Results 14,181-14,200 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Harness Racing Industry (18 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: In March 2018, my Department agreed to fund the preparation and development of a Five Year Strategic Plan for the Irish Harness Racing Association and the sector. The report was recently received and Department officials are currently examining its contents. My Department had previously funded the Indecon Report of the Irish Harness Racing Sector, which was published on 1st November 2017....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme (18 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: As outlined in the Basic Payment Scheme Terms and Conditions, farmers are obliged to declare all lands on their “holding” as defined in Article 4, of Regulation (EC) No 1307/2013. If farmers intend to declare any land parcel where there is no agricultural activity undertaken they should reduce the claimed area to zero and insert a use of “Inactive” on the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (18 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: This was a case involving a deceased herd owner who was part of a Farm Partnership under the herd number shown. It was necessary for my Department to contact the Legal Personal Representatives to request the required testamentary documents and bank account details in order to finalise arrangements regarding payments outstanding for 2015. My Department has received the required documentation...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Appeals (18 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: In cases where there is no agreement in place to repay an outstanding debt, my Department is obliged, under EU Regulations, to offset payments due to the client against any outstanding debt. The person named still has outstanding debt arising from an overpayment notified to him under the Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme in 2018. An inquiry in respect of debt repayment options was made...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (18 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: As the Deputy is aware, 2018 presented the agriculture community with some very challenging conditions in terms of a prolonged wet Spring period followed almost immediately by a period of exceptionally dry, hot weather. Notwithstanding these events there was a return in the third quarter of the year to more normal climatic conditions which benefitted the agriculture sector in terms of a late...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: TAMS Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The TAMS II Scheme has been very successful to date with over 17,623 approvals issued to farmers. To date a total of €96.9m has been spent on 6,637 claims and payments and approvals are continuing on an on going basis. There are an additional 933 claims that have been received that are currently being processed prior to payment. All approved applicants are encouraged to complete...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Data and Genomics Programme (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) forms a part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. It involves funding of €300 million over the six year programme and addresses widely acknowledged weaknesses in the maternal genetics of the Irish suckler herd, makes a positive contribution to farmer profitability and reduces the greenhouse gas intensity of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: Under the 2018 Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme some 100,800 applicants hold eligible designated lands. To date some 92,250 applicants have been paid a total of €221.6m. It is important to point out that not all applicants with eligible lands will receive payment for the 2018 scheme. This is due to the fact that individual farmers who have yet to meet their stocking density...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: To date, 41,689 GLAS participants have received their 2018 advance payment. In addition, GLAS Plus payments have also been paid to 2,795 GLAS farmers. This amounts to over €150m paid since 2018 payments commenced on November 14th and equates to 96% of eligible cases paid. Over 80% of outstanding payments for 2018 require action by the GLAS participant concerned or their advisor....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming Scheme Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: My Department has processed Organic Farm Scheme payments in respect of 1,200 farmers for 2018 with €5.5m issued to date. 320 payments for 2018 have not yet issued. Payment in these cases will issue once each claim passes all the payment validations.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sheep Welfare Scheme (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: As of the 18th of December 2018, a total of 18,661 valid and eligible applications have been received for year 2 of the Sheep Welfare Scheme, of which 18,607 have received payment. It should be noted that the number of valid applications may vary slightly over time as applicants respond to queries raised by my Department in relation to their eligibility etc. Work is ongoing in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Knowledge Transfer Programme (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Programme is a three year scheme. The first two years of the Programme have been completed. In Year 1 there were approximately 19,100 eligible participants of which approximately 19,000 have been paid a total of €12.5m. Remaining applications are being cleared on a case by case basis. Following the conclusion of year 2 of the KT Programme some...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Press and Communications Office in my Department is the primary point of contact between the Department and members of the media, as well as members of the general public. The office is responsible for communicating with media and members of the public regarding the work of the Minister, the Minister of State and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Department's social...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: As the Deputy is aware, 2018 presented the agriculture community with some very challenging conditions in terms of a prolonged wet Spring period followed almost immediately by a period of exceptionally dry, hot weather. Notwithstanding these events there was a return in the third quarter of the year to more normal climatic conditions which benefitted the agriculture sector in terms of a late...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Information and Communications Technology (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The provision of rural broadband is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. However, my Department makes extensive use of ICT systems and technology to provide the best possible services to its customers and to allow farmers interact with it in the easiest way possible. My Department and its Information Management and Technology...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received payments for scheme years 2015, 2016, 2017 and the 2018 Advance. An issue arose with this case that resulted in a penalty being deducted in error. This issue has now been sorted and the correction will be made in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Hen Harrier scheme is operationally independent of my Department and is run by a Hen Harrier Project team. The info below is sourced from the Project Team. A total of 1,845 applications were received by the Hen Harrier Project team and of these 1,632 were deemed to be valid applications. The breakdown per county of valid applications is shown below. Number of valid applications for the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hen Harriers Threat Response Plan (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: I am informed that the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is currently finalising the draft Threat Response Plan for public consultation. This follows consultation with the stakeholder representative Consultative Committee, earlier this year, which generated considerable feedback regarding, among other issues, proposals for limited afforestation within the SPAs. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Consular Services Data (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Irish embassies that currently have an agricultural attaché stationed at the embassy, and the number of such attachés stationed in each such specific embassy by city and country are shown in the table below: Permanent Representation of Ireland to the E.U.50 Rue Froissart, 1040 Brussels, Belgium – 4 attachés Embassy of Ireland, 17 Grosvenor Pl, London SW1X7HR,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme Payments (19 Dec 2018)

Michael Creed: The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment that, 'in the context of the EU mid-term review of the CAP, we will propose a lowering of the cap on Basic Payments, from €150,000 to €100,000”. However, on the basis of the current legal framework, it is not possible to reduce the payment ceiling below €150,000. In June this year Commission...