Results 5,461-5,480 of 24,092 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: A significant amount of organic soils in Ireland were afforested during the second half of the 20thcentury. These areas were initially planted to create rural employment at a time when the importance of other functions, such as carbon storage, was not well understood. When assessing the benefits of growing forests on organic soils, it is very important to consider the losses of carbon from...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: The Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies requires that Government Departments should ensure that they have written oversight agreements with State bodies under their aegis which clearly define the terms of the State body’s relationship with the relevant Minister/parent Department. For commercial State bodies the oversight agreement between the...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: Forests and wood products provide significant climate change mitigation benefits, including the carbon storage in harvested wood products and substitution benefits associated with the use of wood instead of more fossil fuel intensive materials such as concrete and steel. In August 2022, Coillte published Forests for Climate - Report on Carbon Modelling of the Coillte Estate. This report...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: I am aware of the Global Peatland Assessment undertaken by the United Nations Environmental Programme and the reference to the introduction of a 10cm peat depth threshold. The work makes the point that from a climate policy point of view, in tropical areas, peatlands of this depth are already approaching or surpassing the minimum carbon threshold of a high carbon stock forest. As part of...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: I assure the Deputy that my Department recognises wetlands and peat soils as an important carbon pool in the Irish landscape. Reducing emissions by water table manipulation has the potential to significantly reduce GHG emissions from these soils and is a means to positively contribute to our climate change mitigation ambitions. This is an important part of Agriculture's overall contribution...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: The Forest Strategy Implementation Plan is subject to an ongoing Strategic Environmental Assessment/Appropriate Assessment (SEA/AA) process. As part of this process, the draft Plan containing the proposed Forestry Programme 2023-2027 was published on the 18th October 2022 for a six-week period of public consultation. Forestry stakeholders and the public were encouraged to take part in this...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: My Department does not set a national allowable harvest and I am aware this was commented on in the report, Forest Products and People, a renewed visionpublished in 2014. However, my Department does provide funding to COFORD to provide detailed production forecasts which outlines projected timber harvest volumes each year out to 2040. This forecast is based on a number of assumptions and...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: The Department has recently published results from the fourth National Forest Inventory which includes comprehensive information on the current extent, state and composition of the Ireland’s national forest estate. Information is included on all forest types, both public and private. The NFI is the only systematic national assessment of forest damage in Irish forests. Information...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: Up until the 1970s, the State policy in Ireland was largely to grow forests to rotation lengths of maximum mean annual increment. With increased demand for timber in the late 1970s, the Irish Forest Service, issued operational guidance to shorten the rotation lengths of some of the key forest commercial species to increase supply. For supply and market reasons, it has been customary in...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 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: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: The study was carried out by University College Dublin on attitudes to forestry and was part of a masters programme facilitated by Dr Cara Augustenburg. As my Department did not commission this study I suggest the Deputy contact Dr Cara Augustenburg directly to request a copy of the survey results. I would also like to inform the Deputy that my Department has carried out extensive...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: My Department provides a range of grants and premiums and the rates paid depends on the species planted. In the previous Forestry Programme 2014 to 2022, a grant of €3,815 was paid to establish a commercial forest, consisting of Sitka spruce with broadleaves and additional space for nature. A premium was paid for 15 years at rate of €510 per hectare. Based on these rates a...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 296 to 298, inclusive, together. Ireland is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) under which the State is required to estimate and report its emissions and removals of greenhouse gas (GHG) from its sources or sinks on an annual basis. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) performs the role of inventory agency in...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 301 together. 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 both matters to Coillte for direct follow-up with the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: As this information is not readily available, a response will issue directly to the Deputy within 10 days.
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: In order to deliver on its objectives to be both commercially successful and to provide a broader range of benefits around climate, biodiversity and recreation Coillte produced a Corporate Plan in 2019. The Plan set out its proposed business and financial models for the years 2020 to 2024.. The Plan did not include any reference to a deal between Coillte and the organisation named. Over...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: Coillte is a private limited company established under the Forestry Act 1988 and is operationally independent from the Minister and Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Forestry Act 1988 sets out the governance of Coillte and provides that the number of Directors shall be not more than nine. Directors, with the exception of the one worker Director on the Board and the CEO where...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 2023)
Charlie McConalogue: NewEra publishes their Annual Financial Reviews on the NTMA website. The most recent report for 2021/22, which includes Coillte, is available here NewERA-Annual-Financial-Review-2021-22.pdf (ntma.ie)
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 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: Forestry Sector (23 Feb 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.