Results 5,761-5,780 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Priority Questions: Fish Quotas (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I am aware of the broad interest in the herring quota which has been fished by boats of all sizes. The Deputy makes the point well on smaller vessels. In the context of the exceptionally small quota that has been proposed, there is a case for considering amended arrangements focusing on the inshore fleet. We must first await the outcome of the request that we made to the Commission. I hope...

Priority Questions: Fish Quotas (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I have met the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, which gave an interesting presentation on a range of issues, including this one. It will be a part of any consideration of how the quota is allocated. I am conscious of the fact that if we do not get this matter over the line by the end of July, the Commission will go into hibernation for August. The clock is ticking and I am anxious to...

Other Questions: Bovine Disease Controls (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The actions in question were undertaken under the overall control of the official assignee in bankruptcy acting as an officer of the court, who has stated publicly that the decision to proceed in the way he did in respect of the cattle was made reluctantly and in the interests of the public safety of the local community. It should also be noted that the cattle were at the time in the...

Other Questions: Bovine Disease Controls (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Deputy Clare Daly is correct, in that there is more to this than meets the eye, although some weekend publications gave a pretty accurate summation of the bigger picture. The Department is not in the business of shooting cattle. In any circumstance, it is the last resort. For this reason, there is an official protocol. This was invoked by the official assignee in consultation with my...

Other Questions: Agrifood Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Food Wise 2025, the new ten-year strategy for the agrifood sector published last July, replaced Food Harvest 2020. It identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise 2025 includes more than 400 specific recommendations spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability,...

Other Questions: Agrifood Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I do not believe the targets were too ambitious. They were compiled by all the stakeholders together. Food Wise 2025 is, in fact, the industry’s document. It involves the collaboration of the industry both inside and outside the farm gate. Therefore, the plans are not overly ambitious. In the context of difficulties we are facing owing to Brexit and fluctuating commodity prices,...

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Questions relating to the release of the person referred to by the Deputy are a matter primarily for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In this regard, I understand his Department, both in Dublin and Cairo, is actively engaged in seeking a resolution in this case, as is the Taoiseach. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, gave a comprehensive speech to the...

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I appreciate that Deputy Clare Daly is trying to paint a picture in which all the good in the Ibrahim Halawa case is on the Opposition side, while the Government is on the wrong side of the issue. The Government and its predecessor have left no stone unturned in this case. Notwithstanding some of the public commentary and finger-pointing that has taken place, the Government, both...

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: That is true. Deputy Coppinger is in favour of building walls and cutting off contacts, whereas I am in favour of deepening contacts in order that we can improve our relationships and bring pressure to bear that would ultimately serve the objective the Deputy and I both seek, namely, the release of Ibrahim Halawa.

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: While I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from on this issue, a narrow, mean-spirited approach will not serve the interests of Ibrahim Halawa one iota. The Deputy can frown as much as she likes but she should not impugn my motives or those of any other Member. On a human level, we are concerned as anyone else is about the fate of Ibrahim Halawa. My colleague, the Minister for Foreign...

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I spoke recently to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on this matter and also when he was a Minister in the previous Government. While I appreciate the point Deputy Clare Daly makes, there is no monopoly of wisdom on this matter. We must make judgment calls on how best to pursue the interests of Ibrahim Halawa whose case would not be best served by disadvantaging Irish agriculture....

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The most immediate concerns for farm enterprises and exporters arising from the UK decision to leave the European Union centre on euro-sterling exchange rates. While the fall in the value of sterling against the euro is significant, it is not unprecedented. Nevertheless, a sustained period of currency volatility could be of concern. In that regard, the Central Bank of Ireland has...

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Since the counting of the votes in the United Kingdom and the announcement that the UK was leaving, my Department has been proactive. Bord Bia and BIM have had engagement with their stakeholders and the companies they work with that export to the UK. The feedback of the high level implementation group on Food Wise 2025 has been interesting. The group includes agencies such as BIM,...

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: It is important to remember that outside of a Brexit context we have been in this scenario with the euro relative to sterling for six of the past ten years. This is something the industry has managed previously. I appreciate that it is painful for some as well as threatening in terms of feasibility for others. While we have to watch this space in terms of the range of policy instruments...

Other Questions: Bord na gCon (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I do not have any problem. There are some specifics on the dairy side, but Deputy O'Keeffe can ask supplementary questions on that.

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The decision of the UK to leave the European Union is one that creates considerable challenges for the agrifood sector. The UK is by far our largest trading partner. Last year we exported almost €5.1 billion worth of agricultural products. This included more than €1.1 billion in beef products and almost €970 million in dairy exports. Ireland is also the UK’s...

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I thank the Deputies for their questions. The Government has done a great deal of contingency planning for Brexit. This work has been done across all Departments and has been co-ordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been representing the interests of the agrifood sector as it has been feeding into the Brexit contingency...

Other Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: While I appreciate that markets are extremely difficult on the dairy side at present, I remind the House that markets bounce back. The Brexit situation is complicating what was already a difficult situation, but the markets will recover. I do not want to predict when that will happen, but there are straws in the wind. I will not put it more strongly than that. We may have bottomed out and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pigmeat Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: My department carefully monitors developments in the pig sector, both domestically and internationally, and meets with stakeholders regularly to hear their views on developments. I am conscious of the fact that prices have come under pressure over the last year and the difficulties that this is causing for producers. Having said that, it must be noted that Irish prices have remained broadly...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: UK Referendum on EU Membership (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The decision of the UK to leave the EU is one that creates considerable challenges for the agrifood sector. The UK is by far our largest trading partner.  Last year we exported almost €5.1 billion worth of agricultural products. This included more than €1.1 billion in beef products and almost €970 million in dairy products. Ireland is also the UK’s largest...