Results 1,861-1,880 of 3,652 for speaker:Michael Collins

Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have concerns. I am hopeful that the Government will accept the amendments in relation to the designation of land. I come from a constituency, and a parish as a matter of fact, where the designation of land is common. People can work with it as long as there is decent compensation to the landowner, because in most cases this designation can result in the land being deemed unused as such....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister for being with us today. I have a number of questions for the Minister in relation to the crisis we have right now in fishing, with the weighing situation. Fishermen have contacted me from south-west Cork and from along the coastline, all the way to Donegal. Representatives of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, appeared before the committee on 20 April. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister, and I respect that, but is he saying he was made aware of this before Christmas? The fishing industry was not made aware this until 4 p.m. on 16 April 2021. Why was there not some work done between Christmas and April, before it was announced and before industry was told of the changes? What happened in those four months? We are in a situation where it was two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have two minor questions because I know other members would like to get in. The Taoiseach signed a statutory instrument while acting as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, during a very short period of time. The statutory instrument brought in penalty points. Can the Minister sign a statutory instrument bringing us back to the situation we were in in relation to the weighing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister. I am still mystified by the fact the Minister knew before Christmas that this was happening and nothing happened, as far as we can see, until 16 April and nobody was consulted. I find that very hard to believe. I do not understand what went wrong there but other members can ask that question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have a few more questions I want to ask the Minister. I have listened closely for the past hour and a half, or however long it has been. There is an awful lot of talk that the SFPA is to blame, that the task force is to blame, that the task force going to work on this, or that the SFPA will bring things forward. Nobody is making decisions. As I have said, it now looks as though...

Affordable Housing: Motion [Private Members] (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: We have been talking about housing since I got here in 2016. Unfortunately, we have gone from one housing crisis to another. I know now why there is a crisis in housing. It is because of the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parties. They are backed up now by their buddies in the Greens. They are the cause of the problem and the nightmare. Young people in rural Ireland want to build on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: First, I am involved in farming, but it is only the wrap bales I am involved with - the smaller cycle of work. I thank Mr. Fitzgerald for appearing before the committee. It has been three years since concerns of a critical nature that there was going to be a problem down the road were highlighted. There have been a few Ministers in that time, and some of them went as far as saying that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have one further issue. How can the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, who is the leader of the Green Party, support and protect a company that is in receipt of 100% of the levy while only having to reach a collection target of 70%? The Minister admitted that it did not even reach that target in an email dated 22 September 2020. It should be noted that these targets...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Chair and the Deputy. I welcome the witnesses. I have a number of questions. Who are the beneficial owners of the IFFPG?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: The Irish Farmers' Association, that is okay. How much moneys were received in the form of the levy? I think Mr. Moloney said €3.3 million, but he might correct me if I am wrong. How much did bring centres generate on, say, an annual basis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Right. Mr. Moloney said the farmyard collections generate €1.6 million, is that right?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: That is okay, I thank Mr. Moloney. How much did sale of product to end recyclers generate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Since the introduction of gate fees, how much do these cost?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Why did IFFPG not operate the tried and tested REPAK model where significant subsidies were passed directly back to the recyclers? If that had happened, the industry would be self-sufficient in terms of recycling.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Earlier, we spoke about 70% of the levy along with the other income sources. When costs increase, so does the levy. Therefore, the annual excess of 30% of the levy should be available in its entirety for each year. If it is not available, where is it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: It would be a great relief to farmers if that were to happen. Was the 30% used to subsidise cost-cutting in order to try to eliminate independent contractors in the way of fees to KPMG and other companies that are administering the tender applications?

Water and Wastewater Treatment Services: Motion [Private Members] (19 May 2021)

Michael Collins: First, I thank the Regional Group for tabling this important motion. It states that 35 towns and villages across the State continue to discharge raw sewage into nearby waters, according to a recent EPA report. That figure is far lower than I expected because many towns in my constituency of Cork South-West are suffering that sad fate. Obviously, the politicians on the ground, be they...

Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister of State for bringing this Bill before us today. It has been a long time in the offing. There was a lot of discussion on this issue with the previous Government since I was elected in 2016 but it led to little or nothing. Perhaps there was some work going on behind the scenes but it was certainly not being addressed in the manner in which it should have been, so we...