Results 401-420 of 7,773 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It was peer-reviewed in journals.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I might come back on the plants. Does the EPA know the cubic metres coming in and going out for every plant?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am just looking at the witnesses' graphs. What does the second one mean?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On dredging, when grass and drains are blocked up and are blocking water and they are cleaned out, the water gets discoloured and dirty. Once they clean out, however, it is perfectly clear water. Are the witnesses saying that cleaning drains is a bad thing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: When it is being taken up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Generally, when a small drain is being cleaned, you bring a bale of straw to put in to make sure that everything is soaked and it purifies in a way that will not damage the waters downstream. Would that be fair to say?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I have another question relating to something the witnesses would have been involved in. At present, we are hearing about Ireland needing to meet targets such as planting another 500,000 ha of trees. That is written in every document I read. It will cause chaos on our water quality if it is the case that forestry is the third biggest contributor to nitrates. It is one thing pushing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: To be honest about it, though, and not being smart, there will be a drain or a river near any bit of forest planted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I come from a farming background. No matter where you go now in Ireland, there is nowhere that planting trees will not result in run-off down to some drain or river. When people planted forestry one time, they did the mounding and there was a system where it took out all the material. It is delusional to think we are going to sow 500,000 ha of trees and still get better water quality. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What length is a stretch?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The water framework directive was mentioned. In Europe, we are on the higher scale for having good quality water compared with some countries. Is this correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The EPA has been a while on the go looking up water. A directive is a directive, but you can dream a dream and then you can have realism. Will we ever get to 100%? Being realistic, will this ever happen, be it in Ireland or in any other country in Europe? Have we brought in a directive that, to be honest, if 2027 is basically the date that people are on about for Europe, I am not saying...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Has the threshold not risen?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The threshold has never risen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Fair enough. I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Are there other models?

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Forms (9 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 215. To ask the Minister for Finance when the current issues being experienced when submitting form 11 will be resolved, that has been ongoing from 16 June 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29830/24]

Report of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Motion (4 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Excuse me, but I believe I have eight minutes. I commend Deputy Cahill, the Chair of our committee. He has sunk his teeth into this. As Deputy Harkin said, Deputy Carthy is from Monaghan. I am from Roscommon-Galway. Dan Brennan does not live in our area. Deputy Cahill is from Tipperary. When Dan Brennan appeared before our committee, we knew that somebody does not keep something...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (4 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 397. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when information as discussed by the Joint Committee on Agriculture Food and the Marine held on 25 January 2023 on inventory of the quantity and quality of what Coillte has in stock in its 40-year cycle will be forthcoming as previously requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28721/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses for coming in. Mr. Gleeson talks about 173,000 in employment. What was the overall number involved in agriculture 20 years ago?