Results 10,141-10,160 of 24,092 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agrifood Sector (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department is aware of the report referred to by the Deputy and will review its recomendations in due course. It should be noted that the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment is lead Department on issues related to climate action.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Covid-19 Tests (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Government decided in August that the HSE should implement a programme of serial testing of workers in food plants and other large businesses.  To date,  serial testing had taken place of just over 15,000 workers in meat plants, with 42 detected cases - a positivity rate of 0.28%.  As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE made an operational decision to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 242 together. My Department has a statutory responsibility to approve slaughter plants in accordance with the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020. Such approval is neutral on whether or not additional slaughter capacity is required, rather it assesses premises in accordance with meeting the strict criteria laid down in the EU...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Proposed Legislation (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Bill to which the Deputy refers lapsed with the dissolution of the last Dáil and Seanad.  The Bill had failed to meet the criteria to be provided with a money message.  

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (17 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) carry out a census of agriculture every 10 years and a Farm Structure Survey (FSS) every 3 to 4 years. According to CSO data, the average farm size has remained relatively stable over the past decade or more with the average farm size of 32.7 hectares in 2010, 32.5 hectares in 2013 and 32.4 hectares in 2016. Over the same period, the number of farm holdings...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Wool production is an important component of agri-industry and Ireland produces excellent quality wool. In an industry such as the wool industry where prices tend to move in cycles, it is imperative that the players ensure and promote a diversity of options for the product in the market place. The current market uncertainties should provide an impetus for the industry players to come...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Felling Licences (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I am acutely aware that current delays in issuing licences has led to difficulties for stakeholders. The Government is committed to reform of the planning and appeals processes as set out in the Programme for Government and we have presented draft legislation to this effect which will be presented to the Seanad this week. My Department is intensively engaging with all relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tuberculosis Eradication Programme (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I have scheduled the next meeting of the TB Forum to take place on the 1st of October, the purpose of which is to further develop a shared understanding of how collectively we can reduce TB incidence. In line with a proposal from the TB Forum, my Department recently developed individualised reports that provide a simplified TB herd risk category for farmers, with herd-specific advice on...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 866, 867 and 868 together. Coillte is operationally independent of my Department and operational matters such as the management of their forest estate are the responsibility of the company. I have passed the questions raised to Coillte for response and direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 869, 870 and 871 together. My Department is intensively engaging with all relevant stakeholders on these issues. The current licensing difficulties are as a result of the changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures (AAP). These were introduced in response to important Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decisions and their...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named submitted a late 2019 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application on 23 July 2019. An appeal was submitted on his behalf on 14 August 2019. Following a review of this new evidence, the appeal has been allowed and the application will now be accepted.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Issues (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 873, 877 and 878 together. The Programme for Government has set out our strategy for agri-environment policy. As consideration of the next CAP is ongoing, it is not possible to be definitive about the final shape of future schemes. The experience gained from existing agri-environmental schemes such as GLAS and the locally-led schemes run by my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 874 and 876 together. The indicative allocation for the TAMS II scheme over the course of the Rural Development Programme is €395 million. To date, 42,469 applications for TAMS grants ##have been submitted to the Department and €240 million has been paid across all available schemes. 22,565 farmers have submitted applications to TAMS II. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Applications (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Officials from my Department have been in direct contact with the person named and his agent in relation to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application submitted on 15 May 2019. The outstanding land issues in relation to this BPS application have now been resolved. Matters relating to other linked applications can also now be progressed and will be finalised shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Bovine TB Forum Interim Report (published July 2019) identified the need to provide more effective information to farmers to help them reduce the risk of TB in their herd and advocated for the development of herd risk categories that are “simple, clear, and convey sufficient information to enable farmers to make the decisions appropriate to their situation”. In line with,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: As required by Council Directive 21/2004, my Department undertakes a Sheep and Goat Census annually, generally at end-December. The number of breeding ewes by county as recorded in the census for 2018 and 2019 are included in the attached document. The document also details the number of goats recorded for the same period. The annual goat census records the number of milking goats and the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agrifood Sector (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Last year, Ireland exported sheepmeat valued at €317 million. 71% of export value was to EU markets, 20% to the UK, and 9% to the rest of the world. Free movement of goods in the EU's Single Market in particular facilitates this free flow of trade and, of course, means that Ireland must be open to imports of live animals and food products from other parts of the Single Market. My...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Agreements (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has the lead role in considering trade deals and their impact on the Irish economy. My Department is liaising with the relevant officials in that Department in this regard and has raised queries with the European Commission in relation to its assessment of the impact of the deal on EU producers of lobster to ensure that the value of this...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Agreements (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Chair of the National Inshore Fisheries Forum has formally written to invite me to meet with the Forum which represents the the small scale coastal fleet for whom lobster is a key product. I look forward to meeting with the Forum at the earliest mutually convenient opportunity. In the meantime, my Department has recently provided the Forum with an update on Ireland's engagement to date...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Marketing Programme (22 Sep 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Bord Bia is the State Body charged with promotion and marketing of Irish food, drink and horticulture products. A total Grant sum is allocated annually to Bord Bia by my Department. For 2020, the total grant in aid is €48.2 million. The final sums allocated in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 were €33.2m, €41.1m, €41.3m and €46.6m respectively. The grant...