Results 3,201-3,220 of 8,984 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Reports on EU Support for Young Farmers and the Rural Affairs Programme: European Court of Auditors (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I apologise for having missed the presentation earlier. I have seen a copy of it. Deputy McConalogue touched on the issue of Leader funding. We were very proud of the previous model we had in Ireland in that it was rooted in communities, which is a big issue, as the witnesses know, in that it is desirable that European programmes be bottom-up rather than top-down and that the community...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Reports on EU Support for Young Farmers and the Rural Affairs Programme: European Court of Auditors (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: If Mr. Cardiff does not mind my asking, why not? This is the rural development programme. That is one of the core programmes in rural Ireland. Is it because it was lost in the wider European research the ECA was doing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Reports on EU Support for Young Farmers and the Rural Affairs Programme: European Court of Auditors (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I ask that someone in the European Commission look at what the Leader programme in Ireland was and what has happened to it. Mr. Cardiff has a long history of public service in this State so he will be familiar with the previous Leader programme. I ask that someone in the European Commission in some way examine what was in place in Ireland and what is there now. It was held up as the poster boy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Reports on EU Support for Young Farmers and the Rural Affairs Programme: European Court of Auditors (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is fair enough.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Special Reports on EU Support for Young Farmers and the Rural Affairs Programme: European Court of Auditors (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is a fair point.

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is interesting that Senator Mulherin is lecturing Sinn Féin on patriotism. We could talk about Fine Gael MEPs and their support for the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and Mercosur, which was going to flood European markets with beef and competing products without any of the standards that are demanded of the...

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Earlier today there was a joint meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Joint Committee on Rural and Community Development. A presentation was made by the European Court of Auditors. The revelations were stark in terms of what has happened to family farms in Ireland and throughout Europe. Some 1,000 farms are closing every day throughout the European...

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: We need a fair price for farmers. We need to confront the big business market interests that are destroying family farms. We need honesty on these issues and to make sure the CAP will look to reverse the horrendous trend of driving young and small farmers from the land and moving towards corporations. We have talked about the issue for years. We action and delivery.

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: While applying the same environmental standards.

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Some trade agreements are good, some are bad.

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: No; bad agreements are.

Seanad: Agricultural Issues: Statements (24 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister is misrepresenting it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: To return to Origin Green, I have been conducting some research into the organic models emerging in the United States and which have been in place for quite a while in the Basque country. They are co-operative models in which the size of a herd for particular farmers has to be below 100 head. In terms of animal welfare and achieving sustainability and strong environmental standards, there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I have referred to organic farming and the need for change and for us to look at how we can make the typical Irish family farm sustainable. Farmers often say to me that it is a niche market and too limited. It has not been accepted that if people want to have sustainable farming and rural communities, they will have to pay a little more than they are for a range of produce. I want to get a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: May I ask a supplementary question on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Obviously this committee has done extensive work on the issue and has published a report. We have repeatedly said that the loss of the all-Ireland market would be devastating for agrifood. Obviously it is not just the all-Ireland market, but also access to the British market. Has there been any attempt to improve the all-Ireland nature of what Bord Bia is doing to work in co-operation with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I did not ask that question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Ms McCarthy has clearly understood what I said. I am saying that the Government, this committee and many others have articulated a desire to protect the all-island agrifood sector. I am saying that the way Bord Bia carries out its work contradicts the stated Government policy. I mean that there is not an all-Ireland approach. Has Bord Bia adopted an all-Ireland approach in other sectors...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Roles, Responsibilities and Key Programmes of Bord Bia: Discussion (23 Jan 2018)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: With respect, there is a huge difference between the North of Ireland and Brittany or Wales. We talk the language of no barriers and no border. Frankly, Ms McCarthy is talking the language of barriers and borders when she compares the North of Ireland with France or Wales. Today, we are here to talk about the island of Ireland and working together to break down barriers to trade using an...