Results 3,881-3,900 of 14,473 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Applications for forestry licences are processed under a formal consent system and every application must be carefully assessed for its potential impact on the surrounding countryside and environment. The application for afforestation by the person named is near to some designated sites and potential impacts on those sites must be considered.  In this respect, the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Live Exports (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The export of animals is a critical part of Ireland’s livestock industry.  It plays a significant role in stimulating price competition and providing an alternative market outlet for farmers.  The Department facilitates this trade, recognising its critical importance to the agri-sector, while ensuring that live animal exports meet the highest welfare standards. The value of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Rural Development Programme (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Ireland’s Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 (RDP) represents a substantial investment, by both the EU and the National Exchequer, in the agri-food sector and in Irish farmers. The RDP is co-funded by the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD) to a sum of €2.19 billion over the programme lifespan. This EU funding is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: On the commencement of every Dáil, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issues guidelines setting out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices. The appointment of Special Advisers is subject to section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. The Guidelines for the 33rd Dáil, which incorporate the principles of section 11 of the Public...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 971 and 973 together. The EU regulations that govern the TAMS II Schemes under the Rural Development Programme, 2014-2020 dictate that the recipients must be farmers, or groups of farmers. Therefore, the Department is precluded from funding the purchase of LESS (Low Emission Slurry Spreading) equipment by contractors under TAMS II. The Department is,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The available budget for the LESS scheme for 2016 to 2020 is as outlined below. The average grant payment amount per application for LESS investments is €12,618.20. The breakdown by county of LESS payments for TAMS II is also outlined below. 2016: €2.600m 2017: €3.182m 2018: €3.853m 2019: €5.655m 2020: €8.400m TAMS II - Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The objective of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) is to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in EU Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1132.  BEAM is funded by a combination of EU aid and Exchequer support, provided in light of the difficult circumstances that Irish beef farmers have...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Environmental Policy (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The lead Department responsible for the implementation of the EU biodiversity strategy 2030 and the designation of lands is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.  I advise the Deputy to resubmit the question to that Department for answer.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sustainable Development Goals (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all countries of the United Nations, has seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is a whole-of-government response to the delivery of Ireland’s SDG commitments. My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment has lead responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The data requested will take some time to prepare and will be sent to the Deputy separately.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The Programme for Government makes a number of commitments for the forestry sector in Ireland. These include the alignment of the licensing and appeals processes with other similar processes, a commitment to implement the recommendations of the Mackinnon Review and to ensure the licensing system is sufficiently resourced to clear the existing backlog.  The Deputy will be...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The Celtic Sea Herring stock occurs to the south of Ireland. It is prosecuted by two fleets, the main fleet which operates across the Celtic Sea (primarily ICES division 7g) and the sentinel fleet comprising of vessels that are under 17 metres in length overall that operate in the Dunmore box (inshore waters in Dunmore East area). The ICES advice for 2020 was for zero catch. In...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Expenditure (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I wish to advise the Deputy that there are no records of any payments for services or goods being made by my Department to the company named since 2015.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Coillte is operationally independent of my Department and matters such as the administration of pensions are the responsibility of the company. I have therefore passed the question raised to Coillte for response and direct reply to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Inspections (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: My Department is the competent authority for the carrying out of official controls to verify that dairy farms are fully compliant with the EU Hygiene Package of legislation on the production, control and marketing of products of animal origin and animal health issues in relation to the production of, inter alia, dairy products. Official controls are carried out annually by my Department on a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Advertising (30 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The vast bulk of my Department's Communications Budget is spent on advertising in respect of press notices in the specialised farming press, provincial and national newspapers. The expenditure set out in the table below includes the publication of Statutory Notices that are required to comply with various national and EU legislative requirements. Decisions on the placement...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Forestry Sector (29 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this very important issue. Many Members of both Houses have been raising it with me. Along with the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, who has direct responsibility for forestry, I brought a memo to Government earlier this week proposing a number of initiatives for the forestry sector with a particular emphasis on licensing issues. These initiatives...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Forestry Sector (29 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I thank the Deputy once again for his suggestions. I am happy to confirm to him that we are in the process of appointing ecologists and we will have a number of new ecologists in place in the Department by the end of the month. We have a detailed project plan in place for dealing with the backlog and new applications which includes significant extra resources. As I said, these will include...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (29 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Veterinary Inspectors and Technical Agricultural Officers of my Department around the country are tasked with striving to ensure that animals are being farmed ethically, developing initiatives aimed at cultivating best practice, particularly in relation to animal health and welfare, and conducting disease control related inspections at farm level under Animal Health and Welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticulture Sector (29 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The extent of any commercial impact on the horticulture sector arising from a decision by Bord na Mona to suspend all peat harvesting will depend initially on the level of domestic stocks of horticultural peat on hand, alternative suppliers of peat and the development of alternative growing mediums. My Department is participating in a cross-departmental working group led by the...