Results 20,601-20,620 of 24,049 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (19 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The pilot Joint Research Mechanism (JRM) began in 2022. It is now in its second year. A joint call for research proposals between both countries was launched on 10th May 2023, with my Department committing up to €4 million in funding. Applications received by the closing date have been subject to eligibility checks and subsequent evaluation for impact and relevance, scientific...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (19 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Sheep Improvement Scheme (SIS) is funded under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027. It provides support to sheep farmers for carrying out actions that improve animal health and welfare in the sheep sector and builds on the progress made by the Sheep Welfare Scheme (SWS). The first year of the Sheep Improvement Scheme runs from February 1st2023, to December 31st2023. The Scheme...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank members for opportunity to present the sustainability impact assessment of fishing opportunities for 2024 to this committee. I am joined by Mr. Dominic Rihan from Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, Ms Sinéad McSherry, assistant secretary, Ms Anna O'Sullivan, principal officer, and Mr. Ciaran Kelly from the Marine Institute. The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union has led to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My key objective, and what I work for all the time, is to support the fishing sector and fishers in every way I can, particularly when it comes to negotiations to try to get the best possible outcome for fishing allocations year to year. Obviously, as the Deputy outlined, Brexit has had a very significant impact on our fleet and other fleets across Europe but Ireland suffered more of an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. On trying to get a strong outcome when it comes to the total fish that we can catch, there are an important couple of months coming up. I take the point made by the Deputy about the challenges around fuel. We are seeing that across the wider society and it particularly has an impact on the fishing sector. The fishing sector differs from most other sectors of the economy in that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Every day, in working on behalf of the sector, it is my objective to support it in every way possible. That is what I have been doing and is what I will be doing over the next two months with regard to fishing allocations and maximising fish quotas for next year. The Deputy mentioned the Act, which I mentioned before, and how the Minister provides general policy guidance to the SFPA but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I take the Deputy’s point on the 100 m trawlers off the west coast. I do not like the sight of either but it is within the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Common Fisheries Policy is not based on the size on the boat but on restricting the amount of fish any country can catch. We talked about the SFPA earlier and other countries also have their oversight and enforcement...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I will look at it across. Last year and the year before I did do the inshore schemes where smaller boats got €2,500 and large boats got €5,500. I was very conscious of the fuel impact in putting that in place too. On the budget for next year, over the past two years, we know Brexit has had a real impact. It was a very unfortunate thing which we all worked hard to avoid....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Senator O'Donovan. I will go back over the key points raised. In regard to the decommissioning scheme, he questioned why it is so complex. It has to operate within the wider Common Fisheries Policy and adhere to the rules in terms of how decommissioning schemes can happen in any one country. It has to be compliant with that in order to meet state aid rules in regard to making...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Dr. Kelly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Mythen for his contributions and perspective. I agree with him about coastal states. It is very difficult to force people to act responsibly when we do not have control over them. Within the European Union all member states take a responsible approach. We have seen the maximum sustainable yield of a number of fish increase significantly in recent years, and that process...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There are restrictions within the Common Fisheries Policy on the amount of fish that can be caught by any one boat. They are based on a boat’s quota, not its size. There are also rules and regulations about the types of net and the fishing equivalents that can be used to do that fishing. Those rules and regulations can be altered to take steps that respect the sustainability and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The quota for all boats is known. That is well monitored and regulated in terms of the quota that each boat has. Across the EU, it is monitored whenever boats are in Irish waters. For all boats, but particularly larger ones, it is essential that we have proper controls in place to ensure that they are operating within the quotas allocated to them and within the rules and regulations that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am not sure what the figures are, but those boats are subject to monitoring. Ireland has taken an approach whereby quotas are not privately owned and are instead a national public resource owned by the State. Other countries have not taken this approach, though, and over the years, we have seen quotas there becoming privatised into a small number of hands. This has resulted in very large...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Under Ireland's CAP schemes, stocking requirements can be used by applicants to fulfil eligibility criteria in the following areas.Active Farmer CheckEco-Scheme Organic Farming SchemeAreas of Natural Constraints (ANC)Donkeys are eligible for inclusion in stocking requirement calculations and are valued at 0.80 livestock unit. In addition, they must be owned by the applicant and hold a valid...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am pleased to state that the reconstitution scheme for ash dieback is open for applications under the new Forestry Programme 2023 - 2027. This scheme includes the following enhanced features:100% increase in the site clearance grant rate, from €1,000 to €2,000;Enhanced replanting grant rates under the new Forestry Programme 2023-2027;Those applicants whose sites are still in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to advise the Deputy that the information requested is set out in the attached table. 2021 Name of Farming Representative Organisation Details of funding allocated Funding Amount € Macra Na Feirme DAFM support for Macra initiative concerning land mobility 50,000 Macra Na Feirme Annual Grant ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Supports (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The challenge of generational renewal is widely recognised both at national and EU level. I am a strong supporter of assisting the next generation to take over the farm when the time is right to do so. Food Vision 2030, our shared strategy for the agrifood sector, recognises the challenge of generational renewal and proposes a number of actions. These include maintaining the strong level of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Following on from the decision by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide funding to SFI and IRC that will enable them to increase their PhD stipends from €19,000 to €22,000 from January 2024, my Department is currently considering revisions to the stipend for Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine funded postgraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (24 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Following on from the decision by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to provide funding to SFI and IRC that will enable them to increase their PhD stipends from €19,000 to €22,000 from January 2024, my Department is currently considering revisions to the stipend for Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine funded postgraduate...