Results 13,961-13,980 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy may laugh, but what is the point in dismantling an industry that is a global leader?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: Deputy Pringle is asking questions that seem to imply we have been doing nothing; far from it. We have had the foresight to invest significantly and to respond to what the market is demanding. Leaving aside the legally binding obligations and financial framework we subject to under the Paris Agreement, this is also a market imperative. Buyers in high added-value markets are increasingly...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: It is a constant journey of improvement. It is not a destination.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: There is no point in masking this. Because of the increased opportunities in the post-dairy quota era, emissions that were either flatlining or on a downward trajectory have begun to rise again. We have to factor in the fact that while they are rising, we are still the most carbon efficient. There is demand. Is it better for people who want dairy products to buy them from producers who...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: Pay is covered in sections A1, B1, C1 and D1.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: On the latter question, the legislation enabling us to proceed with the capital investment fund in early 2019 has completed its journey through the Seanad. The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is piloting that legislation. It is minor and technical legislation. As I understand it, primary legislation must underpin the loan initiative because of...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: When there is blame attributed for the bad weather, the credit might as well be taken for the good weather.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: I just thought that-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: On the fodder issue, the weather comes and we will have to deal with whatever that is. In that context, building resilience on farms is important. Returning to the point I made to Deputy Pringle on grassland management, this is an area where we can do much more. Previous advice on carrying surplus silage from one season into another regarded it as a charge on the balance sheet and not good...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: I accept that. Some of the points I am making are on how to drive efficiency by using things such as genetic merit, grassland technology and reducing costs. They will all help. The market, however, is the market. There is not much I can do about that. What I can do is encourage farmers to avail of the range of initiatives in which the Department is involved. The Deputy makes an...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: There are two issues here. There is an initiative at European level dealing with unfair trading practices. It is about trying to strengthen the position-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: If the Deputy is asking me whether I can tell the meat producers what to pay for beef at any given time, the answer is that I cannot do so. We are funding marketing and promotion initiatives involving Irish produce through Bord Bia. We do not get involved in price-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: We promote Ireland as a good destination in all its glory in terms of seafood, the beef and dairy sectors and the drinks industry. We promote Ireland as the food island and do a lot of work in terms of market access, etc., which is as it should be. In terms of legislation, there is an initiative at EU level that is not insignificant and has been broadly welcomed by the industry in terms of...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: How producer organisations might assist that cohort of farmers is a matter that could be usefully explored. One thing that bedevils the beef industry is the amount of movement. The number of people trying to carve a slice out of the end product is probably too high. A group that would assist the sellers of weanlings to finishers could work as a producer organisation. A farmer does not...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: My recollection of the figures is that there have been approximately 215,000 live exports to date in 2018. That is up by in the region of 30% on the figure for 2017. Of those, approximately 150,000 were exported calves. That is subject to correction but that is my recall of the detail so we are growing it significantly. Can we keep ahead of the growth in the national herd on the dairy...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: I have listened to Deputy Cahill. It is interesting that he had no specific questions. In two years we have allocated an extra €48 million in respect of ANC payments. We have introduced a beef environmental efficiency scheme. We have allocated €25 million to a hen harrier scheme, which the Deputy failed to mention when talking about hen harrier designation.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy has had his chance. I have always said the hen harrier issue is two-pronged in nature. There is an issue to address in the context of a threat-response plan - the afforestation issue - but part of it was to put in place a hen harrier scheme. The payments in this regard have already issued and the numbers of qualifying farmers will increase.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: Let me finish. Deputy Cahill made reference to 30-month BSE restrictions. We have to export and find a home for nine out of every ten cattle that we produce and we try to negotiate the best possible deal that we can. It involves constant engagement with veterinary authorities in other states. We have, most recently, improved the veterinary certification requirement with Libya and that...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: On the latter point, I appreciate Deputy Martin Kenny may not have been able to attend the meeting some weeks ago when we had a conversation about this. We have made substantial progress on clearing the backlog on the shellfish licences. We are initiating communication on the finfish applications. Only last week, I attended a BIM event for seafood awards and met a number of the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (4 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The fund is the fund. Ultimately, the same level of funding will be approved. It is a bit like the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, grant scheme. The scheme is still open. It is available for applications. There will be applications that probably have been approved but have not the paperwork in. It is merely that the provision we had in 2018 is not drawn down. It will...