Results 15,441-15,460 of 23,995 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 739 and 740 together. As the Deputy is aware, my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Communications Eamonn Ryan T.D. is responsible for the provisions contained in Council Directive 2019/904, known as the Single Use Plastic Directive.   These Regulations prohibit the marketing of single use plastics from 3rd July...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ) is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. RCÉ is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.  The question raised by the Deputy is an...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) is the organisation charged with the role of Keeper of the Irish Greyhound Stud Book (IGSB) since 1923.  The Stud Book records pedigrees, ownerships, breeding data and transfers of ownership primarily of all greyhounds. TheICC is subject to the general control and direction of Rásaíocht Con Éireann. The ICC has informed my Department that...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Coursing is regulated under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), subject to the general control and direction of Rásaíocht Con Éireann (RCÉ).  Hare coursing is managed and regulated by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC).  The organisation consists of 89 affiliated clubs from Ireland and Northern Ireland, all...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department has invested heavily in both ecologist and forestry Inspector resources over the last two years in order to meet the needs of the licencing system, which was changed significantly as a result of ECJ and High Court cases.  Ecologists are involved in a range of duties but ecological assessments and in particular Appropriate Assessments form the majority of their work. As of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department currently employs 3,888 people and this is equivalent to 3,770 full-time positions. The highest and second highest paid persons are paid within the civil service salary scales for Secretaries General and Assistant Secretaries General.  The attached spreadsheet lists all the grades employed in my Department and the attached Department of Public Expenditure and Reform...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Ireland’s forests and harvested wood products play a significant role in climate change mitigation by removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Carbon sequestration by forests is influenced by a range of factors including species, soil type, site conditions and management practices. The rate of sequestration changes over time as a forest develops and matures. When forests are...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for HRI and I have requested my officials to refer the question to them for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The question raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for HRI and I have requested my officials to refer the question to them for direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) is the regulatory body for all horseracing in Ireland as provided for in Section 11 of the  Horse Racing Ireland (HRI)  Act 2016.  The IHRB was established on 1st January 2018 and is a company limited by guarantee. The information the Deputy has requested has been provided to my Department by the IHRB...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Farmers in all areas of the country will be able to participate in the proposed new agri-environment climate measure (AECM) under the next CAP Strategic Plan. The new AECM Scheme will have a General stream and a Co-Operation stream.  Farmers within certain defined high priority geographical areas will be eligible to apply to join the AECM Co-operation stream.  ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Cannabis, which includes Hemp is listed in Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 (S.I. No 173 of 2017), as amended, which means it is subject to the strictest level of control. It is an offence in Ireland to cultivate, import, export, produce, supply or possess cannabis except in accordance with a license issued by the Minister for Health under the auspices of the Health Products...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Following a public procurement competition, the UTP Enforcement Authority (EA) recently engaged a market research company to conduct a survey to establish baseline information from suppliers of agricultural and food products on their awareness of the UTP Regulations and of the EA itself.  The survey will also establish their understanding of the protections afforded to them under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The current Programme for Government is committed to aligning Ireland’s organic land area with that of the EU average of 7.5%, which is also consistent with the target proposed by Agri-Food Strategy 2030. I am fully committed to attaining this ambitious goal and all our organic policies are designed with this in mind. For the year 2022, an additional €5m has been secured in our...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I am fully committed to the implementation of the National Organic Strategy 2019-2025 which sets out ambitious growth targets for the sector by aligning it closely with the market opportunities.  The current Programme for Government is committed to aligning Ireland’s organic land area with that of the EU average of 7.5%.  The Organic Processing Inverstment Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: From the outset, it should be noted that energy policy including bioenergy is the remit of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) who have overall responsibility for the development and support of renewable energy sources. To further examine how the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) industry can be developed to meet the 1.6TWh commitment as set out under the Climate...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department acknowledges the importance of measures like Multi-species sward in contributing to meeting our targets around climate emissions, water quality and biodiversity. The recently submitted draft CAP Strategic Plan to the European Commission included a range of eco-schemes now being considered by the EU Commission and subject to Commission approval One of the eight agricultural...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: As part of Budget 2022, I committed €1m to a pilot measure to support Multi-Species Swards. It is a pilot measure proposed by my Department to promote environmentally sustainable methods of farming and a reduced dependency on expensive Nitrogenous fertiliser. It will have a positive impact on climate emissions, biodiversity and water quality. This measure is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department issued 451 letters to landowners with approval for circa 3,800 hectares on 18th February and I am pleased to report that we have started to receive some responses. As the Deputy may be aware, the conversion rate from licencing to planting is very low which means that a disproportionate amount of processing effort both by the Department and the sector does not result in planting....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (8 Mar 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Under the Ag Climatise Strategy, the targets regarding Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) include achieving a target of 60% of all slurry spread by LESS by 2022, 80% by 2025 and 90% by 2027. This action will make a significant contribution towards meeting our ammonia reduction targets. The current Nitrates Action Programme provides for compulsory usage of LESS equipment for all farmers...