Results 11,981-12,000 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: What would happen is that it would be phased in over that period so I understand that it would be introduced incrementally.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: It is a very current and hot topic. There are a lot of players and a lot of commodity issues in play. I do not want to talk timelines about which I cannot be definitive.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I understand that there is a consequence of the election in terms of the Brazilian ministerial team participating in those negotiations in detail. I do not want definitively to call the time involved but I think we are quite close to that cusp that it would have an implication.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Sorry-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: These three issues are taking up an enormous amount of effort, time and thought within the Department in terms of trying to engineer the best possible outcomes. We just embarked on an extensive CAP consultation. We have been around the country on a roadshow and have received more than 150 submissions on CAP from the public and stakeholders interested in the option. We will be considering...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: The approval process is one for the Oireachtas in due course. There are complicated issues around that. We are receiving remarkable levels of solidarity on issues that are of concern to us. We will have to consider in due course what the appropriate response to an issue like this is given other issues we are pursuing where we need EU support.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: On the contrary, and I have heard that argument advanced, I would say that never was it more important to have a blueprint, a stated ambition, and to be able to identify what are the impediments to achieving that ambition and what are the things we need to do. Obviously, market access to the UK is an uncertainty, so given the fact 38% of our exports went to the UK in 2017, it focuses our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: It is important to recognise what Food Wise 2025 is. It is the industry's own stated ambition. It talks about growing the exports to nearly €19 billion and in that period achieving additional employment of 23,000 jobs. It is important to also acknowledge that we have been on a remarkable trajectory of growth in the industry, even through very challenging periods. Brexit is the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the joint committee for giving me the opportunity to address it on the fodder shortages and my Department’s response in addressing them. We are all more than aware of the long difficult winter and late spring we have had, from which we are emerging, and the resulting pressures on the farming community. While I do not intend to go back over that period in detail, I will brief...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank Deputies McConalogue, Martin Kenny and Penrose and Senator Mulherin for their questions. If I might, I will try to deal with them on the basis of recurring themes. One of those themes is the need for lessons to be learned from what has happened. I assure members that the latter is very much at the forefront of my mind. I will preface my remarks by saying that I firmly believe that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: From day one, we asked Teagasc to get involved in fodder budgeting, initially on a regional basis and more recently on the broader basis. This complements what co-operative advisers and private sector advisers are already actively involved in with regard to assisting farmers to stretch existing fodder by use of compound feeds. Other than under the backstop of the animal welfare scheme,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I can deal with it in 30 seconds. The €1.5 million was the amount we estimated would be required to cover 20,000 tonnes at rates commensurate with what was broadly supported in 2013 per tonne. It is a complicated calculation in terms of whether someone is going out with an empty truck and coming back with a full one or if they are filling a load on their way back from the Continent....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: Never in any utterance or advertisement did we confine it to dairy co-operatives.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I can confirm that at least two non-dairy co-operatives are active in the space.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I have seen statements and public media comment on this point and it is important to ground the issue in facts. Mortality figures for January and February 2018 show a small increase compared with 2017. The 2018 figure is slightly lower than the 2016 figure for January and February. We had Storm Emma and its associated fallen animals. We do not yet have definitive figures for March. I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: The Chairman will appreciate that I have scheduled a meeting with one of the pillar banks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Chair and my colleagues for their questions. Deputy Neville raised an important one in respect of the well-being of farmers as opposed to the well-being of their farm enterprise. That has to be the priority. Whether it is engagement with my Department's inspectors or financial institutions, I think everybody needs to be cognisant of the difficulties farmers are facing now. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I will respond briefly. It is open to all co-operatives and other approved bodies to import fodder, if they apply to the Department and can satisfy it that they can meet the administrative requirements of the scheme. In respect of payment under the previous fodder transport scheme, as soon as the co-operatives which retain the data submit the applications there will be no delay on the...

Fodder Shortage: Motion [Private Members] (17 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: No.