Results 3,301-3,320 of 8,023 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Has any study been done on the GLAS scheme, now rolled over, where the wild bird cover is sown every year? Has that helped the situation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I know a few people who have gone into the results-based environmental agri pilot, REAP. In fairness, it has an option of cutting the meadow from the middle out when cutting the silage, hay or whatever. It is at a later date in July.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I presume BirdWatch Ireland welcomes its inclusion in REAP.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will turn to organics. There is a problem. Ms Duggan spoke of 20,000 ha of trees every year. Being realistic, we are allowed plant 4,500, is it, or was it 2,500 trees per ha last year? We should take an holistic view of this. There is an opportunity which I have spoken of many times. Just think that there are 130,000 farmers in Ireland. Each single farm payment application is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: But it is a minimum to qualify.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: And then you have to do your eco-scheme after that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On the forestry question, there is a win to be had there. I think the target in the climate action plan is 8,000 ha per year. I laid out some figures earlier and have spoken to several Ministers about this previously. If there are 130,000 farmers and they get 1,000 trees planted over the next few years under the next CAP, that equates to something like 45,000 to 55,000 ha. If the target...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What Mr. Kelly mentioned is worth noting. He is correct in what he says about the Burren project and that has been very successful. However, at the beginning of that, it was not working with the farmers but talking to them. When the farmers took it by the scruff of the neck, it was they who made a success of the project and not the experts. The farmers in the Burren should take a salute...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hedgerows, Carbon and Biodiversity: Hedgerows Ireland (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Can I put something to Ms Clerkin, as somebody who comes from a place where there is a lot of blackthorn? The old generation has a saying, which Ms Clerkin might never have heard and is not meant in any wrong way, which is called breasting the hedge. Is that a solution to gapping?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hedgerows, Carbon and Biodiversity: Hedgerows Ireland (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Ms O'Sullivan talked about the LiDAR system and statistics. What was the area of hedgerows counted when using the LiDAR system?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hedgerows, Carbon and Biodiversity: Hedgerows Ireland (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: They are symptoms of importing other trees.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Draft Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2023-2027: Discussion (9 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: He was biting into the ditch and getting rid of the bees.

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 805. To ask the Minister for Health if the €1,000 pandemic bonus will be paid to healthcare assistants who are employed by private providers but who work in the homes of HSE clients as part of a home care package; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6741/22]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (8 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 811. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date the current senior inspector in the Forestry Service secured employment with his Department; the date that they were appointed to their current role; the responsibilities attached to that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5862/22]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (8 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 812. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the date the head of the environment section within the Forestry Service secured employment with his Department; the date they were appointed to their current role; the responsibilities attached to that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5863/22]

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the Minister for coming in. Similar to the Chair, I welcome the common sense being brought to bear on this issue and the Minister's intervention. I note the allocation for administration has increased by between 25% and 30%. Will the Minister explain that?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Administration non-pay costs increased by 43%. That is the figure I am trying to fathom. It is in table 4 of programme B.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am looking at the overall budgets and farmer participation numbers. Is it not regrettable that there were nearly 49,000 farmers in GLAS in 2020 but that we will now see about 41,650, which will be, to put it simply, 8,000 fewer farmers in an environmental scheme?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Where is the opportunity to avail of the scheme, though? How would someone who came out of GLAS last year get into a new scheme for 2022?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (Revised) (2 Feb 2022)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What is the reason we have 7,000 fewer farmers participating?