Results 15,981-16,000 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tax Reliefs Availability (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: While taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Finance, I work closely with him to ensure that it is consistent with the Government's priorities for the agri-food sector. Budget 2019 saw the publication of the"Progress Implementation Update of the Agri-taxation Review 2014”. This report shows the excellent progress made between the two...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Young Farmers Scheme (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The person named was selected for an inspection under the 2018 Young Farmers Scheme (YFS), which was carried out on the 13/03/2019. A letter issued on the 09/04/2019 outlining the findings of the inspection which determined that the Young Farmer was not in financial control of the holdings, as required under the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme. The person named submitted comments...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards Inspections (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: Officials from the Veterinary Public Health Inspection Service of my Department carried out a follow up inspection at the pig-meat processing plant in question on August 1st2019. The purpose of the inspection included updating DAFM Management on on-going developments at the processing plant and also to facilitate further discussion on Third Country Market Access. During the inspection, a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Deer Culls (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: Over the last decade, available evidence suggests that the geographic distribution of all species of deer has increased, but neither the precise distribution nor the population density of these species is currently known. Deer appear to be a localised issue in many areas. In this context, there is a significant challenge in attempting to balance the demands of agriculture, forestry and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. These figures include direct payments to farmers under various schemes as well as grant funding to local authorities and other organisations on a range of measures. Please note that the bulk of payments are made late in each year, which is why the figure for 2019 appears low when compared to previous years. As regards...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Harbours and Piers Development (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: My Department owns, operates and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl under statute. In addition, my Department also has responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of North Harbour at Cape Clear, as well as the maintenance of a small number of specific piers, lights and beacons...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering Data (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: My Department collects data on slaughterings at approved slaughtering plants in accordance with the relevant price reporting regulations which are reported in aggregated format on the Department's website. The parameters for in-spec or QPS bonuses are derived from commercial agreements, which my Department has no role in developing or administering, and, therefore, this data is not monitored...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Expenditure (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The Department has spent €359,052 on the renewal of Lotus notes licences during the period 2009 to date in 2019. Based on current usage, the amount projected to be paid by the Department for the next 5 years is expected to be in the order of €243,000. These figures are inclusive of VAT.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Teagasc Courses (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The issue raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Teagasc who are responsible for the delivery and operation of the Green Cert course. Accordingly, the question has been forwarded to Teagasc who have been requested to respond directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Agencies Reports (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: Bord na gCon 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. Bord na gCon is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The release of the report referred to by the Deputy is a matter for Bord na gCon, and the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The 2017 Weather Related Crop Loss Support Measure was introduced in response to the period of protracted wet weather in September 2016. The measure provided financial assistance to farmers in approved cases as a contribution towards the direct losses arising from damage to certain eligible crops.The closing date for the scheme was 25 August 2017. A total of 167 applications for support were...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Licences (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: All applications for aquaculture licences are considered by my Department in accordance with the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act and (in the case of marine aquaculture) the 1933 Foreshore Act. The assessment process takes full account of all National and EU legislative requirements and reflects the full scientific, environmental, legal, public policy and engineering aspects...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The Agriculture Appeals Office operates independently of my Department. I have been advised by the Agriculture Appeals Office that a request was received on behalf of the person named for a review of the Appeals Officer's decision regarding his appeal. Following a comprehensive review of the case, a letter issued to the person named on 23 August 2019 advising of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Expenditure (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: Agri-environment policy is included in the CAP reform negotiations currently under way and any future schemes will be dependent on the outcome of these negotiations.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) opened in three tranches commencing in 2015. The scheme is fully subscribed with GLAS 3 participants in their third year of participation in the five-year GLAS scheme and the overall RDP budget on track to be fully spent. There are no further tranches of the scheme planned. All GLAS payment claims must pass a suite of checks before...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: TAMS Eligibility (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The TAMS II Scheme has been very successful in terms of uptake with the number of approvals that have issued to date exceeding 22,100. All of these approvals represent committed expenditure under the TAMS II measure of the Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020. Until such time as these approvals are acted upon or expire, the budget for TAMS must include provision for the potential...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Grants (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: A review of the Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020 was completed in February 2018 and, as part of this review, higher grant and premiums rates were introduced for broadleaf planting types. This has resulted in an increase in broadleaf planting from 21% of total planting in 2017 to 27% in 2018. Furthermore, the minimum mandatory requirement for broadleaf planting per afforestation site was...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Grants (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: The existing Reconstitution Scheme (Chalara Ash Dieback) is currently on hold pending a review. I expect to be announcing details of a revised scheme in the very near future. As part of the midterm review of the Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020, completed in February 2018, two new measures were introduced under the Woodland Improvement Scheme which are open to ash plantations. These...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Grants (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: A review of the Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020 was completed in February 2018. The review did not include the introduction of grants to support the purchase of specialised harvesting and processing equipment for small scale private forests for the remainder of the current forestry programme and I have no plans to introduce such grants at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forest Roads Scheme (6 Sep 2019)

Michael Creed: Primary responsibility for improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads rests with Local Authorities. State grants, mainly originating from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, are provided to supplement contributions by local authorities from their own resources. Therefore, the funding of public roads is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and...