Results 3,541-3,560 of 24,195 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am very aware of the contribution of the poultry production sector to Irish agri-food as a whole, supporting significant levels of direct employment as well as their role in supporting rural economies and the wider national economy. Poultrymeat, which is a high protein food source, has seen an increase in demand in recent years. Alongside this increased demand, prices have also risen....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Supports (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Irish tillage sector is an important and integral component of the Agri-Food industry which I have strongly supported in recent years. I doubled the annual budget for the Protein Aid Scheme from €3 to €7 million. The Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM) has paid €19.5 million to tillage farmers since it was launched as a pilot in 2021. I announced €7...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Action Plan (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has several policies and strategies in place to ensure agriculture plays its role in meeting the national climate targets by 2030 and 2050, while continuing to sustainably produce food and feed. The Food Vision 2030 Strategy sets out a pathway for Ireland to become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade. My...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Supports (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The safety, health and wellbeing of farmers is a priority for this Government. This year, dedicated funding of €2.5m was allocated for a range of initiatives that included supports to promote increased awareness of mental health and wellbeing among farmers. My Department, with the HSE and the Department of Health, is co-funding the ‘On Feirm Ground’ programme which equips...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am confident that the outlook for the Irish dairy industry remains very positive. The Irish dairy industry is one of our largest and most profitable industries. Our livestock farmers and the dairy sector is already very sustainable but it is my aim to build a stronger and more sustainable future for farmers and the subsequent generations of farmers. One of the standout aspects of Food...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Industry (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Under EU food hygiene regulations, Food Business Operators have the primary responsibility for producing safe food. Officers from my Department conduct a comprehensive range of systematic and risk-based inspections and audits to verify that food businesses approved by my Department are operating in compliance with EU and national food hygiene regulations and that the food that they...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am pleased to advise that following on from recent State Aid approval from the European Commission, the Government adopted the Forestry Programme 2023-2027 on 6 September and the new Afforestation Scheme launched on the same day. This is a significant milestone for forestry that will allow for the expansion, protection and development of Ireland’s forests and forestry sector. An...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Flood Risk Management (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: It has to be acknowledged that soil drainage poses particular challenges in Ireland. There is a great variety of soils and soil problems which means that every drainage challenge on soils is unique. My Department understands that drainage and drain maintenance may be required on farms. However my Department advises that farmers considering drainage or drain maintenance should firstly conduct...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Flood Risk Management (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department recognises the impact that climate change is causing to the everyday activities of farmers in Ireland. Adaptation to climate change is a priority for my Department and key actions are set out in the Agriculture, Forest and Seafood Sectoral Adaptation Plan published in September 2019. This Adaptation Plan is about preparing our systems to deal with the inevitable changes in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (26 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Food Vision 2030 sets out a clear ambition to grow the value of Irish exports over the next ten years. This ambition will be realised by implementing actions that are focused on market diversification as well as investment in innovation at producer and processor level, which will drive the competitiveness of Ireland's agri-food offering on Irish and international markets. In 2022 exports...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank members for opportunity to present the sustainability impact assessment of fishing opportunities for 2024 to this committee. I am joined by Mr. Dominic Rihan from Bord Iascaigh Mhara, BIM, Ms Sinéad McSherry, assistant secretary, Ms Anna O'Sullivan, principal officer, and Mr. Ciaran Kelly from the Marine Institute. The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union has led to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: My key objective, and what I work for all the time, is to support the fishing sector and fishers in every way I can, particularly when it comes to negotiations to try to get the best possible outcome for fishing allocations year to year. Obviously, as the Deputy outlined, Brexit has had a very significant impact on our fleet and other fleets across Europe but Ireland suffered more of an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. On trying to get a strong outcome when it comes to the total fish that we can catch, there are an important couple of months coming up. I take the point made by the Deputy about the challenges around fuel. We are seeing that across the wider society and it particularly has an impact on the fishing sector. The fishing sector differs from most other sectors of the economy in that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Every day, in working on behalf of the sector, it is my objective to support it in every way possible. That is what I have been doing and is what I will be doing over the next two months with regard to fishing allocations and maximising fish quotas for next year. The Deputy mentioned the Act, which I mentioned before, and how the Minister provides general policy guidance to the SFPA but...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I take the Deputy’s point on the 100 m trawlers off the west coast. I do not like the sight of either but it is within the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Common Fisheries Policy is not based on the size on the boat but on restricting the amount of fish any country can catch. We talked about the SFPA earlier and other countries also have their oversight and enforcement...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I will look at it across. Last year and the year before I did do the inshore schemes where smaller boats got €2,500 and large boats got €5,500. I was very conscious of the fuel impact in putting that in place too. On the budget for next year, over the past two years, we know Brexit has had a real impact. It was a very unfortunate thing which we all worked hard to avoid....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Senator O'Donovan. I will go back over the key points raised. In regard to the decommissioning scheme, he questioned why it is so complex. It has to operate within the wider Common Fisheries Policy and adhere to the rules in terms of how decommissioning schemes can happen in any one country. It has to be compliant with that in order to meet state aid rules in regard to making...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Dr. Kelly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Mythen for his contributions and perspective. I agree with him about coastal states. It is very difficult to force people to act responsibly when we do not have control over them. Within the European Union all member states take a responsible approach. We have seen the maximum sustainable yield of a number of fish increase significantly in recent years, and that process...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (25 Oct 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: There are restrictions within the Common Fisheries Policy on the amount of fish that can be caught by any one boat. They are based on a boat’s quota, not its size. There are also rules and regulations about the types of net and the fishing equivalents that can be used to do that fishing. Those rules and regulations can be altered to take steps that respect the sustainability and...