can try to bring in and that I will look to bring in as we design a new scheme, but at its heart is the funding. If the overall funding envelope is 20% less than it was the last time, that is a very significant impact for our country. The Deputy is dead right in what he says about this being a whole-of-government approach. At the AGRIFISH Council, I raised t…

That is it exactly. The Deputy has articulated very clearly the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on all of our rural communities. How do we achieve that? We achieve it in a number of ways. The Deputy identified generational renewable as one of the challenges of our time. This is not a challenge unique to us in Ireland or in even Europe. With growing urbanisation around the world and the fact that in Ireland we have full employment in a burgeoning economy, thankfully the next generation - farmers' children -…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 113 together. The European Commission published its legislative proposals for the post-2027 Common Agricultural Policy in July last year, as part of its wider proposals for the next multi-annual financial framework, MFF, covering the period 2028-2034. Discussions on these proposals are currently ongoing at EU level. Under the Denmark Presidency and the Cyprus Presidency the proposed CAP regulation has a number of thematic blocks in order to facilitate a structural examination…

I would like to join with Deputy Healy-Rae-----

To go back to Deputy Kenny's assertions regarding the changes to the definition of an "active farmer" for forestry, I back the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, in saying that the Deputy is wrong.