Results 9,661-9,680 of 23,978 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Ms Chapman will take that question.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: We have had considerable engagement with stakeholders. I recognise the work and submissions of this committee, which has examined this matter in great detail, as have the Department and myself. Our objective is to put in place a regime that is robust from the point of view of addressing microbial resistance and ensuring we avoid a situation that has unfortunately arisen over the years,...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Regarding the avian flu, it is a distressing situation for the affected farmers, particularly given the time of year. There is a farm in County Monaghan that has had a case in a commercial flock. Where there is highly pathogenic avian influenza, a compensation package is in place that requires a full cull of the flock concerned. Steps have also been taken to put in place restriction and...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: On when the report will be published and come to the Cabinet, it is being prioritised by the Minister of State and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It will be up to him and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to bring it to the Cabinet, but I expect it will be managed and expedited promptly. I have not seen the report, but I have had numerous engagements with the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: No, I have not. So far one turkey farm has been affected and a cull has been required on that farm as per the guidance for the approach in addressing a risk of infection like this. I certainly have not been alerted to the fact there would be any challenge from a supply perspective.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The first question was on farm retirement, which was given consideration as part of the development of the CAP strategic plan to take us up to the end of 2027. It existed before, in the CAP before last, as a targeted measure to try to bring about generational renewal and specifically as a support for young farmers. The assessment was that as expenditure targeted at a support for young...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I seem to be trusting my memory too much so my pen is out. The next environmental scheme will kick off in January 2023 and run to the end of 2027. We are still in the consultation period in that respect. The national plan outlines the bones of the environmental scheme and it will be submitted to the European Commission by the end of this year. The infrastructure for running that scheme...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, we will do everything we can. It is a challenge every year for those who might be randomly selected for spot checks and satellite inspections, which may have an impact on payments. We will expedite the process every way we can to try to ensure farmers can get paid promptly following the completion of inspections.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: When farmers ring the Department, they should be able to get as much clarity as possible. Sometimes it may not be possible to bring clarity until an inspection is completed. I take on board the Deputy's point, which is important. It is significant for the affected farmers, particularly running up to Christmas and all the pressure around that. I will speak to the team further about the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There is a full ongoing review of the forestry sector and Project Woodland is in place to implement the findings of the Mackinnon report. There may be recommendations arising from that and currently a number of working groups are in place assessing the best way forward. The overall review will also affect how we go forward. We will be informed by that work and we are really determined to...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy knows, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, is leading the forestry element and driving this very strongly. We have established Project Woodland to implement the findings of the Mackinnon report. In that there are three work streams with project teams to drive the implementation of the report. I do not have the up-to-date note on the implementation across each of the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I totally agree. I spent four and a half hours last Wednesday with all of the national presidents of the farm organisations and some of their key officers, along with all of the members of my own team. I did a full four and a half hour session on CAP and climate change, dealing with these issues and where we are at the moment. I also made it very clear in terms of how we step forward that,...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There is no doubt there is a real challenge given that, in the first number of years after trees are planted, the carbon sequestration is low because they are so small.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. It does take time but it then gathers pace as the years go on. That is why, in the climate action plan, we have looked, for example, at the balancing out of the sequestration potential between this decade and the next decade, so credit for plantations that happen this decade can be based on what it will average out at over the 2020s and 2030s. That is important because it further...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: On the previous point, to which Ms Chapman was responding, under-expenditure in certain schemes makes the task of producing Revised Estimates important. We try to profile as much as we can within the year to reallocate and manage the process. We are examining various options that can support farmers with finance and reduced interest rates. Ms Chapman might have something on specific on that.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Does the Deputy mean in terms of solar energy? Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice:Solar and other systems. The Taoiseach was in Ballinasloe looking at a new idea by Easyfix to reduce methane emissions from slurry tanks. Is the Department considering innovative ideas so that if it has money left over, there could be a quick win and quick hit?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I was at Easyfix also. It is a really innovative company that is bringing technology and research to bear on housing materials and investigating how they can be most effectively used. As the Deputy knows, in the recent budget I increased the solar energy allocation under TAMS for next year to 60%. An important component will be the feed-in tariff. We expect to have it in place early next...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice. I appreciate his comments on CAP. On making sure we get veterinary prescribing right, there is a difficult challenge but it is one that we have to get right. We must ensure there is common sense. We cannot continue to have circumstances in which everybody is the leading expert on medicines and anthelmintics in his or her own world because the matter is not as...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I accept that and agree. We hope to bring proposals forward on that.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (23 Nov 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There is no doubt that the licensing challenge in the Department has been a drag on progress in relation to afforestation and felling over the last year or two. We have been making progress and it is an improving situation, thankfully. We are in a different situation compared to this time last year, when we faced an increasingly challenging and disimproving situation in terms of supply....