Results 6,081-6,100 of 23,948 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: If Deputy McNamara has any more ideas about what we can implement, the Ministers of State, Senator Hackett and Deputy Heydon, and I are very open to them. We want to change things to see more women coming into farming. We want to support it. This is why we are pushing the barriers out, getting the message out there strongly, and actually doing it in terms of supports. If there is anything...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Of course, the first female Minister. It is great to be serving alongside the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, as the first female Minister of State in this role at Cabinet level. We have appointed the former Minister, Mary Coughlan, to chair the dialogue on women in agriculture, which will take place on St. Brigid's Day, 1 February. This will bring together all stakeholders and farm...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy will be absolutely delighted because this is a big priority for the Government. He will warmly welcome how the Government is delivering on this and many other issues. Solar has considerable potential. We want to back farm families in developing it, availing of it and benefiting from it. To encourage on-farm renewable technology uptake and usage, grant aid is provided through...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Subject to getting approval from the EU Commission, the new TAMS will be kicking off next January. A significant thing I am doing to drive uptake among farm families is providing a separate €90,000 allocation under TAMS specifically for solar. It is separate from the €90,000 allocation for other on-farm investments. There has been a bit of a drag regarding the uptake of solar...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Renewable Energy Generation (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: It is hard to know the numbers but everybody should be considering solar. I want everybody to do so. With regard to microgeneration, I am engaging with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on his plans to develop a feed-in tariff, separate from TAMS, that farmers will be able to use to generate more solar energy – for example, by having...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I am acutely aware of the impact rising input costs has on farmers, their families and businesses. This is a period of exceptional challenge and uncertainty for our farm families and I have been working to support them through this period. The rise in feed and fertiliser prices in the last year has been significant. There are a number of factors at play in the market, including energy...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: We are closely monitoring this matter. My Department, working closely with Teagasc, is assessing the impact of costs on farm incomes. That is why I stepped forward with the fodder support this year to which farmers have responded very strongly. It is also why I brought forward the payment for next year to enable farmers to plan ahead and equip them with additional funds to purchase...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Supports (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: To respond to Deputy McNamara’s question, I have been advocating for the anti-dumping tariff to be removed. That has not happened at EU level. It is a small proportion of the very high cost of fertiliser at the moment but it would have been a help nonetheless. I am disappointed that did not progress at EU level. I know Kildare, where Deputy Durkan comes from, has a great tillage...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Safety (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: We will keep working on this. Under the suite of TAMS measures, grant aid has been provided for a wide range of farm safety-related investments, with health and safety guidelines included in all building specifications. This is an important step in supported on-farm investments. With the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, I will be increasing the rate of grant aid for farm safety-related...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I have outlined the comprehensive assessments, investigations and work that was undertaken by the inter-agency group, which completed its work and published its report in 2010. I welcome the fact that the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine considered the issue recently and, following that, l am interested in hearing the views and perspective of the committee on the hearing...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Farm Safety (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this important matter. He is aware that it is an area on which the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Heydon, has done significant work since his appointment two years ago. Farm safety is a major issue and farming continues to be the most dangerous occupation in terms of fatalities in the workplace. Fatal incidents on farms account for just over two in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I will deal first with the dairy farmers and then I will deal with the dry stock or livestock farmers who do not make hay or silage themselves. With regard to dairy farmers, my core objective for the scheme was to ensure that, as a country, we produced enough fodder to ensure we are fodder and food secure this autumn, winter and spring, and that every farmer would be supported in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Funchion for her question. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was involved with other public sector bodies in an investigation of animal health and environmental concerns on the farm of the person to whom the Deputy has referred and has provided details. I am aware of the case of the person the Deputy has referred to and I understand the burden the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Funchion. The reason I outlined the background to the case and the various assessments and investigations which took place was to outline that this is something that has been looked at in great detail. The investigations through the inter-agency group were completed as far back as 2010. This has been an issue and has been under consideration for a long time now, a very...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I have received the two reports and at this point I am not cherry-picking different options or proposals within either of them in advance of making a final decision on all of them. That is all I am saying. My commitment to the suckler herd is clear and that is why I have increased the payments next year under the beef suckler scheme from what had been €90 on the first ten cows under...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Industry (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: There are no plans at the moment to introduce such a scheme. We have two reports: the food vision dairy group report, which has proposed a voluntary reduction scheme for dairy farmers that had significant support among a number of stakeholders on the group. Some of the farm organisations reserved their position on that. We have another proposal from the beef and sheep group on which there...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, I will open up to new entrants next year because I want to ensure everyone who makes fodder or hay next year has the additional costs involved in that supported by the Government. As the Deputy will be aware, I launched the 2023 fodder support scheme on 2 November. The 2022 scheme proved to be successful with more than 71,000 applicants, with each of them due to receive an average...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. ACRES is part of the agri-environment climate measure in Ireland’s CAP strategic plan for 2023 to 2027. It is a voluntary scheme whereby farmers, when approved, will undertake certain actions on their land for at least five years. It closed last night and I want to recognise the massive work that has gone into the application process by the...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: It will not be possible to open the scheme earlier next year because there are specific workloads throughout the year. This puts a massive workload on advisers and March-April is the key time of year for basic income support through the basic payment scheme, BPS, applications. We have worked closely with the advisers and their representatives on the window for applying for ACRES and on how...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agriculture Schemes (8 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy again for raising the matter. I have been pleased with the reaction to the ACRES scheme. It has been well received by farmers across the country. It was a key commitment from the two Ministers of State, Senator Hackett and Deputy Heydon and myself, representing three different parties, when we negotiated the programme for Government and went into government, to put a...