Results 6,401-6,420 of 10,862 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I want to return to the stockpile of 200,000 tonnes of high-grade peat. I do not have the same knowledge as Deputy Fitzmaurice and others on this matter so excuse me if the questions seem naive. Could our guests give an explanation as to why or how 2,000 tonnes of peat would be extracted and left sitting there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: My apologies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: In what years were the stockpiled peat harvested?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Are we talking about the past five years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: But it could be up to five years ago.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Perhaps Mr. Breen will provide us with a written response on the years in which the peat was extracted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Indeed. Bord na Móna has been diminishing its stockpile. It was exporting over 250 kilotonnes per year up to 2020. How much of this peat would have gone to its subsidiaries in the UK or elsewhere?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I know that, but that does not answer the question I asked. How much of the 250,000 tonnes per annum went to Bord na Móna’s subsidiaries?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am referring to the letter we received from Mr. Breen. I cannot see a date on it. It states the horticultural peat exported amounted to 252,000 tonnes per annum in the years up to 2020. Mr. Breen is saying additional lower-grade peat was also exported by Bord na Móna in those years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: What was the tonnage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: So the figure is 327,000 tonnes. With regard to the stockpile that has been in place for up to five years, I am trying to get my head around the nature of the mound. Mr. Breen mentioned the peat is in a single location. Is it in windrows side by side or is it a big pile of dung? Is it stored in a particular way?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I presume diggers are required.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: For the uninitiated, what is the difference between an excavator and a digger?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I presume that as the pile gets smaller, the excavator gets to the point where it would be sitting in the same position that a digger would be.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticultural Peat Supply and Willow Scheme: Bord na Móna (23 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am sorry I am repeating myself on this but it is important. Is Mr. Breen absolutely satisfied that planning permission will not be required for the extraction of the stock?

Rising Energy Costs: Motion [Private Members] (22 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: Deputy Ó Broin rightly described the Minister's remarks as disingenuous. I would go further and say, if anything, they came across as disinterested in the realities that face many of the people we all represent. Unfortunately, it is not surprising because from time to time we have heard the real inclinations of a Government that is quite simply out of touch: from a Fianna Fáil...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: I want to be associated with all the words of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. I want to use my limited time here today to talk about the challenges that are facing the food supply chains, not only in Ireland but across Europe. I welcome indications from the EU agriculture Commissioner that the Commission is set to deploy the €500 million crisis reserve. These funds must be...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: There are two.

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: 35. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when considerations of the report into farm assist will be concluded; when the report will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14862/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (22 Mar 2022)

Matt Carthy: 77. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the aspects of farm assist that may be reformed arising from the report into the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14861/22]