Results 3,261-3,280 of 10,862 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (16 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: 682. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the persons deemed responsible by his Department for maintaining the well-being of the herd and ensuring animal welfare in the event of no keeper being appointed to a herd while succession regarding an estate has yet to be determined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56068/21]

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: Pathetic.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: The Taoiseach has 30 seconds to answer the question.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: I came in here to hear answers to the questions, but the Taoiseach was not answering them.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: Hear, hear.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: The Government cut the PUP this week.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: I raise the same issue. The scenes of thousands of tonnes of peat being unloaded at Irish docks having travelled the entire way from Latvia rightly caused consternation. This is the result of what is essentially a ban on the harvesting of peat in this country. That ban, if it is not addressed, could cost thousands of jobs in the horticultural and mushroom industries. The Minister of State...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: I thank Mr. Callanan and his colleagues for being with us. I do not understand how we get to the point they have outlined unless we have a system whereby every farmer knows, and has an audit of, a baseline in terms of the carbon that is stored on his or her land, the carbon that is being sequestered on an annual basis and the carbon that is being emitted. It is only by having this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: Has the Department determined what the cost may be of compiling that information on a farm-by-farm basis? We will have representatives in from Devenish later. It has carried out this type of calculation on specific farms. On a wholescale level, have we examined what it would cost to do what that company does on individual farms on every farm in Ireland?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: We have these grand objectives regarding targets, but the measures are all small. We need a big State-led and Department-led initiative that will give us the starting point in this regard. My fear is that we will end up as we have with other schemes. We will have the agri-environmental schemes and eco-schemes and all sorts of measures, but they will be short-term in the grand scheme of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: On peatlands, it is estimated that 300,000 ha of carbon-rich peat soils are under agricultural management. It is fair to say that this land is very much concentrated in a relatively small number of counties. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: As I mentioned earlier, the drainage on those lands has been happening over generations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: It has been a long time. Mr. Callanan, in his opening statement, indicated that a "key target under the climate action plan is to reduce the management intensity of 80,000 ha of these lands by 2030." What does that mean? Does it mean that those lands will be removed from agricultural use or will they be re-wetted or rewilded? What will happen to those 80,000 ha?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: I am genuinely trying to get clarification as to what the term “reduce the management intensity” means. Does it essentially mean that-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: To be blunt about it, would Mr. Callanan envisage that these 80,000 ha, or a proportion thereof, would continue to be grazing land?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: No, and that is why I am asking the question for clarification. Following on from that point, I do not understand why the target here is 80,000 ha and not 300,000 ha if the land can continue to be used for agriculture.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay. There might be stock on the land, but perhaps at a reduced level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: By and large, we would not be talking about land that is heavily stocked.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: Yes, I understand that entirely. Deputy Fitzmaurice is behind me and I am sure he will have something to say on this matter. I am asking about this because I am just trying to understand what this process means and how we can ensure it is a success from the perspectives of farmers, communities and the environment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Carbon Sequestration and Storage in Agriculture: Discussion (17 Nov 2021)

Matt Carthy: I have two more quick questions. The witnesses' opening statement refers to the value of hedgerows and hedges generally. What specific schemes or supports are currently in place to encourage the expansion of hedgerows?