Results 5,241-5,260 of 23,964 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Whitmore. From 1 March to 1 September, burning is illegal. Outside of that window, it is possible to apply and get a permit for it. I will continue to assess all advice on this. Where controlled burning is taking place, there has to be an application to the local authority, and full engagement and co-operation. It has to be approved. The balance to be struck then is in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I procured a report, which was published, on alternatives to burning. We have to look at all options, and ensure we are adopting the most appropriate one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I do not know. I can come back to the Deputy with an answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The deduction in eligibility for agricultural payments stems from the fact that it is not agricultural land, and it is not able to be farmed if it has been burned. That is the reason it is deducted from the payments. The actual fines outside of that and the prosecution, if it was burned outside of when it was permitted and without licence, is a separate system. European payments, to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There are different criteria relating to basic agricultural condition and good agricultural condition. It is focused on whether it is farming land or not. For example, if it is not being farmed, there is no evidence of that or it is not suitable for that, there is no farm payment for it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Senator Higgins. She made the point about tillage. One of our key objectives is to improve and increase the area under tillage nationally. That makes a lot of sense.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I have been engaging with farm representative organisations about how we can work together on that. I am considering it because there is great potential. We thankfully made good progress last year and we want to continue to support it. We discussed the infant formula previously. The key overall point, regardless of which product we are talking about, is the pre-eminence of the Irish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: That is a broader policy question. Meat proteins and milk proteins are important parts of the human diet for good nutrition and will continue to be so. Looking at how we produce that and the expertise and natural capacity we have, we are world-leading with regard to the sustainability and quality of the product. That is why it is so sought after. We should continue to do that because it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: That is a broader policy question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Regarding whether we should decrease the herd, we are not looking to reduce our food production. We are looking to reduce the emissions footprint. The parallel I would make is to 1998 to 2011. We just discussed the removal of dairy quotas and its impact. From 1998 to 2011, Irish farmers and the agricultural sector reduced their emissions footprint by 15%. That was prior to any climate...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. On the solar, there are two strands to it. There is massive potential here, as the Deputy has acknowledged. Just last week we announced new funding and grants under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, on-farm investment. We know that we need to drive this on significantly and farmers have a very strong appetite for it....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The objective is that by 2030 up to 200 anaerobic digestion plants will be fed primarily by grass. Farmers in a locality will be growing grass crops in a sustainable manner and growing grass crops to feed anaerobic digestion plants, which will be producing biomethane gas. This will have the capacity for a 10% target of our total national needs to be produced in that way by 2030. It will be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I agree entirely. There is sustainability conditionality and criteria around how that should happen. It has to be done in a way that is sustainable and which actually produces a positive outcome in emissions reduction and around how the forage, grass and feeding is grown. It will comply with those sustainability criteria.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Senator is correct to say the diversification options include organics. She will, like me, have seen that the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, has done strong work in this regard. There has been a change in the interest levels among farmers, with farmers now seeing organics as a viable option and we are putting in the funding to back that. It is an important aspect and we are seeing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There is a training aspect on which there will be a series of seminars. The agricultural advisers are going to have a massive role, as will the new co-operation project teams. It is new and there will be a learning for everyone involved but it is about scaling up that capacity and reorienting everyone to the results-based system, with farm advisers and advisory professionals at the centre...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: It is one item that is being reviewed as part of it, and I acknowledge the Cathaoirleach’s view and concern about this. From a policy point of view, we wish to see, and are seeing, a significant increase in respect of hedgerows and that is what we want to improve. The current 500 m threshold is significant, so we will review what constitutes an appropriate threshold.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. We are committed to having that finalised by the third quarter of this year. There has been a request for it, and it is something on which I will have to engage at Government level in respect of the funding aspects and anything we agree. By quarter 3, we will bring clarity to what we plan to do. To give as much clarity as possible in the meantime, I have made clear that 2022 will be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: This relates to a regulation under the National Parks and Wildlife Service, so it is very much focused on accommodating wildlife, in particular birdlife, and it is crucial that that coincide with hedge cutting and burning such that there will not be any impact on birds' nesting, habitats and so on. If there were to be any impact, we should fully reflect on it. The 1 March deadline is there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan 2023: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Mar 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy and acknowledge this is an area in which she has significant background and expertise. We do not have a target at the moment for the marine environment in the context of emissions reductions. The action plan drafting process strongly indicated the marine sector overall could be called on to contribute to the 5.25 megatonne carbon equivalent of annual emissions reduction....