Farming and politics have for decades been interwoven in Irish public life. For some members of the Oireachtas, agriculture is not just a debating subject; it’s personal.
One in seven members of the Oireachtas have an interest in farming with some owning large landholdings.
Some 36 TDs and Senators – 15 per cent of the total number across the two houses of parliament – declared themselves as either farmers or having interests in farming in official register of interests returns for 2025.
The politicians are not obliged under disclosure rules to provide detailed information on the size of their land holdings or how much they might be worth, or levels of income from other occupations.
However, an investigation by The Irish Times into official land records and databases covering European Union farming subsidy payments – along with direct engagement with many of the politicians themselves – has built a more comprehensive picture of the farming interests of Oireachtas members.
Agriculture, as a subject, is a major policy area in Irish politics.
The power of the farming sector in Ireland has been evident in a series of high-profile issues that have surfaced in Irish politics over the last year.
Fuel costs, international trade deals and EU schemes such as the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap) subsidies have been the subject of crippling protests, intense lobbying and discussions at the highest levels of Government.
The Government is currently involved in seeking to progress negotiations on the EU budget for 2028 to 2034 as part of Ireland’s six-month presidency of the Council of the EU.
As politicians this week make their annual September pilgrimage to the National Ploughing Championships – the largest event in Ireland’s agricultural calendar – The Irish Times examines the extent of interests of the biggest landowners in Leinster House.
The biggest landowners1. Martin Heydon TD
Martin Heydon on his farm in Blackrath, Kilcullen, Co Kildare. Photograph: Damien Eagers
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has the largest agricultural landholding among Ireland’s national politicians – a total of 245 acres across land in Kildare and Laois.
Earlier this year the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and agriculture organisation Teagasc published a county-by-county breakdown of average land prices for non-residential land in 2025.
Average prices varied, depending on the quality of the land, and variations depended on the size of plots sold – for instance, if they were below 50 acres or more than 100 acres.
Based on the average prices in Kildare and Laois, Heydon’s land could have been worth between about €2.2 million and €4.55 million in 2025 depending on the quality of the land.
Heydon’s spokesman said: “Valuations of land only matter to those who are selling it or considering buying it” and the Minister “intends for his farm to remain in his family with his children to inherit the land just like he inherited it from his parents”.
Based on average prices in Kildare and Laois, Martin Heydon’s land could have been worth between about €2.2 million and €4.55 million in 2025 depending on the quality of the land. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
A Fine Gael TD for Kildare South since 2011, Heydon served as a junior minister in the Department of Agriculture between 2020 and 2025 before being appointed to the senior role when the current Government was formed last year.
Data published by the Department of Agricultureshows CAP payments to Heydon totalling about €44,600 in the three years from mid-October 2022 onwards.
The most recent published payment was just over €12,900 in the year to mid-October 2025.
[ No conflict in my receipt of EU farm subsidies, insists Minister for Agriculture Opens in new window ]
Heydon’s spokesman rejected any suggestion that the Minister’s involvement in farming clashes with his role in Cabinet, saying: “Being a farmer and receiving Cap payments does not, in itself, constitute a conflict of interest for the Minister for Agriculture.”
The spokesman added: “Minister Heydon is fully subject to the statutory ethics and disclosure requirements applicable to Ministers” and “his farming interests are not hidden and are publicly known”.
The Irish Times asked what arrangements have been made to allow Heydon to carry out his ministerial role while also having a large farm.
“Minister Heydon and his wife have 245 acres and have switched from sucklers to drystock cattle which is a less intensive way of farming, considering you don’t calve cows in the drystock system,” the spokesman said, but did not provide details of the number of animals Heydon owns.
2. Willie Aird TD
Willie Aird, Fine Gael TD for Laois
Fine Gael TD Willie Aird has land in Laois, his home constituency, totalling about 196 acres.
Aird said he has been farming “all my life” and he has 100 dairy cows, that his land is of “mixed quality”, and it has “agricultural value averaging approximately €12,000 per acre – €2.3 million”.
Aird confirmed receipt of Cap payments totalling just over €56,700 across three years from October 2022.
He said he has “a farm manager engaged to continue the work of the farm while I engage in my role as a TD”.
3. Michael Healy-Rae TD
Michael Healy-Rae declared the most extensive property interests of any TD in 2025. Photograph: Don MacMonagle
Kerry Independent Michael Healy-Rae resigned as a junior agriculture minister with responsibility for forestry, farm safety and horticulture amid the fuel protests fallout in April.
He declared the most extensive property interests of any TD in 2025. His return outlining his interests referenced his various occupations: farmer, postmaster, politician, service station owner, plant hire and owner of rental properties.
There were three entries for land holdings totalling 146 acres, comprising 100 acres of farmland and forestry, 42 acres of forestry and four acres of farmland, all near Kilgarvan, the home base of the Healy-Rae political and business dynasty.
Assuming that there is minimal forestry on the 100 acres declared as “farmland and forestry”, it is estimated that the overall value of Michael Healy-Rae’s land in 2025 could have been worth between €944,500 and €1.73 million, depending on the quality of the land.
There is just one “Michael Healy-Rae” listed as receiving Cap payments in the Department of Agriculture databases, with payments coming to a total of more than €18,100 over the three years from October 2022.
Healy-Rae declined to confirm receipt of these payments, nor would he provide details of his landholdings and their potential value.
He said he declared any interests he has every year “as per my statutory obligations” and “I don’t go into any other detail about anything”.
“My register is up to date and is accurate,” he said.
4. Gillian Toole TD
Independent TD Gillian Toole. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire
Gillian Toole, a Meath East Independent TD, has declared a number of property interests, including farmland.
The Irish Times has established from Land Registry filings that the agricultural land located near Ratoath, Co Meath, spans 138 acres.
Toole does not own the land outright but owns a third share of it with her brother and mother owning the remainder.
The land had an estimated value of between €1.4 million and €2.5 million in 2025, depending on its quality based on the SCSI/Teagasc figures.
A review of Cap payment records show Toole was listed as a co-recipient of €3,965 of payments in the period between October 2024 and October 2025, alongside the two other owners of the land.
5. Senator PJ Murphy
Fine Gael Senator PJ Murphy farms 170 acres of land in the Ardrahan area of Co Galway. Photo: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos
The interests declaration of Fine Gael Senator PJ Murphy for 2025 says he is a self-employed beef farmer.
The Galway-based Senator told The Irish Times he farms on 170 acres of land in the Ardrahan area of the county and owns 272 beef cattle.
He owns 60 acres of the land outright, while 70 acres is co-owned with members of his family – a combined 130 acres. “The remainder is long-term rented grass land,” Murphy said.
Based on figures in the SCSI/Teagasc report, the 60 acres of land he owns in full could have been worth between almost €288,800 and almost €635,000 in 2025. The total value of the 70 acres of land Murphy part-owns with family would have been worth between €336,900 and €740,800.
Murphy received €41,700 in Cap payments in the year up to mid-October 2025.
6. Cathal Crowe TD
Cathal Crowe TD.
Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe’s 2025 register of interests declaration includes farmland at Woodcock Hill, Meelick and Heathmount, Co Clare.
Land Registry records indicate that he has land amounting to about 114 acres which could be worth between €554,800 and €1.18 million based on SCSI/Teagasc average prices for land in Co Clare last year.
Crowe did not respond to questions from The Irish Times on his land or its value, Cap payments, or whether he owned livestock.
7. Peter Burke TD
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke estimated the approximate value of an overall 110 acres of land at €780,000, while noting that a mortgage ‘underpins it’. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins
Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke is among a number of politicians for whom at least some of their farming interests were inherited following a bereavement.
The Longford-Westmeath politician lost both of his parents in recent years but he held farm interests in his own name before that.
The Fine Gael TD has co-owned 55 acres at Slanestown, Co Westmeath, with his uncle since 2020, a purchase financed with a mortgage. Burke also inherited another 55 acres at Clonmore which he described as bogland that is “unusable most of the year with flooding”.
He estimated the approximate value of the overall 110 acres of land at €780,000, while noting that a mortgage “underpins it”.
Burke confirmed he received Cap payments totalling just over €14,550 across the two years from October 2022.
There are two years of payments listed in his parents’ names from mid-October 2023, with Burke listing farm payments “bequeathed by my late father” in interests declarations. Burke said the estate in receipt of those payments also had “significant liabilities”.
He told The Irish Times: “I was brought up on a suckler farm and I remain part of the farming community,” adding: “Farming is a great upbringing of hard work and commitment.”
Burke said he and his wife kept about 35 suckler cows – a reduction from the herd of about 60 his father had. He described his livestock holdings as “very small, modest numbers”.
Asked what arrangements he has made for running the farm while juggling his role as a Government Minister, Burke said: “I am so lucky that my wife absolutely loves farming and she now attends to it with help on occasion from family and friends in the community when I’m away.”
He said his financial interests were disclosed every January and are “up to date and accurate, fully in line with my statutory responsibility”.
8. Seán Ó Fearghaíl TD
Former ceann comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times
In his Dáil interests declaration, the former ceann comhairle of the Dáil Seán Ó Fearghaíl said he farmed, with his wife and son, about 100 acres in Co Kildare.
Land records show part of the land has been owned by Ó Fearghaíl and his wife since 1999. In December 2023, he and he wife were registered as full owners of the land. Based on average prices in the SCSI/Teagasc report, the agricultural land linked to Ó Fearghaíl could have been worth between about €916,100 and €1.8 million in 2025.
The Fianna Fáil TD for Kildare South did not respond to queries.
9. Danny Healy-Rae TD
Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae, a publican and bus hire business operator, has significant interests in the farming sector.
Brother of Michael, Danny Healy-Rae has declared ownership of 91 acres of farmland near Kilgarvan, comprising 50 acres at Fossa, 38 acres at Gullaba and three acres at Gortnaboul.
Land Registry records show he owns most of the land he has declared himself, but some 40.7 acres that runs along a stretch of the Roughty river near Fossa is co-owned with his wife.
Based on SCSI/Teagasc figures, the farmland he declared could have been worth between €582,400 and €1.3 million in 2025.
Department of Agriculture data shows that a number of Healy-Raes receive Cap payments, but the records make it difficult to link a specific payment to the Kerry TD.
The most recent Cap data, for the period from October 2024 to October 2025, showed a “Danny Healy-Rae” received just over €31,614 in payments, but also a “Danial S Healy-Rae” also received €25,759.
Healy-Rae did not respond to requests from The Irish Times to clarify the payment he received.
10. Michael Moynihan TD
Minister of State at the Department of Education Michael Moynihan TD owns or co-owns about 88 acres. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins Photos
Fianna Fáil Minister of State Michael Moynihan declared he is a suckler farmer in his 2025 register of interests return, with three entries for farmland in the land category and another entry for forestry land.
The junior Minister with responsibility for special education did not engage with queries about his land holdings, livestock numbers or whether he gets Cap payments.
A spokesman said Moynihan’s interests declaration “outlines the holdings” and he has “no further comment to add”.
An examination of Land Registry records indicates that Cork North-West TD Moynihan owns or co-owns about 88 acres.
The proportion of the land for forestry was not readily identifiable from the maps but, assuming minimal forestry, the value of Moynihan’s land could have been between about €696,000 and €1.5 million in 2025 depending on its quality.
Others with farming interests
Fine Gael TD for Galway West Seán Kyne, a part-time farmer, said his livestock herd was “less than half the amount that was on the farm 20 years ago”.
He declared ownership of land near Moycullen and Oughterard in Co Galway. Land records link Kyne to two sites, a half share of almost 55 acres and ownership of just over 29 acres.
He said the land has been “insufficient to make a living” as more than half, including bogland, has been designated as a protected habitat and the remainder is “average permanent pasture of modest quality”.
Fine Gael TD Sean Kyne, who owns land near Moycullen and Oughterard in Co Galway.
Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Land Registry records indicate that Independent Ireland TD Michael Fitzmaurice has about 75 acres of land.
The Roscommon-Galway TD said that this included bogland, including places where turf cannot be cut because they are special areas of conservation, and that some 60 acres was farmland.
Fitzmaurice said he does not get Cap payments, does not own cattle himself and that it is his son who is farming the land.
He said that along with his son he was in the process of buying more land of about 26 acres.
Fitzmaurice estimated that about 30 acres of his land would be worth about €8,000 to €9,000 per acre, another 30 could be worth about €4,000 per acre, with the bogland worth about €1,000 to €1,500 per acre.
Donegal TD Pat the Cope Gallagher has 59 acres of bogland near Dungloe that he planted with trees about 30 years ago. He said it was “poor growth”.
“I don’t see it being harvested in my lifetime,” he said.
Gallagher opened a community walk there and park runs take place on the land which is known as Cope Mountain, named after his grandfather, Paddy “the Cope” Gallagher.
Fianna Fáil TD Pat the Cope Gallagher. Photograph: Sam Boal/Collins
The Fianna Fáil TD, a keen walker himself, said the lakeside woodland was used extensively by Dungloe locals during the Covid-19 pandemic as it is less than the 5km travel limit imposed during lockdowns.
Tipperary Independent Mattie McGrath said he owned 59 acres of mountain farmland which his interests statement says is “farmed by a family member”. He does not own any livestock and is not in receipt of Cap payments.
Independent Ireland leader Michael Collins declared three parcels of farming land in southwest Cork in his 2025 declaration of interests.
He told The Irish Times he inherited a 58-acre farm from his aunt about 25 years ago but that it was his son who was now farming the land.
“I make not a cent out of it,” he said.
“It’s a very rough acreage farm, a lot of hilly, boggy stuff.”
Michael Collins, Independent Ireland TD. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times
He said that less than half of the land would be worth an average price of €7,900 per acre of poor-quality land in Cork, based on values in the SCSI/Teagasc report.
“Unless you’re selling it you’re never going looking to see what is it worth,” he said.
He would not be selling, adding it is “in the family name for generations”.
Senator Paul Daly of Fianna Fáil is a part-time farmer. The native of Kilbeggan in Co Westmeath has about 53 acres of farmland across three sites used for suckler farming. He has declared that this land was left to him by his late father in his will and is currently in probate.
Based on Land Registry records, Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Fianna Fáil’s Kerry-based Mark Daly, is connected to a similar scale of land, with about 49 acres identified by The Irish Times as being in his ownership. The sites are related to forestry.
The Irish Times previously reported that Independent Senator Aubrey McCarthy made the most extensive declaration of any Seanad member for 2025 including business, property and other interests.
One entry comprises farmland at Punchestown, Co Kildare, with Land Registry papers showing that it comprises about 40 acres. He confirmed earlier this year that it was still used as farmland but offered no further details.
Tipperary TD Michael Lowry. Photo: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times
Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry has declared ownership of a firm called Garuda Unlimited, which has almost 39 acres of land near Twomileborris, Co Tipperary.
Since 2021 he has also declared shares in a thoroughbred bloodstock operation called Glebeland Farm, which is equally owned by Lowry with his daughter Lorraine and son Jonathan. The operation is the registered owner of almost 11 acres of land at Gortnahoe.
Monaghan-based Senator Robbie Gallagher is linked to a half share in a large hill farm at Termon near Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Gallagher said his land portfolio consisted of about 28 acres of privately owned land and about a 46-acre share in commonages.
“The value of the folios is estimated at €165,000,” he said.
The commonages were described as “blanket bog and heath” and privately owned lands as “poor quality” and “marginal grazing lands”. Family members help him manage 28 sheep and nine yearly continental heifers.
Longford-Westmeath TD Micheál Carrigy confirmed he co-owned about 36 acres of land including woodland in Co Longford. The Fine Gael TD’s interests return says he has a 25 per cent share of the land, that it is leased out and that his income from this is less than €2,600.
Social Democrats party leader Holly Cairns. Photo: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, a Cork South-West TD, listed “farmer” as an occupation in her 2025 return to the Dáil register of interests.
Her return said: “All farm payments and farm income are earned by my mother.” A party spokeswoman said Cairns “has not worked on her family farm since her election in 2020”.
Minister of State for fisheries and the marine Timmy Dooley declared woodland near Mountshannon, Co Clare, last year. The Fianna Fáil TD said it was about 17 acres and confirmed he received no Cap payments.
Fianna Fáil Sligo Leitrim TD Eamon Scanlon said he owned 27 acres of agricultural land and four cattle.
Fine Gael’s Wicklow TD Edward Timmins said he owned just over four acres of land at Baltinglass, Co Wicklow, with a portion of land being used by a relation.
Ceann Comhairle and Independent TD Verona Murphy declared farmland outside New Ross, Co Wexford, in her interests return for 2025. She inherited about four acres of land from her late father which is currently being farmed by her brother.
“That’s the full extent of my farming interest,” she said.
Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy. Photo: Nick Bradshaw / The Irish Times
Fianna Fáil Senator Pat Casey said he had four acres of farmland, but owned no livestock and didn’t receive Cap payments last year.
Independent Ireland TD Richard O’Donoghue declared about 2.5 acres of agricultural land “cut for fodder annually” in his 2025 interests declaration. He has no livestock and receives no Cap payments.
Fine Gael Senator Cathal Byrne’s interests declaration said he had 2.5 acres of agricultural lands near Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.
Aontú Senator Sarah O’Reilly’s interests statement declared 1.2 acres of bog at Bailieborough, Co Cavan that was “not in use”.
Sinn Féin Senator Conor Murphy, who has declared farmland in Newry, Co Down, told The Irish Times he and eight other family members had an interest in eight acres.
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen has declared farmland at Aughrim, Co Galway. It is just over half an acre and he receives no Cap payments.
Other politicians who declared land holdings for 2025 – but did not respond to queries – were TDs Natasha Newsome Drennan (Sinn Féin), Michael Cahill (Fianna Fáil), Catherine Callaghan (Fine Gael) and Senator Paraic Brady (Fine Gael).
Methodology
The Irish Times initially compiled a list of TDs and Senators who declared farming interests for 2025 to the Dáil and Seanad registers of interest.
TDs and Senators are required to declare any occupations they had during the year where they received income of more than €2,600. They do not have to give details of the level of income, nor is there a requirement to specify in their declarations what income comes from Cap payments.
Some politicians who declared they were farmers confirmed they received no income from the role.
Oireachtas members are also required to declare shares in instances where the value was more than €13,000 during the year, company directorships and any land or property valued at more than €13,000.
It is possible that some TDs or Senators declared shares or land worth less than €13,000.
There are 36 TDs and Senators who declared farming interests for last year.
The Irish Times conducted searches of Department of Agriculture databases of Cap beneficiaries in a bid to identify politicians among the recipients.
The published Cap information includes names and counties but not precise addresses.
Difficulties arise in the searches of these databases, including instances where there are common names and recipients of payments less than €1,250 are identified by a code, not a name.
Land Registry records were searched to determine which had the largest land holdings.
Following this process the politicians believed to have the largest land holdings were sent detailed queries setting out our findings on the size of their land, possible Cap payments, and asking about livestock.
The Irish Times sent them rough estimates for the value of their land based on average 2025 prices for non-residential land contained in the Annual Agricultural Land Market Review & Outlook 2026 report by the SCSI and Teagasc.
The average prices vary depending on whether the land is of poor or good quality. Some holdings can comprise a mixture of both as well as bog or hilly land which could attract lower prices.
There are different average prices for forestry as well, with regional figures published by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers earlier this year. These figures were used for estimated land values in relevant cases.
In instances where the politician was forthcoming with their own land value estimate, it is those figures that are published.
The politicians believed to have smaller land holdings were sent queries seeking more general information on their land, Cap payments and whether they had livestock.
Varying levels of information was offered by farming politicians who responded.
In instances where there was no response, or partial responses, from the larger farmers The Irish Times has published figures based on assessments of their land holdings and estimated values.