Results 4,961-4,980 of 24,195 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to inform the Deputy that currently there are 112 (or 2.8%) of my Department's staff absent on sick leave. Of these, four are absent citing stress. The number of staff who took stress or sick leave in each of the past five years and to date in 2023 is set out in the table below. Please note that the number of staff who took sick leave citing stress are included in the overall number of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Civil Service is committed to protecting dignity and respect across the organisation and my Department implements the Civil Service wide anti-bullying, harassment and sexual harassment policy ‘Dignity at Work’. I am satisfied that the policy is being implemented effectively throughout my Department. From time to time staff have raised a variety of issues regarding workplace...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to inform the Deputy that the number of staff of my Department who were dismissed in each of the past 10 years and to date, is set out in the table below. These figures also include staff who were dismissed during their probationary period. Year Number of Dismissals 2023 0 2022 0 2021 1 ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 is a commercial State Body responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The horse and greyhound racing industries receive financial support from the State through the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund (the Fund) as provided for under Section 12 of the Horse...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy will be aware that the BVD eradication programme is an industry-led programme managed by Animal Health Ireland (AHI) under the guidance of a stakeholder Implementation Group. I am aware of reports of recent cases in Limerick and Kerry and advise that these are BVD test positive cases and not reactors. My Department provides a variety of extensive supports to the programme. Among...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Due to the unavailability of the Irish authorised product Scabivax, an alternative product, Scabigard, has been licensed for import and use in Ireland through the Department’s Special Import Licensing (SIL) protocol in the last number of years. Currently shortages of this product are being experienced in the UK. This in turn has impacted supply to the Irish market. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Management arrangements for the State’s fisheries, including the Mackerel fishery, have been set and developed over many years since the commencement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the introduction of quotas. Pelagic stocks such as Mackerel are managed on an annual or seasonal basis with catch limits set based on allocation regimes developed over many years and related to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Management arrangements for the State’s fisheries, including the Mackerel fishery, have been set and developed over many years since the commencement of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the introduction of quotas. Pelagic stocks such as Mackerel are managed on an annual or seasonal basis with catch limits set based on allocation regimes developed over many years and related to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Supports (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I am committed to supporting the cohort of farmers known as the forgotten farmers. Many of these farmers have found themselves in this situation through no fault of their own. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has developed a preliminary outline of a proposal to provide support to the group of farmers commonly referred to as forgotten farmers. My Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Under its new forestry strategic vision, Coillte has stated its aim to grow 100,000 hectares of new forests by 2050. While operational matters, including the acquisition of land, are the responsibility of the company, this vision will be key in supporting the delivery of one-third of Ireland’s afforestation target and providing a carbon sink of 18 million tonnes of CO2. As you will...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Citizens' Assembly (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1153 and 1154 together. I note the report of the Citizen’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss published on 5thApril last and in particular, the recommendations in relation to Forestry. I commend the members of the Assembly on its work. In relation to recommendations 120, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies requires that Government...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I have referred the matter to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: I regard a viable sheep sector as an integral element of a balanced regional economy and I know that sheep farmers are committed to producing a world-class, safe and sustainable product. Although there has been a sustained increase in average sheep prices since the end of February, I recognise that sheep farmers are experiencing more difficult market conditions in 2023 compared to recent...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Supports (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: In 2021, I established the Seafood Task Force to examine the implications of Brexit and the Trade and Cooperation agreement for the seafood sector and coastal communities. The Task Force included representation from across the fishing and seafood sector. In its report of October 2021, the Task Force made a series of recommendations which formed the basis of schemes. Due to the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The forestry expenditure for the first quarter in each of the years from 2014 is shown in the table below. Forestry Expenditure 2014-2023 Quarter 1 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 41,658,489 43,928,764 42,402,772 44,255,403 44,003,982 ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine licences the felling of roundwood and the markets decide on the ultimate destination of material. The Central Statistics Office collates information on wood exports and imports and the latest figures available for 2021 estimate that 12,029 cubic metres were exported described as "wood fuel". A further 77,732 cubic metres were exported...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Land Issues (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and specifically the Site Designation Unit within National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS) are responsible for site designation and notification to the relevant stakeholders in terms of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA) and Natural Heritage Areas (NHA). There is no attachment between Payment...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: The recently published National Forest Inventory (NFI) shows that the national forest estate is still expanding and has now reached 11.6% of the total land area or 808,848 hectares (ha), with a wide variety of forest types present. When the total forest area is considered, the NFI shows that 128,527 ha have at least one of five designations for protected sites in Ireland. If reforestation and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: In December 2021, following scrutiny by the European Commission, the application for a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) for “Irish Grass Fed Beef” was published in the Official Journal of the European Union for a three month ‘opposition procedure’ which was open both to EU Member States and third countries. Following submission by the UK to the European...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (18 Apr 2023)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy may be aware, Geographical indications (GIs), Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGIs) are names identifying a product as originating in a given territory, and testifying to a link between a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the product and its geographical origin. A ‘geographical indication’ is a name,...