Results 17,661-17,680 of 21,588 for speaker:Denis Naughten

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I thank the Deputy. I do not know who wants to kick off there. I ask Mr. Saunders to keep his replies brief in order to allow members to come back in.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: Deputy Ó Cuív definitely deserves one-to-one attention. We might start with Mr. Saunders and then go to Ms O'Brien.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: Would Mr. Saunders like to kick off there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I have a few brief questions. If others member wishes to come in with a supplementary question, I ask them to raise their hands. I want to touch on two points in the presentation. The first relates to this digital inclusion fund. Ms O'Brien has frequently come back to this point during her contribution. It is imperative that such a fund is established. This issue has been brought to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: Ms O'Brien seems to be champing at the bit so I will let her in first.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I will ask the witnesses if they want to make a final comment. Picking up on Senator Murphy's contribution, he is right that we need to address a particular cohort of people for whom, for different reasons, technology is not suitable. We also need to be honest and open-minded. Older people are far more open to change and using technology than any of us could have contemplated in the past....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions and Considerations (Resumed): Irish Local Development Network (19 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I thank Mr. Saunders and Ms O'Brien for their contributions this morning. Senator Murphy summed it up well when he said it was a really interesting engagement. It was also very useful for members as we formulate our proposals for budget 2022. I thank the witnesses on behalf of the local development companies across the country. Their input will be of enormous benefit to the committee in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: 4. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sources and value of funding for the results-based environmental agri pilot project; if he will review the number of participants in view of the level of demand for participation under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27253/21]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: There have been five applications for every place on the pilot environmental scheme, even with restricted access to it and the poor financial return. It clearly shows the demand from farmers for more sustainable farming models. However, this must pay farmers directly for carbon reductions.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I would have liked if the Minister had responded to my original question. He might come back to me in the supplementary to explain the exact sources of funding for the €10 million set out initially. The previous budget had allocated €3 million directly from the Minister for Finance. That leaves a balance of €7 million that has to be funded. If the Minister is going...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: This pilot scheme is one of the key initiatives in the Department for 2021. We have a greening of government which I welcome. This is a key strand of that with both the initial pilot and the further expansion of it. In the programme for Government, a clear indication is given that part of the carbon tax fund will go directly to Irish farmers. I asked the Minister in written and oral...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: The Minister never answered the question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: We have new legislation and more staff across the board in the Department dealing with this. After four months of this year, we are only marginally ahead of the number of licences issued over the same period last year. We have looked for a timeline to clear the backlog. Has the Minister of State a reply to that?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Bodies (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: 9. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress to date of the beef task force; the timeline for the completion of commitments given to the task force; the steps he is taking to implement the measures proposed by this Deputy and unanimously adopted by Dáil Éireann on 26 September 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26493/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Bodies (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: Irish beef promotion and sales are about volume and not value, which sees everyone except the farmer getting a margin. Technology has the potential to disrupt this model to the direct benefit of suckler farmers. Blockchain technology in the beef industry is tomorrow's offal. Whomever controls the blockchain controls the sector. This must be publically-owned and controlled and not let fall...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Bodies (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: I welcome the Minister's comments about the blockchain. This is one of the issues the task force was to examine. However, to be quite honest, I have lost confidence in the task force as a result of the decision that was made with protected geographical indication, PGI, but there is an opportunity for everyone to redeem themselves with blockchain. To give the Minister an example, the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Bodies (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: In response the Minister can update me on where the task force is at at the moment and its current work programme. I will leave him with a final point about blockchain. Blockchain has the potential to benefit everyone in the beef sector in this country, from farmers, right through to the middlemen, the processors and those who are selling it directly as an end product. It has the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: 21. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the sources of funding of the Results-Based Environment-Agri Pilot Project; if he will review the payment rates for the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26494/21]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Denis Naughten: 32. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to review the current regulations for mechanical grading in beef factories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26491/21]