Debate contribution: North/South Ministerial Council: Agriculture

Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on 9 September 2025.

MLA

Mr Andrew Muir

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

9 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

North/South Ministerial Council: Agriculture

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5086094

Read the official Assembly record

Text

With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement in compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on the twenty-ninth agriculture meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC), which was held in the NSMC joint secretariat offices in Armagh on Friday 20 June 2025. I feel as though I am repeating some of this. Junior Minister Aisling Reilly MLA, junior Minister Pam Cameron MLA and I represented the Northern Ireland Executive at the meeting. The Irish Government were represented by Martin Heydon TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and Dara Calleary TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. I chaired the meeting. This statement has been agreed with junior Ministers Reilly and Cameron, and I make it on behalf of us all. I thank Pam and Aisling for coming to the meetings and for their constructive engagement on all the issues. It is greatly appreciated by both the Department and me. It was a very positive meeting, and a lot of progress was made. I will now take each paper in the order in which it was discussed. On the review of the work programme, the North/South Ministerial Council noted the implementation of the revised work programme for the agriculture sector, as agreed by the Council in May 2024, and the ongoing engagement between both Administrations to identify areas of mutual interest and benefit in the agri-food sector that may also be included in the work programme. The Council noted that an update paper will be provided for consideration by Ministers at the next agriculture sectoral meeting. On cooperation on animal health, the Council noted that the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs intends to host in October 2025 a multi-agency practical exercise on humane slaughter contingency planning for an outbreak of an exotic disease, to which the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) will be invited. The North/South Ministerial Council acknowledged the ongoing efforts by officials from both jurisdictions to strengthen existing cooperation on animal health and welfare. Ministers recognised the ongoing risk posed to agri-food sectors by exotic diseases, such as avian influenza and bluetongue, and welcomed the ongoing engagement between both jurisdictions to protect the high animal health status on the island through coordinated protection measures. The Council noted the work that is under way in both jurisdictions to reduce the prevalence of bovine TB across the island and agreed that officials should engage further to explore fully how best that can be achieved. The North/South Ministerial Council looked forward to the continuation of practical and effective cooperation on animal health and welfare and disease control in both jurisdictions in order for the health and welfare of livestock to be maintained at the highest level. On cooperation on plant health and pesticides, the North/South Ministerial Council welcomed the ongoing commitment of DAERA and DAFM to proactively take steps to deliver the shared objective of achieving and maintaining good plant health status on the island of Ireland. Ministers noted the ongoing collaboration and sharing of expertise that was demonstrated in particular through the UK and Ireland plant health coordination group meeting, which DAFM hosted in July 2024. The Council welcomed the joint DAERA/DAFM simulation exercise to test plant health contingency plans that took place in December 2024. Ministers also welcomed the continued cooperation and opportunities that are being explored for further joint research as a result of DAERA's visit to Backweston laboratories in December 2024. The North/South Ministerial Council welcomed the continued cooperation on laboratory expertise, including the recent designation of the DAFM laboratory by DAERA as an official laboratory for carrying out analysis, tests and diagnosis of pesticide residues in or on food. The Council noted the continuing cooperation through the North/South pesticides group on the regulation on the placing on the market and use of pesticides. The Council acknowledged the good collaboration between DAERA and DAFM on maximising the drawdown of EU funding under Horizon Europe and welcomed the €5·6 million of funding that has been secured to date by successful applications from Ireland and Northern Ireland for projects in the food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment sectors under Horizon Europe. Ministers noted that nine projects involving total funding of €10·12 million have been funded over the nine years of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership in agriculture, and they noted the progress that has been made on funding projects in both jurisdictions under the DAFM national competitive calls, including €22·5 million by DAFM and £7·3 million by DAERA for 22 projects since 2021. The NSMC welcomed the work that is under way by the co-centre programme, which is a strategic collaborative partnership between Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland that is co-funded by industry and that will consolidate research activities across higher education and research institutes in co-hosted centres. Ministers welcomed the announcement of a €9 million funding initiative to support the development of bioeconomy in the agriculture and marine sectors, with co-funding from the Government of Ireland's Shared Island initiative, DAFM and DAERA, and they welcomed ongoing consideration by DAFM and DAERA of further possibilities for research collaboration under existing or new measures. The Council welcomed the ongoing cooperation between both Administrations on addressing climate change and loss of biodiversity in the agriculture sector. Ministers welcomed a key action in the Lough Neagh report and action plan recommending the introduction of a fertiliser database in Northern Ireland to record fertiliser movements along the supply chain as well as improve nutrient management and efficiency. The NSMC agreed that officials from DAFM and DAERA would continue to explore the possibility of sharing design approaches and implementation as well as lessons learned from DAFM's introduction of its national fertiliser database in September 2023. On cooperation on rural development, the Council welcomed the continued work of the North/South rural policy forum, noting that the latest meeting of the forum included discussions on policy developments that are being progressed by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG) and DAERA; the PEACE PLUS programme; voluntary and community sector supports; and updates on the connected hubs feasibility study. Ministers noted the cooperation between the two jurisdictions on rural development, including strong engagement on scoping a potential expansion of connected hubs across both jurisdictions. The Council noted that officials will continue to share information and best practice on rural development and to enhance cooperation on that issue and that they will bring forward updates to future NSMC agriculture meetings. The NSMC welcomed the continuing cooperation between both Administrations on the ongoing work to improve farm safety. The Council noted the commitment of the farm safety partnerships from both jurisdictions to meet at least annually and cooperate on efforts to improve farm safety. The Council agreed to hold its next agriculture meeting in autumn 2025. I look forward to working with my counterparts in the South in all areas of cooperation in the agriculture sector. I commend the statement to the Assembly and welcome any questions.

Thank you, Daniel. Dealing with TB and its prevalence in Northern Ireland is a key priority for my Department. It is set out as one of the key priorities for the mandate. Officials work closely with colleagues in the South on the bovine TB programmes in both jurisdictions at the regular North/South meetings and through frequent engagement throughout the year. Whilst TB disease rates have been rising on both sides of the border, I am conscious that the position in the Republic of Ireland is significantly better than that in Northern Ireland, although that does not bring any benefit to farmers in the South. Consequently, I welcome efforts to deepen those close working relationships, especially the new initiatives at Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) level, as part of a wider effort to place TB at the top of the disease control agenda across the UK and Ireland. As Minister, I have heard first-hand on numerous occasions of the devastating impact that bovine TB breakdowns can have on farm businesses. I am extremely conscious of the rising cost of controlling the disease and the impact of that on my departmental budget. I am also conscious of the impact on farmers and of the fact that a 100% compensation rate does not mean reimbursement of the full costs to farmers. TB therefore remains at the top of my ministerial priorities, and I look forward to engaging further with Minister Heydon on that most challenging subject in the time ahead. A number of items of work are under way that we hope to bring to fruition in the period ahead. I assure the Member that TB is a priority and that, on North/South cooperation, we are looking at ways of redoubling our efforts and doing something that is meaningful for farmers on the ground.

Officials engage North/South, and there has been particular engagement in the areas that the Member outlined. We want to redouble our efforts on that. We have launched a Shared Island bioeconomy initiative, and we are moving towards recruitment of people to take that forward. The benefit of the Shared Island initiative is that we can work North/South. We have common challenges, and there are few differences North/South, so we want to redouble our efforts and base them on the PEACE PLUS and Shared Island initiatives. We will come to the Committee to outline that.

1,564 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:58 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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