Results 22,081-22,100 of 24,051 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The information requested is provided in the table below. Interim payments to ACRES participants, which issued last week, are included in this table. Interim payments will issue to the remaining participants in the coming weeks. Intensive work will continue on the calculation of the payments due to farmers under ACRES. When this work is completed, the ACRES payments, which will issue to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The following table shows the total amounts and number of payees per county in payments made by my Department under the forestry schemes in 2023. These payments include grants and premiums under the afforestation schemes and grants under the support schemes. The major component of these payments were subsequent premiums due for forests planted under the Afforestation schemes. It includes...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The named person applied to sell entitlements in 2023, although a different amount to that stated. Processing of that application has been fully completed and letters have issued to both parties. This was all of the entitlements available to the named person in 2023 and there is no record of a further application to sell entitlements. The named person also has additional entitlements which...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Properties (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department did not pay any ground rents in the years 2016 to date. As regards the 13 State Bodies under the aegis of my Department, the information requested is an operational matter for the State Bodies themselves. I have referred the Deputy’s question to the Agencies and have requested that a response should issue within 10 days.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Work Permits (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: My colleague the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has lead responsibility for employment permits. Arising from my ongoing engagement with our sector stakeholders, my Department is in regular contact with that Department regarding the labour shortages that exist in certain sub-sectors of agri-food. I am informed that 1,385 employment permits were issued in 2023 to the Agriculture,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: At the end of January, I launched a public consultation to guide the development of the National Biomethane Strategy with my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan T.D. There has been a considerable response to the consultation and the closing date for submissions has been extended to 5 March 2024. In Ireland, the development of a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Gorse Burning (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: An application for participation in the 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability Scheme (BISS), Complementary Redistributive Support for Sustainability (CRISS), Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) and ECO schemes was received from the above named applicant on the 27th May, 2023. Following a review of parcels by satellite imagery parcels within this application were identified as being...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS 3), which opened for applications in February 2023, provides grants to farmers to build and/or improve a specified range of farm buildings and equipment on their holdings. Applications received prior to the opening of TAMS 3 have all been assessed by my Department. These fall under the TAMS II scheme, which closed for applications in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The named organisation is owned and operated by industry stakeholders and charged with ensuring stakeholder responsibility for the direction of livestock breeding in Ireland. The breeding direction and development and operation of Breeding indices are therefore a matter for ICBF. Pedigree breeders are represented on the Board of the organisation. The organisation has recently established...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The purpose of the ACRES scheme is to help farmers to address a range of environmental, climate and biodiversity and challenges, and to contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in this respect in Ireland's 2023-2027 CAP Strategic Plan. The tiered structure, and the criteria for acceptance into the Scheme, were therefore designed to optimise the extent to which the Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The persons named submitted applications under the young farmer category of the 2023 National Reserve and also the Complementary Income Support for Young Farmers. The National Reserve application was successful, and the persons named were notified of this outcome on 22nd February. Payment based on the allocation from the National Reserve will issue as soon as possible. Processing of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Licences (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department considers all applications for aquaculture licences in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, the Foreshore Act, 1933(as amended) and applicable National and EU legislation. The licensing process is complex and involves consultation with a wide range of scientific and technical advisors, as well as various Statutory Consultees. The legislation...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The €1.3 billion funded Forestry Programme 2023-2027 provides a range of schemes to support the establishment and management of forests in Ireland. Sustainably managed forests make a significant contribution to the rural economy and contribute to Irelands climate targets by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through sequestration and the storage of carbon in harvested wood...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: It is important to point out that taxation is a matter for the Minister of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners. The only funding scheme available to ash forest owners currently is the Reconstitution of Ash Dieback scheme. This scheme is a cost based scheme of grants for site clearance and re-planting and payments under this scheme would not, therefore, be considered income subject to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department facilitates severance and redundancy payments in accordance with the Terms set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. Details of severance and redundancy payments for former staff in my Department for the years 2018 to date are shown in the table below: Role in Department Description of Payment Year of Payment ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: There are a variety of reasons that an application may be reduced in area from what was originally submitted. Applications are assessed for silvicultural suitability and to ensure they align to DAFM scheme standards. Through the assessment process my Department considers various environmental sensitivities which can require the exclusion of areas from applications to avoid negative effects...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: Organic Farming Scheme (OFS) payments commenced on 7th December 2023. To date, 96% of participants have been paid. The remaining 4% of cases with payments outstanding are a priority for my Department. Payments are issuing on a weekly basis, and it is expected that the majority of these will be paid in the next 4 weeks. The timing of ACRES payments has no impact on OFS payments.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the assessment of certain commonage lands for payment under the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES). As turf cutting could potentially have a disproportionate impact on commonage scores, a protocol was put in place last year whereby the active turbary area plus a buffer zone of 100 metres was applied when delineating turbary field...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department facilitates severance and redundancy payments in accordance with the Terms set out by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. Details of severance and redundancy payments for former staff in my Department for the years 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and to date in 2024 are shown in the table below: Role in Department Description of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Protection Areas (6 Mar 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: Following exceptional flooding in the Shannon Callows during summer 2023, on 7 November 2023, I announced the launch of the Shannon Callows Flood Scheme. The aim of the scheme is to support farmers who have lost fodder due to flooding in the region during summer 2023. I have allocated funding of approximately €800,000 which will allow for a payment rate of up to €325 per...