Results 13,861-13,880 of 23,995 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tuberculosis Eradication Programme (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together. The Bovine TB Forum Interim Report (published July 2019)  identified the need to provide more effective information to farmers to help them reduce the risk of TB in their herd and advocated for the development of herd risk categories that are “simple, clear, and convey sufficient information to enable farmers to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Beef Finisher Payment scheme was launched on the 10th August 2020 to provide income support for farmers with beef finishing enterprises who have been impacted by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been 28,095 applications submitted for the scheme with a further 548 applications submitted under appeal. While some of these are from farmers who slaughtered...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Agreements (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I recognise that there is still real concern in Ireland about the potential impact of the EU Mercosur agreement, arising, in particular, from the inclusion of a 99,000-tonne tariff rate quota for beef. Throughout the period of negotiation, Ireland consistently sought to minimise the impact of any potential deal on the Irish and European beef sector, and we continue to voice our...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Meetings (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I would like to inform he Deputy that I met with representatives of the Irish fishing industry, which included the Producer Organisations, yesterday (16th September).

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agrifood Sector (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The report on the Irish tillage sector, Crops 2030, compiled by the Teagasc Stakeholder Consultative Group, was launched recently by Minister of State Heydon. I welcome the work of the Stakeholder Group which consists of a broad range of members and reflects the diversity within the sector. The tillage sector in Ireland is an important component of the Agri-food industry making a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Bioenergy Strategy (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Indigenous renewable energy plays a vital role in our domestic fuel mix and will become even more important in the context of reducing our reliance on imported fuels and in meeting our challenging renewable energy targets for 2020 and 2030 and decarbonising our energy systems by 2050.  The Department for Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE)...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agrifood Sector (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department is aware of the report referred to by the Deputy and will review its recomendations in due course. It should be noted that the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment is lead Department on issues related to climate action.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Covid-19 Tests (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Government decided in August that the HSE should implement a programme of serial testing of workers in food plants and other large businesses.  To date,  serial testing had taken place of just over 15,000 workers in meat plants, with 42 detected cases - a positivity rate of 0.28%.  As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE made an operational decision to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 242 together. My Department has a statutory responsibility to approve slaughter plants in accordance with the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020. Such approval is neutral on whether or not additional slaughter capacity is required, rather it assesses premises in accordance with meeting the strict criteria laid down in the EU...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Proposed Legislation (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Bill to which the Deputy refers lapsed with the dissolution of the last Dáil and Seanad.  The Bill had failed to meet the criteria to be provided with a money message.  

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) carry out a census of agriculture every 10 years and a Farm Structure Survey (FSS) every 3 to 4 years. According to CSO data, the average farm size has remained relatively stable over the past decade or more with the average farm size of 32.7 hectares in 2010, 32.5 hectares in 2013 and 32.4 hectares in 2016. Over the same period, the number of farm holdings...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: EU Regulations (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: EU Regulation 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products comes into effect in January 2022. This Regulation is binding in full and has direct effect on all Member States. There is limited national discretion available to Member States in relation to a number of the Regulation's articles. In 2004, European legislation established a requirement that all veterinary medicinal products that are...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Connemara Pony Breeders Society (CPBS) has been approved by my Department to maintain the Studbook for Connemara Ponies and in this regard operates a breeding programme for the breed. Research carried out by the Connemara Pony Breeders Society, in conjunction with Weatherby's has enabled them to test for the presence of the HWSD gene. My Department has allocated funding to the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Carcase Disposal (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: A fallen animal is defined by my Department as an animal which has died on a farm, for reasons other than being slaughtered for human consumption or killed as part of disease control measures. The number of on farm fallen animal deaths as notified to the Department since 2016 are set out below. - *On Farm Deaths Stillborn Combined Total ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: In 2019, the person named claimed one hectare in respect of the appurtenant grazing rights.  He already had enough other lands to cover his payment entitlements in 2019 so there was no overclaim. In 2020, he claimed 31.17 hectares for the same grazing rights but does not have enough other lands to cover all his payment entitlements.  The Department has...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Proposed Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: At its meeting of 27 July, the Government approved my Memorandum seeking approval to draft an urgent amendment to the Agriculture Appeals Act, 2001 along the lines of the Heads of Bill presented. This will reform the forestry appeals process by bringing it into line with similar planning processes and is one of the commitments in the Programme for Government. The Bill foresees the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Breeding Regulations (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I believe this is a sector that has significant potential to grow and develop providing increased returns to the economy My Department is fully committed to maximising the potential of the Sport Horse industry and continues to provide support to it financially and with policy initiatives. I have demonstrated my commitment to the industry by increasing the budget allocated to Horse...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Preparations (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 172 together. My Department's Brexit preparedness work has resulted in various supports being introduced over successive budgets to help the agri-food and fisheries sectors mitigate the impact of Brexit. These include supports in the form of direct aid, as well as the provision of low-cost loans such as the €300...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The agri-food sector is Ireland’s most important indigenous exporting industry, playing a vital role in the economy. 137,000 farms produce over €8 billion in output; and we have over 770,000 hectares of forest and over 2,000 fishing vessels & aquaculture sites. The agri-food supply chain stretches from rural and coastal areas all across Ireland to the UK, Europe and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Dairy Sector (16 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Ireland’s dairy exports performed strongly in 2019 with CSO figures for the year indicating a +12.4% volume growth and +9.9% value growth compared to 2018. I am determined to ensure notwithstanding the challenges facing the agri-food sector, especially in the current context of the Covid 19 pandemic that opportunities for the dairy sector to build on this performance are maximised. ...