Results 401-420 of 5,615 for speaker:Andrew Doyle

Other Questions: Potato Sector (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: The application that was submitted in March is being processed and, hopefully, it will get the necessary sanction as soon as possible with the conditions as outlined attached. This is why sprayer safety courses, of which several thousand have been undertaken, are so important. The crop which is sprayed with these products must be treated with respect while the products should avoid the...

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Administration (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I thank the Deputy. We soldiered together ten years on the committee. My Department has an excellent record in the delivery of high quality ICT systems.  In that respect, my Department is ahead of the rest of our European partners and are also highly regarded across the civil and public service.  We have been consistently among the first to make payments in the EU. The...

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Administration (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: This issue has been well-documented by the Deputy, his colleagues and others. Approximately 94% of applicants have been paid under GLAS. Documentation is awaited for 1,200 applications while another 1,400 are under review. The loading of information relating to the knowledge transfer scheme was not being accepted but that has been resolved and the deadline has been extended to 31 July. Of...

Other Questions: Live Exports (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I thank the Deputy for his kind words. My Department has a close working relationship with welfare charities on all aspects of animal welfare.  The Department has in the past met with the International Greyhound Forum, which includes members of Dogs Trust and the ISPCA, to discuss the issue of greyhound exports. Information received to date from my Department's local...

Other Questions: Live Exports (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I do not have the answer because I am substituting for the Minister today. The Deputy is right that 80% of the animals in the UK are exported from Ireland, so it would be helpful to have the level of information to which he refers. However, no more than anything else with Brexit, having control over the UK after its exit from the EU on the issue of further exports will be problematic if we...

Other Questions: Live Exports (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: Welfare is an integral part of the new greyhound legislation. The Bill the Deputy brought before the House is more comprehensive than ours. As Deputies Martin Kenny and Charlie McConalogue will be aware, the agriculture committee hopes to return the greyhound Bill after our consideration of it during pre-legislative scrutiny next Tuesday. We will be anxious to expedite the Bill. It will...

Other Questions: Potato Sector (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I thank the Deputy for her good wishes. All "copper compounds", including copper sulphate, used for crop protection purposes - predominantly organic production - were reviewed at EU level in 2009.  At that time, EU conditional approval was granted to "copper compounds" for a period of ten years.  It was then left up to member states to approve individual products...

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: The delivery of the commitment under the Programme for Government is progressing. The Deputy will be aware that the commitment is to review the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 “to ensure the independence and efficiency of the Office in dealing with appeals from farmers”. The appeals process is governed by the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001 and Agriculture Appeals Regulations...

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: It is not 60%, I think the statistic was 45% are refused, or disallowed, and 41% were allowed. Which is that 86% or the remainder are invalid or withdrawn. So it is a little less than 50% that are allowed.

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: Of the applications, but some applications are invalid or withdrawn. I do not want to pre-empt what the final review will say. The Deputy has made a specific point here that the personnel who occupy the appeals office should not be former staff. I am not sure that I would agree that is necessary that the entire appeals office should not have anyone with the experience. That is my opinion,...

Other Questions: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I said that the steering committee which is being established will include independent experts to guide the recommendations through. I am not sure if one of the things which has been fed-in has been along those lines but fundamentally it is about the independence of the office and using independent experts from outside of the Department's cohort, which reflects the Deputy's point. Hopefully...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: On the Deputy's final point, I should point out that as soon as David Cameron announced he was going to hold a referendum the Department put together a contingency team. Once the referendum vote had taken place the Department established a Brexit unit. It is managed by an assistant secretary general but is answerable at all times to the Secretary General. As I said, Brexit is a standing...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I fully recognise the potential difficulties that may arise in the agrifood and fisheries sectors from the Brexit vote.  These sectors are of critical importance to our economy given their regional spread and the fact that they underpin the socio-economic development of rural areas in particular.  I am determined to safeguard the interests of these vital sectors. My Department...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: It is easy to say that there are only six additional people in the Department and four additional in Bord Bia. Everybody in the Department is focused on Brexit. It is a standing item on our agenda. I am based on the fifth floor of the Department building along with people from various different sectors. Brexit is on everybody's agenda. There is a dedicated Brexit unit and a co-ordination...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: The Deputy is correct. Of all the sectors that one that is the most vulnerable, given the UK's opening position on Brexit, is the fishing sector. Ireland's position is quite clear; we want to maintain access to fishing grounds in the UK zone, in the Irish Sea, the Celtic Sea and north of Donegal and to protect our quota share for joint fishing stocks. That is our opening position. This...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Data (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: To be clear, the regulations do not allow payment to be issued until the scheme has been complied with. There is no flexibility to say we believe it will be complied with. We cannot do that. What we can do is ensure that when a problem is identified, the discrepancy is dealt with as quickly as possible. At times, it is a matter of waiting for the other side to respond. I am dealing with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I thank Deputy Penrose for his good wishes. I am extremely conscious of the importance of the CAP budget to Ireland's agriculture sector. The UK's withdrawal from the EU has been independently estimated to be likely to lead to a reduction of circa €10 billion, which will undoubtedly put pressure on the availability of funding for the future CAP. In the meantime, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: I can only agree with everything the Deputy has said. It is a huge challenge. It was going to be a challenge even if the UK had voted to stay because of the competing demands for the EU budget and because the perception of what CAP is about has been misconstrued and misunderstood for many years. It depends on the member state. During the last period of CAP negotiations, former...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: There is no doubt that we need allies. There will be trade-offs. The last CAP was concluded under the Irish Presidency and under the aegis of the former Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney. Much of the ground work was done with Commissioner Ciološ. It is important to build alliances and create understanding of what we are about. One statistic that...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Farm Household Incomes (22 Jun 2017)

Andrew Doyle: It was not today or yesterday when the priority for Bord Bia was set as aiming at the higher end of the market. There has been that realisation for a long time. Origin Green is based on the slogan of safe, sustainable and secure produce which has resonance throughout the globe. However, it is a competitive market. I remember my father buying shares in Cork Marts IMP, into which he put...