Heydon to meet joint agri committee for first time as DAFM minister
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Martin Heydon will appear in a public meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine today (Wednesday, May 28).
This will be the first session of the committee that the minister will appear at in his role as the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Minister Heydon's previous appearances at the committee, in its previous iteration before the general election last year, were in his then role as minister for state with responsibility for new market development, farm safety, and research and development.
This will be the first meeting of the current committee, post-general election, where it will carry out its role of scrutinising the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the ministers responsible for it.
Previous meetings of the current committee dealt with its internal business, such as choosing a chairperson.
A range of topics are set to come up at this evening's meeting, including the eradication of TB; the controversial GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition) 2; broader issues on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); and the nitrates derogation.
The meeting will take place in Committee Room 4 of Leinster House, and is scheduled to begin at 4:00p.m. The meeting can be viewed on the Oireachtas TV website.
Speaking ahead of committee meeting, its chairperson, Fianna Fáil Cork North-West TD Aindrias Moynihan, said: 'Our committee looks forward to our first meeting tomorrow and very much welcomes this early opportunity to engage with Minister Heydon.
'We hope it will be the first in a series of meetings with the minister and we thank him for making time in his schedule to attend,' Moynihan added.
The details of the membership of the committee were confirmed earlier this month. The committee has 14 members – nine TDs and five senators.
The membership of each committee usually reflects the proportion of the seats held by each of the political parties in the houses of the Oireachtas.
Oireachtas committees have the power to invite submissions; hold hearings with stakeholders and ministers; and draft and publish reports.
The membership of the committee is as follows:
TDs: Aindrias Moynihan (chairperson) – Cork North-West, Fianna Fáil; William Aird (deputy chairperson) – Laois, Fine Gael; Peter 'Chap' Cleere – Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fáil; Joe Cooney – Clare, Fine Gael; Michael Fitzmaurice – Roscommon-Galway, Independent Ireland; Danny Healy-Rae – Kerry, independent; Martin Kenny – Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Féin; Paul Lawless – Mayo, Aontú; Natasha Newsome Drennan – Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Féin.
Senators (all elected from Agricultural Panel): Victor Boyhan – independent; Paraic Brady – Fine Gael; Joanne Collins – Sinn Féin; Paul Daly – Fianna Fáil; Eileen Lynch – Fine Gael.
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