Results 13,361-13,380 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Environmental Efficiency Scheme Pilot (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: I confirm that the scheme will be open to all farmers and not just current participants in BDGP. It is consistent with every utterance I have made in the context of the suckler sector; it is not a coupled payment. A coupled payment would run contrary to everything the industry has been striving to achieve over recent years, which is improving the quality of the herd. That is the direction...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Environmental Efficiency Scheme Pilot (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The commitment of the Government to the suckler cow sector, which underpins the beef industry, was never in question. We are the only member state that has a specifically focused initiative in our rural development programme for the suckler sector in the context of the beef data and genomics programme, which is delivering €300 million to the suckler cow sector. I have always said...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: My Department is examining all appropriate measures to support the different agrifood sectors, including the suckler sector, in preparation for the next iteration of the Common Agricultural Policy, 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 relevant...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: If the yardstick by which the Deputy measures the success or failure of the beef forum is in its capacity to deliver price, it is inevitable it will fail because the forum is not a price-fixing mechanism. By law we are specifically excluded from considering price. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has advised the Department that it has no function in that regard. However,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: I share the Deputy's concern that farmers should get the best possible return for their endeavours because without their commitment to producing a quality product, the edifice that is the Irish beef industry would collapse, domestically and internationally. I have said ad nauseamthat processors also need to be aware of the symbiotic relationship that exists and I asked that they engage in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: I am grateful to have the opportunity to inform the House of the actions I have undertaken in seeking to ensure sufficient supplies of fodder for the coming winter and spring of 2019. A survey of fodder supplies in September, conducted on my behalf by Teagasc, indicated that the potential national fodder deficit had reduced from 18% earlier this summer to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: It has now got down to 11%. The Deputy needs to get his facts right.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: In all the Deputy's contributions I have not heard a single positive suggestion, which is a continuation of a theme.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: We had this discussion prior to the summer recess and the Deputy's contribution was equally unfocused and lacking in specifics. On the other hand, I have had positive engagement with all the stakeholders, which include farm organisations. All the initiatives Deputy Mattie McGrath denigrates, which have achieved substantial progress for farmers, came from the stakeholder forum. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy should reflect seriously on the accusation he has made against Teagasc to the effect that it has manipulated figures. It conducted a national fodder survey, the veracity of which has been accepted by all stakeholders. I accept that within the national deficit of 11%, there are individual holdings where it is higher. The best outcome from the stakeholder forum was the advice from...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy is seeking a cheap headline. It is rather unfortunate to try to make a cheap political point on the backs of farmers, who have had an extremely difficult year.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fodder Crisis (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: It is a hit-and-run effort by Deputy Mattie McGrath. He will not even stay for the rest of Question Time.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: As the Deputy will be aware and as I have mentioned to Deputy Martin Kenny, in accordance with competition law neither I nor my Department have any role in determining market prices for any commodity, nor can I intervene in this process. I am conscious that this has been a difficult year for the sector due to weather and the range of challenges associated with it. We have to acknowledge...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: I find it slightly confusing that the Deputy says the beef forum is only a talking shop on one hand, and on the other makes great play of calling for that talking shop to convene. I repeat what I said to Deputy Martin Kenny. By law, neither I nor the forum has any role in respect of price. I have taken initiatives to give the primary producer, the beef and suckler farmers whom we discussed...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The engagement at the forum was quite useful in addressing all the factors that influence the market, such as the impact of the weather, as I discussed with Deputy Mattie McGrath. The weather phenomenon had an impact right across Europe. On any analysis of the number of cattle slaughtered, the weather resulted in a downward pressure on price because of the increase in slaughter. For...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: In line with the Government decisions of 18 July and 18 September, my Department has been working closely with other Departments on Brexit preparedness. The primary focus has been on the staffing, infrastructural and IT requirements that will arise in the context of the implementation of import controls at ports and airports on an east-west basis. Depending on the shape of the final deal,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Deputy. The agrifood sector has exposure to the UK market, which accounts for almost 40% of our exports, and if smaller and artisan producers want to put their toe in the water to export, the UK is the logical and obvious place to go. They are particularly challenged, and very often they do not have in-house expertise or resources to navigate all of the challenges. This is why...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The range of assistance is significant and some of it takes the form of loans. Loans are not always what are needed so in this year's budget the Department has a €13 million loan fund for small and medium-sized enterprises to assist with innovating new products. It will also assist companies with a product that was specifically targeted to the UK market to diversify and tweak the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: Proposals for new regulations for the CAP for 2021 to 2027 were published on Friday, 1 June 2018 by the Commissioner, Mr. Hogan. The proposals as drafted involve significant changes, including on governance, the distribution of direct payments among farmers and the increasing environmental conditionality attaching to such payments. There will be some additional discretion for member states...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (11 Oct 2018)

Michael Creed: The concern is that the budget as presented by Commissioner Phil Hogan is inadequate. We should bear in mind that the Commission can only spend the money member states give them, and we must acknowledge that Europe has other big challenges, including migration, security etc. We have always argued that member states should contribute more, and that must be done by unanimous agreement. We...