Results 1,281-1,300 of 2,691 for speaker:Tim Lombard

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: Has the Department put a programme in place to have a roadshow similar to the CAP roadshow to inform the farming community what is happening with the nitrates action plan?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: The cohort of 15% is one issue. However, the entire nitrates directive involves many farmers, including the changes to what is allowed with the exportation in slurry. There is potential for the Department to hit the road, go to the communities and talk about the entire entity that will affect more than 16,500 farmers. We will park it today, but the Department might consider opening the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I have a question for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is not the Department of environment; I have been corrected on that. What is the EPA's involvement in providing the Department with information on the testing points? How were those points on the map picked?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: What is the methodology?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: Monthly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I believe the Department runs a catchment programme with Teagasc. I believe 28 are working on that in different locations around Ireland. I had the privilege of going to one of them yesterday in Timoleague. The people there told me they test the water on that programme every ten minutes. Are those locations part of the EPA report?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: We have a body paid by the Department, Teagasc, that tests the water every ten minutes. Just so that everyone is working together, at a minimum should those five locations not be a part of the EPA report?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: Can someone explain that terminology?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: When I was down there yesterday, they informed me that I was paranoid about the 2018 dynamic that a dry year would have nitrates go through the roof. They told me what they are coming back with is beyond belief. Yesterday's reading was 3.5 and it was below 2.6 all the way through. For part of the year the reading was 1. It gave me great hope with a catchment area that is so intensively...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: Given that the results are so spectacular, is there a need to extend that programme? Will that be part of the solution? I know it is an expensive programme; I do not know how much it costs. The results seem to be very positive and they are not just agricultural; they catch many issues regarding the farming catchment area itself. This may be a debate for another day. We have five or six...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I realise they are part of the validation side of the programme but could these measuring points also be used as part of the measuring part of the programme? We inform the European Union about how well we are doing but as a testing location, could it not be a dual location in that scenario, taking into consideration the amount of work done over the past 14 years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I welcome the witnesses to the committee. It is important that they bring up this timely issue regarding the nitrates action plan and how it could have a huge impact on rural Ireland in particular. Mr. McCormack mentioned banding. The nitrates issue comes down to several issues, namely, that we will potentially reduce our nitrates by 250 kg to 220 kg, which will take a rotation out of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: The Department would take it, however, that this cohort of more than 15% are probably the most efficient operators in the field. They have probably spent a generation, if not three, building up their herd profile in a certain way, usually with high-yielding cows. Some of them could be winter milk cows. With the majority of these animals that hit the 15%, it will take, if not one, two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Derogation and Nitrates Action Programme: Discussion (14 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: How often are those points tested?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this matter. I ask for an update on a significant issue in Bantry at present relating to the mental health centre there, which is a very important part of the campus of Bantry General Hospital. A reduction of nearly 40% in beds in the acute wards is proposed. We are looking at a reduction from 18 to 11 beds. This is a very...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Mental Health Services (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: The Minister of State makes a very interesting point about the knock-on implications of this judgment. The judgment could be the catalyst for a complete change in capacity across the entire sector and the country. It is a massive issue for us. It is a real worry now that, because of the decision of the Mental Health Commission, there could be a reduction in acute care across the country....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Assisted Human Reproduction (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: The Minister of State is very busy today. She is taking all four Commencement matters.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: Are Senators Malcolm Byrne and Casey proposing to share time?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I thank the Minister of State for her commitment to the Seanad this morning. It is no easy task to respond to four Commencement debates.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2022)

Tim Lombard: I raise the issue and ask for a debate, as the budget approaches, on the 9% VAT rate. I come from a rural part of the country where tourism is really important to how we will sustain ourselves in future. Other speakers have mentioned the talk in the media and in political circles about price-gouging and hotels implementing costs for rooms and food which are too high. There is a difference...