Results 12,961-12,980 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I should have said at the outset that my ambition is to try to ensure that those who have a payment retain the payment and that those who would have felt aggrieved, given a number of pockets of the country felt aggrieved with the previous process, can find a solution in this context. That is not an easy objective but it is my opening position. The Deputy asked about areas with specific...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: It does not make any reference to it.

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Examination of appropriate measures to support all agri-food sectors, including the suckler sector, is under way in my Department in preparation for the next iteration of the CAP. The measures adopted will be informed by stakeholder consultation on the needs of the sector to develop in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, as well as the available budget and structure of the...

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Deputy. I am unsure whether he is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine which in its report published today addresses continued support for the BGDP as a measure to support the suckler sector and which, interestingly, in the context of climate change, recommends that I promote all schemes and practices orientated toward the goal of carbon...

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: There is not.

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: If the Deputy is predicating this scheme on an alleged underspend in the Department, I invite him to read the record of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine, before which I outlined in detail-----

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: -----that we do not have an underspend in the rural development programme. We are over-committed by approximately €100 million over its lifetime. If the Deputy's case is entirely predicated on the underspend, it is obvious that the case he is promoting is based on foundations of sand. I acknowledge and share his view and that of most Members that the suckler cow is the backbone of...

Other Questions: Brexit Supports (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: One of my priorities is to improve access to finance for the agrifood sector. Food Wise 2025 identifies competitiveness as a key theme and includes a recommendation that stakeholders work to “improve access to finance for agriculture, forestry and seafood producers and agrifood companies”. I launched a new Brexit loan scheme on 28 March in cooperation with the Minister for...

Other Questions: Brexit Supports (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Our track record in the context of the objectives set out in Food Wise 2025 strategy is strong. We had a €150 million loan scheme for farmers lending at 2.95%, we had the €300 million loan scheme and we are working on the detail of the next scheme which will make funds available to farmers for investment purposes. It is a significant start. There are a lot of moving parts in...

Other Questions: Brexit Supports (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I do not always believe every headline I read in the Irish Farmers' Journal.

Other Questions: Brexit Supports (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: As I said earlier, our track record is that we have delivered two products to the market, one totalling €300 million earlier this year and a previous one totalling €150 million, and we are working on the third product. I have always said it would be the second half of 2018 before the product would be delivered.

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Less favoured and disadvantaged areas were to be replaced under EU regulation by newly designated ANCs from 2018, with eligible areas being designated using a set list of biophysical criteria such as soil drainage, texture and slope. However, as part of legislative amendments at EU level, a proposal was made to extend the 2018 deadline to 2019 on an optional basis. This proposal has been...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: On the dates involved, the obligation is to conclude this by the time farmers make applications for their 2019 basic payments. The January deadline is not the critical one. The requirement is to conclude this before farmers make their online applications for 2019. I note the Deputy's point about the budget. We allocated an additional €25 million in this year's budget and I...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I concur with the Deputy that the payment is of huge significance to all farmers but it is of even greater import for those with a higher level of constraint. In the context of the additional €25 million, that is why we skewed the payment to make sure those with higher disadvantage got a higher payment. For example, €13 million will be allocated to the mountain type category,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Dairy Sector (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Examination of appropriate measures to support all agri food sectors, including the suckler sector, is underway in my Department in preparation for the next iteration of the CAP. The measures adopted will be informed by stakeholder consultation on the needs of the sector to develop in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, as well as the available budget and structure of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy Subsidies (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: By way of introduction I would point out that in discussing the funding of the Common Agricultural Policy, we should bear in mind that this funding forms part of a broader EU budget which is negotiated by Finance Ministers and then agreed by the European Council and European Parliament. The EU proposed CAP budgetary ceilings are a part of these wider proposals on the Multiannual Financial...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Issues (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Brexit has the potential to have a very significant impact on farmers and on the agrifood sector throughout Ireland, including in the border counties. As the Deputy will be aware, the agrifood sector is of critical importance to the Irish economy, and its regional spread means it underpins the socio-economic development of rural Ireland and of the border region in particular. In the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy Subsidies (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: By way of introduction I would point out that in discussing the funding of the Common Agricultural Policy, we should bear in mind that this funding forms part of a broader EU budget which is negotiated by Finance Ministers and then agreed by the European Council and European Parliament. The European Commission has, as part of its Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: The difficult winter and spring gone by not only impacted significantly on fodder availability last winter and spring but also highlighted the need to ensure the livestock sector conserved adequate fodder for the coming winter. This situation has been further affected by the current prolonged dry spell. To address these issues I formed a representative group chaired by Teagasc including...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fish Quotas (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: EU Fisheries Council No. 1342/2008 established a long term plan for cod stocks in a number of regions including in the north west of Scotland and Ireland (ICES Area 6a) and the Irish Sea (ICES Area 7a). The purpose of the recovery plan was to achieve sustainable exploitation of cod stocks on the basis of maximum sustainable yield. The Plan set down rules for the setting of Total Allowable...