Results 561-580 of 766 for speaker:Pippa Hackett

Seanad: Forestry Licensing: Statements (11 Nov 2021)

Pippa Hackett: It is good to be here. I thank the Seanad for the invitation to update Members on the latest developments on forestry policy and licensing. I have come here directly from COP26, having returned last night. Clearly, as we all know, the discussions there on climate change and the need to move to carbon neutrality are thought-provoking and resonate very strongly with me and, I am sure, with...

Seanad: Forestry Licensing: Statements (11 Nov 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank all of the Senators for their valuable input because they reflect the views not only of their constituents but also of the people who approach them, write to them and contact them on this issue. Therefore, it is important to discuss the licensing system from my perspective, from the perspective of my Department and from the perspective of the public. Senator Garvey and a number of...

Seanad: Forestry Licensing: Statements (11 Nov 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I am just about finished anyway. We have committed to implementing the Mackinnon report and that is the basis of why Project Woodland was set up. The work is ongoing, but it is not as quick as people would like. I think Senator Ahearn asked about timelines in this regard.

Seanad: Forestry Licensing: Statements (11 Nov 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Everybody wants to know that. I also want to know how long everything is going to take. However, we are making progress. It takes, on average, about 11 months to deal with a licence application submitted now. That does not include those who have been waiting long term for licences. I ask those who have licences and who are waiting to keep in touch with my Department. I ask those people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Wind Energy Generation (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank Senator Kyne for the opportunity to speak on this matter. The Department owns, operates and maintains, under statute, six designated State-owned fishery harbour centres. These are located at Ros an Mhíl, Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth and Killybegs. As the Senator stated, the Minister visited Ros an Mhíl fishery harbour centre last week and had the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Wind Energy Generation (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The cross-departmental nature of this project requires that there be cohesion between Departments in how we address it. Clearly, offshore wind generation is a priority for our country in meeting our renewable and decarbonisation targets. That must be kept front and centre in all decisions that are made. I am not aware of the specific details of the project but I will engage with the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Organic Farming (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I am delighted to have secured the significant increase in the budget for organic farming in 2022. Funding for the organic farming scheme was increased to €21 million, up from €16 million last year, and €2 million was allocated for further organic sector development measures. This increase is welcome and will certainly address the growing demand from both farmers and...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Organic Farming (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I have engaged closely with Bord Bia and Teagasc. It is my priority to direct those agencies to increase what they do for organics with regards to Teagasc's research and advisory role and Bord Bia's marketing of organic produce, including domestic marketing, which is important. This relates to the previous comments on market opportunities, particularly for livestock farmers. I know organic...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Horticulture Sector (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The horticulture sector has been largely ignored over the decades in terms of support. That has increased more recently and it is something we have to build on. There is a role for horticulture, particularly now with the need to shorten supply chains. There is a huge import substitution piece that we are not embracing yet, and there is certainly an intent to do that. In budget 2022,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Horticulture Sector (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The labour issue is going to continue to be a problem, and I ask myself where it will end. We are spiralling towards a race to the bottom and we have to get off that track. That is in supporting local food producers. Many wonderful local food producers operate off a handful of acres, maybe employing five or six people supplying a small town with quite a significant number of horticultural...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Organic Farming (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Deputy. He is absolutely right. We do need to bring in large number of farmers because this will create a critical mass and allow for significant engagement, knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer work. I certainly concur with that. With regard to the current design of the scheme, the average farm size in the scheme across the board is in the region of 40 ha. They are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Organic Farming (21 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The current area under organic production is 74,000 ha and we brought in 13,000 ha from last year. Therefore, the total area either in organic or in conversion is 87,000 ha. As I said, an increase of 50,000 ha with the proposed money in the budget for next year would bring the figure to around 130,000 ha, which would represent a 57% increase on this year. In terms of the 7.5% target, it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Recently, I spoke in the Chamber about an intensive dairy farmer who does not use chemical fertilisers to grow his grass. Describing how he feeds his cows on a multispecies sward, a mix of grasses, clovers and herbs, I said that I hoped I was seeing the future in the way that he and his family were farming. Since then, in budget 2022, my Department has allocated €1 million to pilot a...

Seanad: Flood Risk Management: Motion (19 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I welcome this motion from my Green Party colleagues and acknowledge the work Senator Garvey has put into it. Quite simply, water is life. When it stays where it should, in proper quantities and at a correct flow rate, it supports life, whether that is ecosystems in soils, on land and in our waterways.When flow rates of water exceed the capacity of the soil, river, stream or drain, flooding...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2021)

Pippa Hackett: Tomorrow marks the UN International Day of Rural Women. I want to mark it by honouring the contribution of women and girls to agriculture and rural community development in Ireland. In agriculture, women have long been referred to as the invisible unpaid workforce on farms and there is plenty of evidence to back this up. NUIG research from a few years ago indicated that women are the sole...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I will follow on from much of Senator Kyne's contribution. Seven months ago, a headline in the Irish Farmers' Journalcarried some bad news. It read, "Fertiliser prices jump on the back of tight supplies". This week, Bloomberg claimed things were getting even worse and that Europe has a fertiliser crisis and prices are spiking. There are some tough times ahead for many of our farmers.Goods...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I congratulate Senator Moynihan on her marriage and wish her and her husband every best wish for the future. I echo Senator Chambers's statement on maternity restrictions and concur with everything she said. It is a real thrill when places we know or are dear to us are recognised. I felt pure joy, as well as a strong sense of pride, when I saw that three midlands towns had made it onto The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Chair and the committee for the invitation and welcome the opportunity to be here to update members on developments since the last appearance by my officials before this committee on 27 May. As the Chair indicated, my officials were also here on 29 January 2021, 3 December 2020, 17 November 2020, and I was here on 3 November 2020 on issues relating to forestry. I acknowledge the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I assure the Deputy there is no cover-up here. We have been transparent with the figures, with the output each week and with the reasons behind backlogs and the different backlogs that have existed. The Deputy will have seen from my opening statement I did not make any comparison to 2020. I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from. Many comparisons are made with 2020. I am only in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I will pass to Ms Kelly to take that. I am trying to gauge here.