The cost of overseas visits by ministers and senior officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) as part of the 2026 St. Patrick’s Day programme could total nearly €64,000.

This year the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, travelled to the United States, while Minister Michael Healy-Rae went to Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Minister Noel Grealish visited New Zealand.

According to Minister Heydon as part of his St Patrick's Day visit to the west coast of the USA, he visited Seattle, San Francisco and Sacramento and attended a series of meetings and events which "sought to build on the mutually beneficial trading relationship between Ireland and the United States".

Minister Heydon said he combined the St. Patrick's Day visit with a trade mission because of time constraints later in the year when Ireland holds the EU Presidency.

The total costs (see table below) for the minister's visit to the US also included costs for three officials from DAFM and Ireland's US based agricultural attache.

Meanwhile the Minister of State at DAFM with responsibility for Food Promotion, New Markets, Research and Development, Noel Grealish visited New Zealand "to advance research collaboration, particularly in climate and agriculture".

According to Minister Heydon, this included a meeting with the New Zealand Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Trade and Investment, where a joint statement was signed that commits to continuing the Ireland-New Zealand Joint Research Initiative into a second phase.

The costs for Minister Grealish and one DAFM official included:

St Patrick's Day visits

Minister Heydon had shared what he described as the "total anticipated costs associated with foreign travel" by DAFM for St. Patrick's Day 2026 in response to parliamentary questions tabled by Sinn Féin TD, John Brady and Fianna Fáil Malcolm Byrne.

Minister Heydon also outlined details of Minister Healy-Rae's visit to Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania during which he met with the Finnish Minister for Agriculture and Forestry and the Latvian Minister for Agriculture.

The costs for Minister Healy-Rae and two DAFM officials included: