Results 2,921-2,940 of 23,950 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The board of Rásaíocht Con Éireann is doing very significant work on this and I have also made it a requirement and made it clear that the future funding is dependent on continued progress in welfare standards. There has been very significant progress on the tracing system over the past while and there has also been significant work by Rásaíocht Con Éireann on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There is very strong monitoring and end of year reporting also on all of the expenditure. Further, on the requirement for expenditure on welfare, including integrity, we also require quarterly reports on progress on the continued implementation of the care and welfare programme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The greyhound board is to sign off on its strategic plan for bringing the industry forward and it has just had a new CEO appointed there in the past couple of weeks. He was a former CEO of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey, who is a man of great background, experience and capacity. My Department has been engaging with Rásaíocht Con Éireann on finalising that strategic plan....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am aware of the issues. Those involved are working to try to resolve the issues in relation to delays. It is important that there be timely issuing of horse passports.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: It is under my remit, yes. There is joint funding of Horse Sport Ireland activities by my Department and the Department of sport, but it comes under my remit in terms of the board and reporting structures. We need timely management and issuing of passports. It is something I am aware of and that my team are engaging with Horse Sport Ireland on.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I will have my team follow up with them further on it and work to ensure it is addressed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I absolutely agree with the Deputy on integrity and welfare being central to the success of the horse industry, as well as to the greyhound industry. That is something I am clear on at all times. It is a key part of our funding that those standards be met. I take the Deputy’s point on careers in the sector and the importance of supporting people to have as many viable careers as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The tripartite agreement is something we have engaged proactively on but it is a Brexit impact and therefore a matter between the EU and UK. It is symptomatic of many things that have changed. Any way in which we can smooth the pathway and work, through the EU, with the UK, we will. It is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: We have raised the issue with the EU at different times. We have also looked at its functionality to make it work as smoothly as possible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I agree, but if we were going with win-win situations, we would not have had Brexit in the first place.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Any further flexibilities around that, we would be open to pursuing and would pursue. The report the IHRB commissioned from international expert Dr. Craig Suann outlined how we at least matched international best practice in most respects. There were 18 recommendations from Dr. Suann coming out of that; 14 of those recommendations have been addressed or implemented with additional funding...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: As part of its statutory function, the Rásaíocht Con Éireann board is putting together its strategic plan, and finalising it at the moment. Its objective is to make sure it is supporting tracks that are sustainable, and making them sustainable to ensure the sector is as strong as possible. The strategic plan will be considering that and looking at the footprint across the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Is the Deputy talking about the horse sport sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: On small tracks, there is an obligation through HRI to try to ensure a healthy sector across the board. This is an ecosystem. We have small trainers, small breeders and smaller tracks. All of that needs to be healthy for the overall sector to be healthy. That is something we expect HRI to work to, in terms of the parameters set out for it. We expect them to work to ensure a good spread....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: First, I agree with the Cathaoirleach on the prize money. It really is a key anchor and fulcrum around which the industry revolves and which really supports it. It supports the industry through different levels as well. As I said in my earlier contributions, internationally in other countries, racing is also supported by the Exchequer so it is important we compete and we have done. It has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2023: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I take the Cathaoirleach's point.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Cathaoirleach, and I thank the committee for the opportunity to present to it this request for a Supplementary Estimate for 2023. The Supplementary Estimate is required in order to make sure that we make use of the savings in the Department's Vote and to provide for Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR, schemes and Ukraine-related schemes. In gross terms, an additional €90.9...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: It is ongoing. I concur with the Cathaoirleach about the challenge, the disappointment, the traumatic nature of the experience of having reactors in the herd and what it means for people's farm businesses. I established the TB forum, bringing all key stakeholders together to collaborate on how we get this going in the right direction. We need to work through that forum to see what steps we...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (22 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Appropriations-in-aid are the receipts we get in from the EU in response to the direct payments and grants we pay out. We recoup them from the European Commission.