Results 17,701-17,720 of 24,010 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Funchion for her question. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was involved with other public sector bodies in an investigation of animal health and environmental concerns on the farm of the person to whom the Deputy has referred and has provided details. I am aware of the case of the person the Deputy has referred to and I understand the burden the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Funchion. The reason I outlined the background to the case and the various assessments and investigations which took place was to outline that this is something that has been looked at in great detail. The investigations through the inter-agency group were completed as far back as 2010. This has been an issue and has been under consideration for a long time now, a very...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I have outlined the comprehensive assessments, investigations and work that was undertaken by the inter-agency group, which completed its work and published its report in 2010. I welcome the fact that the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine considered the issue recently and, following that, l am interested in hearing the views and perspective of the committee on the hearing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Safety (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this important matter. He is aware that it is an area on which the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Heydon, has done significant work since his appointment two years ago. Farm safety is a major issue and farming continues to be the most dangerous occupation in terms of fatalities in the workplace. Fatal incidents on farms account for just over two in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Safety (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: We will keep working on this. Under the suite of TAMS measures, grant aid has been provided for a wide range of farm safety-related investments, with health and safety guidelines included in all building specifications. This is an important step in supported on-farm investments. With the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, I will be increasing the rate of grant aid for farm safety-related...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I am acutely aware of the impact rising input costs has on farmers, their families and businesses. This is a period of exceptional challenge and uncertainty for our farm families and I have been working to support them through this period. The rise in feed and fertiliser prices in the last year has been significant. There are a number of factors at play in the market, including energy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: We are closely monitoring this matter. My Department, working closely with Teagasc, is assessing the impact of costs on farm incomes. That is why I stepped forward with the fodder support this year to which farmers have responded very strongly. It is also why I brought forward the payment for next year to enable farmers to plan ahead and equip them with additional funds to purchase...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: To respond to Deputy McNamara’s question, I have been advocating for the anti-dumping tariff to be removed. That has not happened at EU level. It is a small proportion of the very high cost of fertiliser at the moment but it would have been a help nonetheless. I am disappointed that did not progress at EU level. I know Kildare, where Deputy Durkan comes from, has a great tillage...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy will be absolutely delighted because this is a big priority for the Government. He will warmly welcome how the Government is delivering on this and many other issues. Solar has considerable potential. We want to back farm families in developing it, availing of it and benefiting from it. To encourage on-farm renewable technology uptake and usage, grant aid is provided through...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Subject to getting approval from the EU Commission, the new TAMS will be kicking off next January. A significant thing I am doing to drive uptake among farm families is providing a separate €90,000 allocation under TAMS specifically for solar. It is separate from the €90,000 allocation for other on-farm investments. There has been a bit of a drag regarding the uptake of solar...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: It is hard to know the numbers but everybody should be considering solar. I want everybody to do so. With regard to microgeneration, I am engaging with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on his plans to develop a feed-in tariff, separate from TAMS, that farmers will be able to use to generate more solar energy – for example, by having...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy will be as well aware as I am that we have had a massive cultural challenge over the years around women not being treated equally with men when it comes to farm inheritance because of cultural perceptions. It has been the case for too long that a son or nephew is often preferred over a niece or daughter regardless of interest levels. This has led to a situation where only 13% of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: If Deputy McNamara has any more ideas about what we can implement, the Ministers of State, Senator Hackett and Deputy Heydon, and I are very open to them. We want to change things to see more women coming into farming. We want to support it. This is why we are pushing the barriers out, getting the message out there strongly, and actually doing it in terms of supports. If there is anything...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Of course, the first female Minister. It is great to be serving alongside the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, as the first female Minister of State in this role at Cabinet level. We have appointed the former Minister, Mary Coughlan, to chair the dialogue on women in agriculture, which will take place on St. Brigid's Day, 1 February. This will bring together all stakeholders and farm...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (6 Dec 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: Agriculture Schemes (6 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the agri-environment climate measure under Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027.   There are two approaches available to farmers under ACRES, namely the ACRES General approach or the ACRES Co-operation approach depending on the location of their holding, with the eligibility for each outlined in the Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Applications under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) are completed online via agfood.ie. The online application facility takes in approx. 130,000 applications annually. Eligible applications are processed promptly for payment.  The application facility opens mid-February annually and closes mid-May. BPS payments begin each year with an advance payment mid-October and a balancing payment...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Please see information requested by the Deputy in the tables below for the ANC scheme years 2020, 2021 and 2022, which covers the period since the formation of the current government.  Scheme year payments provided are payments to date for each year.  Note that balancing payments for 2022 commenced on 5th December 2022 and payments will continue to be made into 2023 because some...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy may be aware that last January I announced the roll-out of the €35m Brexit Adjustment: Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Scheme 2022-2023. The BALAMI Scheme was one of the recommendations of the Seafood Sector Taskforce which I established following Brexit.  This scheme is proposed to be funded in the main from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR). In April this...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (6 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) is the agri-environment climate measure in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023 – 2027. It is the successor to the Green Low Carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) which was available under Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014-2020. ACRES is a voluntary scheme whereby farmers, when approved into the Scheme, will...