Results 3,141-3,160 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (14 May 2019)

Michael Creed: The person named submitted a 2018 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint schemes application on 14thMay 2018. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases remote sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The application of the person named was selected for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Live Exports (14 May 2019)

Michael Creed: I condemn in the strongest terms the ill treatment of calves highlighted in the video referred to. I am aware that an individual has been questioned in relation to the incident and that French authorities will decide how to prosecute the case in the coming weeks. In relation to the export of live animals, Ireland applies strict controls in relation to welfare of animals including during...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (14 May 2019)

Michael Creed: The vast bulk of my Department's advertising is in respect of press notices in the specialised farming press, provincial and national newspapers. This expenditure includes the publication of Statutory Notices that are required to comply with various national and EU legislative requirements. Decisions on the placement of notices are made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Beef Industry (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: As the Deputy will be aware, in accordance with competition law, neither I nor my Department has a role in determining market prices for any commodity and I cannot intervene in this particular process. The agrifood sector is of critical importance to the economy and its regional spread means it underpins the socio-economic development of rural areas in particular. Brexit has the potential...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Beef Industry (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: The functioning of the beef forum is contingent on all of the stakeholders participating in it but the latest meeting that we held saw the withdrawal of all of the farming organisations. If we are to meet the challenges facing the sector we must sit down together and work collaboratively on that endeavour. I cannot force people to attend meetings and while the forum cannot address issues...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Beef Industry (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: It is untrue that there have not been any achievements through the beef forum. One achievement is the application on beef prices which is now regularly used by farmers to find out the price being quoted on a daily basis by all of the beef processing plants. There is more work to be done and some of that work involves stakeholder engagement on price transparency issues. I know that Bord Bia...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Beef Environmental Efficiency Scheme Pilot (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: In January of this year, I launched the BEEP scheme with a funding provision of €20 million in 2019.  BEEP targets the weaning efficiency of suckler cows and calves by measuring the live weight of the calf pre-weaning as a percentage of the cow's live weight. BEEP was announced in budget 2019 as part of the €78 million Brexit package for the agrifood industry. As well as...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Beef Environmental Efficiency Scheme Pilot (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: On the most important element, payments are scheduled for early December. 12 o’clock The data that will be collected will be very useful to the ICBF, as it will complement the BDGP, which is part of the endeavour to improve the genetic merit of our beef herd, thereby driving down its carbon footprint and helping the Department fulfil its climate change obligations. Apart from the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: In terms of market access, we are dealing with the competent authorities of other jurisdictions who see their function as being to make sure that they are protecting their consumers in terms of the quality of the product. If it was a case of meeting a universal standard, I have no doubt we would meet it. No individual country is going to cede its sovereignty in that area, so we have to work...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: As the Deputy will be aware, detailed debate was held around the issue of hunting during the passage of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 and the Dáil voted overwhelmingly to allow the continuation of fox hunting in accordance with an appropriate code of conduct. The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 specifically prohibits the hunting of animals which have been released in an...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: I met one of my constituents who had this experience and I accept that it was a traumatic incident. On foot of that and indeed other incidents which had a media profile and perhaps others that did not have the same profile but occurred, we engaged with the HAI to ensure that this never happens again. I was satisfied from the engagement that there was a commitment that steps would be taken...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Animal Welfare (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: Anybody who breaks the law should face the rigours of the law. Our 2013 legislation is considered to be best practice. The Deputy refers to another jurisdiction that has travelled a different road. It is considering our legislation. The current minister responsible there referred to his proposal to update that jurisdiction's legislation, which I believe was the same as the legislation...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: Farmers being rewarded for that is a critical issue. The big challenge in the current CAP is that the proposals as they stand see a significant cut in the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy. We can have all the ambition we want but if we do not have a budget to implement it, it will be for naught. Much of our endeavour has been about the political manoeuvres required to see that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: We will go out to public consultation on all of these issues again later this year. The views of farmers on simplification and having less bureaucracy will be a critical part. That message is coming from the Commission too. We are already acting on matters such as improving the genetic merit of the herd, which reduces its carbon footprint, and on slurry management and low emission slurry...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: The pursuit and development of new markets for Irish agrifood exports is an ongoing and central component of the strategic development of the agrifood sector as set out in Food Wise 2025 and is of particular relevance given the need to diversify our markets and to reduce our exposure to the United Kingdom market in light of Brexit. Over the last number of budgets, I have...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: I am not sure that we should be in a headlong rush, although I know the Deputy is not suggesting this, out of existing traditional and high-paying markets, with the UK being the obvious example, since it is probably the best-paying market for beef in the European Union, if not in the world. We have significant market exposure there. I am not sure that we should be rushing headlong out of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: I am acutely aware of the latter point and appreciate the difficulties to which that has given rise. The Deputy and I have engaged on that issue. Those difficulties were hard to avoid because, as the Deputy alluded to, more than 60% of mackerel, the most valuable stock in our pelagic sector, is landed from UK waters. The fear of a crash-out by the end of March drove the industry,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: In direct engagement with the Commissioner and the lead negotiator, Mr. Michel Barnier, and indeed in negotiations that we facilitated between the industry and Mr. Barnier, we are satisfied that the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration ensure that the link is there between trade generally and the fishing industry. We will not find ourselves in a situation where fisheries is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: The CAP post-2020 legislative proposals were published by Commissioner Hogan on 1 June 2018. Since then, intensive discussions have taken place. A significant number of working group meetings have been held under both the Austrian and Romanian presidencies. The proposals have also been discussed extensively at the Special Committee for Agriculture meetings and have been a standing agenda...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Brexit Preparations (9 May 2019)

Michael Creed: There is no doubt about that level of awareness in the European Union. One of the Brexit strategies we deployed was increasing awareness of our unique exposure to the UK market and this is clearly understood. There is less understanding of the immediate difficulties we face because Brexit has not happened yet and the consequences cannot be felt. However, the reality is there is a market...