Results 21,221-21,240 of 24,049 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (7 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The afforestation scheme in the previous forestry programme outlined the types of land suitable for afforestation in the document ‘Land Types for Afforestation (2017)’. A maximum peat depth of 50cm was applied, for certain site types only. This maximum peat depth did not apply to fertile sites classified as Grant Premium Category 2 (GPC 2) to GPC 12, nor did it apply in all GPC...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (7 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Over the past three and a half years the country, and the agrifood sector in particular, has faced three significant challenges: the closure of the hospitality and food service sector for long periods worldwide during COVID-19; the disruption to trade with our nearest and most important agrifood trading partner as a result of Brexit; and the significant increases in input costs, especially...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the committee for the invitation and the opportunity to discuss the agriculture and land use, land use change and forestry chapter of the Climate Change Advisory Council’s annual review. We have binding commitments to deliver on reducing emissions, through the Paris Agreement and as a member of the EU, and at home through our targets set out in the climate Act. The Government...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: When Teagasc is involved in and puts its name to something, it examines it with scientific rigour. I fully back its work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: As with everything else in our everyday lives, knowledge and research around the impact of anything we do on the environment has been constantly evolving. We will have a challenge over the next number of years in terms of emissions and the age profile of our national forests, given how there was significant afforestation in the 1980s and 1990s in particular. As trees grow, particularly in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There is no doubt that costs have been a challenge for farmers over the last couple of years and have had an impact on demand. Costs have also assisted in the massive transformation that is under way at farm level. The cost of fertiliser has significantly reduced this year. It was expensive at the start of the year but as the year progressed the price very significantly reduced. If cost...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Possibly. One of the steps we are taking in relation to water quality is launching a new European innovation partnership programme and investing €60 million in that. That is looking at water on a catchment basis and bringing farmers together within the catchment area to manage how they come together and take steps that will make a difference. Likewise the signpost project is working...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: We have a good idea across different sectors. We have considerable data on that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Climate Action Plan Review: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The health advice is the health advice. The role of agriculture and the food industry is to produce food in a way that is part of a sustainable food system.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department is responsible for S.I. No. 63/2015, the Microchipping of Dogs Regulation 2015 and S.I. 427/2015 - Microchipping of Dogs (Amendment) Regulations 2015. Under these Regulations, all dogs over 12 weeks of age (or younger if sold before 12 weeks) must be microchipped. It is illegal to sell/supply a dog that is not microchipped. The microchip number must be registered; this helps...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Supports (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: EU Regulations governing the administration of the 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) scheme and other area-based schemes require that full and comprehensive checks are completed before any payments issue. The 2023 BISS application of the person named has now been processed and any payments due to the applicant will issue over the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There is no funding provided by my Department for the specific purpose of upgrading mart infrastructure to meet health and safety standards. The support my Department provided in 2023 was for existing marts to upgrade their equipment following the introduction of mandatory electronic identification (EID) of cattle. The Mart EID Upgrade Scheme closed on 10th November 2023.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department has significantly increased the number of permanent ecologists working in the Department over the last number of years. The Department also utilise ecologists on a contract basis. Permanent ecologists now work in several Divisions of my Department and provide useful expertise as we are dealing with biodiversity related policy and scheme delivery matters. Earlier this year a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Harbours and Piers (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: At the beginning of this year, I announced a capital investment package of €37.3m for the six Fishery Harbour Centres as part of the 2023 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme. This includes a number of projects valued over €100,000 and costs of the works intended to be undertaken within 2023. Details of the project allocation are available in tabular...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department’s agri-environment scheme, ACRES, requires an agricultural activity on the parcels included in a farmer’s contract, as set out in the Terms and Conditions of the scheme. Notwithstanding this, the new CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 (CSP) allows for areas of established woodland to be regarded as a beneficial feature in agricultural parcels, thus allowing for these...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Forestry Programme 2023-2027 provides a range of schemes to support the establishment and management of forests. Ireland's recently published Forest Strategy recognises the importance of forests and the wide range of ecosystem services they provide. Sustainably managed forests also make a significant contribution to the rural economy and contribute to Ireland's climate targets by removing...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Sector (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) is the body approved in Ireland in accordance with relevant EU legislation to conduct testing, genetic evaluation and publication of breeding values for dairy and beef cattle have recently updated beef breeding indexes. This was the first major update since 2015, based predominately on changing economic drivers such as feed costs and beef...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 604 and 618 together. The Terms and Conditions for Tranche 2 of ACRES are published on my Department’s website. One of the eligibility requirements for a farmer to participate is the submission of a Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application for 2022. A further requirement is that all lands must also be declared in the applicant’s 2023 Basic...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Promoting and safeguarding plant health is a key strategic principle of the Plant Health and Biosecurity Strategy 2020-2025. Ireland is a contracting party of the International Plant Protection Convention of the United Nations, as well as an active member of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation and is cooperating with countries around the world developing global...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (12 Dec 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: A key part of the Land Use Review is consideration of how land users and other relevant stakeholders should be engaged in the on-going production of the land use knowledge base; the co-creation of a shared vision on the transition in land use; the formulation of priorities that will inform a National Land Use Strategy; and the design of evidence-based and collaborative plans and actions. At...