Results 5,521-5,540 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Less favoured and disadvantaged areas were to be replaced under EU regulation by newly designated ANCs from 2018, with eligible areas being designated using a set list of biophysical criteria such as soil drainage, texture and slope. However, as part of legislative amendments at EU level, a proposal was made to extend the 2018 deadline to 2019 on an optional basis. This proposal has been...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: On the dates involved, the obligation is to conclude this by the time farmers make applications for their 2019 basic payments. The January deadline is not the critical one. The requirement is to conclude this before farmers make their online applications for 2019. I note the Deputy's point about the budget. We allocated an additional €25 million in this year's budget and I...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I concur with the Deputy that the payment is of huge significance to all farmers but it is of even greater import for those with a higher level of constraint. In the context of the additional €25 million, that is why we skewed the payment to make sure those with higher disadvantage got a higher payment. For example, €13 million will be allocated to the mountain type category,...

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Deputy. I am unsure whether he is a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine which in its report published today addresses continued support for the BGDP as a measure to support the suckler sector and which, interestingly, in the context of climate change, recommends that I promote all schemes and practices orientated toward the goal of carbon...

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: There is not.

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: If the Deputy is predicating this scheme on an alleged underspend in the Department, I invite him to read the record of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and Marine, before which I outlined in detail-----

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: -----that we do not have an underspend in the rural development programme. We are over-committed by approximately €100 million over its lifetime. If the Deputy's case is entirely predicated on the underspend, it is obvious that the case he is promoting is based on foundations of sand. I acknowledge and share his view and that of most Members that the suckler cow is the backbone of...

Other Questions: Brexit Supports (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: One of my priorities is to improve access to finance for the agrifood sector. Food Wise 2025 identifies competitiveness as a key theme and includes a recommendation that stakeholders work to “improve access to finance for agriculture, forestry and seafood producers and agrifood companies”. I launched a new Brexit loan scheme on 28 March in cooperation with the Minister for...

Other Questions: Fodder Crisis (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy is right that we are significantly dependent on imported protein sources for compound feed. If my figures are correct, it is currently some 3 million tonnes and I do not believe we will ever be in a situation where we can substitute 100% of that volume of imports. Nonetheless, I take the Deputy's point. In the context of the winter ahead and the likely requirement given current...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Under EU regulations, less favoured and disadvantaged areas were to be replaced by newly designated areas of natural constraint, ANCs, from 2018, with eligible areas being designated using a set list of biophysical criteria such as soil drainage, texture and slope. However, as part of legislative amendments at EU level, a proposal was made to extend the 2018 deadline to 2019 on an optional...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: On the latter point, designation primarily has to do with the biophysical criteria. The Deputy asked whether we are looking for an extension. I am not at this stage contemplating a further extension. The obligation is to have this finalised so that, when farmers make their application for the 2019 basic payment scheme, this is all concluded. The Deputy made a point about payment for...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I should have said at the outset that my ambition is to try to ensure that those who have a payment retain the payment and that those who would have felt aggrieved, given a number of pockets of the country felt aggrieved with the previous process, can find a solution in this context. That is not an easy objective but it is my opening position. The Deputy asked about areas with specific...

Other Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Review (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: It does not make any reference to it.

Other Questions: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Examination of appropriate measures to support all agri-food sectors, including the suckler sector, is under way in my Department in preparation for the next iteration of the CAP. The measures adopted will be informed by stakeholder consultation on the needs of the sector to develop in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, as well as the available budget and structure of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Herd Data (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: It is important to base this debate on facts. Our bovine herd number has increased by approximately 300,000. The Deputy's figures are not correct.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Herd Data (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Since the abolition of quotas, our herd number has increased by 300,000. I will revert to the Deputy with the specific details but I would suggest that our herd number has been larger previously than it is today. It is important that we base our debate on facts.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Herd Data (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: We have things we need to do. Teagasc's recent work has been important in terms of building a collaborative approach to a significant challenge. What is the purpose of dismantling or denigrating an industry that is among the most carbon efficient? We need to do more, and will do so, across all sectors, including marine, dairy and beef. However, to denigrate the industry's efforts and not...

Other Questions: Fodder Crisis (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: I am aware of the impact of this dry spell on the availability of grass, both for grazing and as fodder, for next winter. On 26 June, I launched a national fodder census to be compiled by Teagasc through its client network, as well as clients of the other fodder group stakeholders, with another census planned for 1 September. The aim of the census is to monitor and measure the levels of...

Other Questions: Fodder Crisis (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: The Deputy has made an invaluable point. A number of livestock farmers are in that position, where stocking density is not as high as it might be on intensive outputs and there is an opportunity for them not to compromise their current production levels but to have a fodder cash crop that could be availed of by others nationally. Many such farmers are in low-income sectors anyway. This...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Severe Weather Events (12 Jul 2018)

Michael Creed: Taking a census now and another in September will give us the knowledge bank with which to make informed decisions.