Martin Heydon

Meeting with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, at Danone’s Wexford factory to provide an overview of Danone’s operations in Ireland and its role in the Irish agri-food and dairy sectors.

Share the views of the EU food and drink industry in advance of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council but also to address not only the immediate effects of the Middle East crisis on agriculture, but also to consider the impact on as well as the strength of the wider agri-food…

Share a proposal for a new strategic capital fund would help address current competitiveness pressures and support the Irish food and drink sector to exploit new product and market opportunities.

Share food industry priorities in relation to growth opportunities, increased costs, ongoing trade and supply disruptions and wider competitiveness pressures for Budget 2027.

Brief on current trading conditions in international markets for the Irish Whiskey sector. Advance review process for Irish Whiskey technical file (product specification).

Raise awareness of the economic impact of the Prepared Consumer Foods sector::Ensure understanding of the sector's needs across the strategic pillars of Competitiveness, People, Innovation, Sustainability and Health

Communicate challenges faced by food and drink industry as it relates to the EU-US trade deal

Communicate food industry priorities in relation to increased costs, ongoing trade and supply disruptions and wider competitiveness pressures for Budget 2026

Highlight the impact of US tariffs and trade uncertainty on the export focussed Irish drinks manufacturing sector and the need for Government actions to support the sector including removal of tariffs, market diversification supports and deferral of impending alcohol labelling…

Emphasize the importance of market diversification for the Irish Whiskey sector - highlighting the importance of the Japanese market for future growth of agri-food exports, requesting additional support for exporters i.e. increased funding for market expansion, reducing…

To meet with the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine to discuss the difficulties experienced by An Rialálai Agraibhia in voluntarily obtaining price and market information direct from suppliers that was not otherwise in the public domain from a number of…

To highlight that the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan requires that a minimum of 10% of food purchased via public procurement must now be certified organic. While it is positive that the strategy calls for additional organic produce to be used, it does not…

Ensure awareness of food industry priorities on manufacturing policy relating in particular to three major challenges - the cost of labour, the cost of materials and the regulatory environment

Ensure awareness of food industry priorities related to competitiveness, energy costs, innovation, EU Single Market, international markets, food waste, nitrates derogation, Agri-food Regulator powers, labour and the Experience Economy.

Ensure understanding of the contribution of the food and drink industry to achieving the relevant goals of Food Vision 2030