Results 6,181-6,200 of 16,746 for speaker:Dara Calleary

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I am acutely aware that delays in issuing licences has led to difficulties for some in the sector.   My Department is intensively engaging with all relevant stakeholders on these issues. The current licensing difficulties are as a result of the changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures (AAP).  These were introduced in response to important Court...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Industry (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I wish to make the Deputy aware that Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing provides for a derogation, in the case of slaughter prescribed by religious rites, from the usual requirement for animals to be stunned before slaughter. Each Member State of the European Union exercises its discretion as to whether or not to avail of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The commencement of the Forestry Act, 2014 in May, 2017 brought about significant changes in the consent process for forestry operations.  The Act makes provision for third-party submissions and establishes the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC).    The current licensing difficulties are as a result of the changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Development (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: My Department's €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Programme 2014-20 is the principal source of development funding for the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors. The EMFF Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme provides supports to the aquaculture industry to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises while...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Protected Disclosures (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: As required by the relevant legislation, my Department has a Protected Disclosures Policy in place under which a staff member who wishes to make a protected disclosure may do so via any of our designated confidential recipients. The recipient carries out an initial review, to establish whether the case meets the criteria for a Protected Disclosure. If it meets the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I propose to take Questions Nos. 644 and 648 together. Wool production is an important component  of agri-industry and Ireland produces excellent quality wool.  In an industry such as the wool industry where prices tend to move in cycles, it is imperative that the players ensure and promote a diversity of  options for the product in the market place. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishery Harbour Centres (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: My Department owns, operates and maintains six designated State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl under statute. In addition, my Department also has responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of North Harbour at Cape Clear, as well as the maintenance of a small number of specific piers, lights and beacons...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1184 of 20 April 2017 governs the monitoring of carcass classification, carcass presentation and weighing. The legal tolerances for authorisation of a mechanical classification system are set out in that legislation. The figure quoted of 60% is the minimum accuracy figure for conformation and fat cover that must be achieved for a mechanical...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Fisheries Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: In July 2019, Ireland received a formal decision of the Commission's intention to conduct an administrative inquiry under Article 102(2) of the 2009 EU Fisheries Control Regulation to evaluate Ireland's capacity to apply the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).  This is further to a 2018 audit carried out by the Commission in Killybegs which identified "several serious...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The indicative allocation for the TAMS II scheme over the course of the Rural Development Programme is €395 million. To date, €229 million has been paid across all the available schemes and a further €72m in approvals have yet to be claimed by applicants.  Expenditure is being monitored closely on a weekly basis.   The scheme budget is part of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Diseases (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The Connemara Pony Breeders Society (CPBS) has been approved by my Department to maintain the Studbook for Connemara Ponies and, in this regard, operates a breeding programme for the breed. Within its breeding programme, the CPBS has identified the presence of Hoof Wall Separation Disease (HWSD) which is caused by a genetic defect that appears to occur only in the Connemara...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: My Department has staff located at various offices throughout the country, performing a wide range of roles and functions.  The attached spreadsheet provides a detailed breakdown of the number of staff, their respective grades and their locations throughout the Department.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Please find below the information in relation to Pillar 1 expenditure under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS, Greening Young Farmers Scheme and Protein Aid), for the years 2017 to 2020.  EU Regulation 1307/2013 sets out the maximum ceilings to apply for these payments each year, not a budget. The following should be noted when comparing the  expenditure column to the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: €2,190,589,653 has been allocated to Ireland from the European Agriculture Rural Development Fund for the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme.  The funding is for the full period of the programme and under the "N+3" rule expenditure up to 2023 is eligible to be claimed  against the 2014-2020 allocation. While the Rural Development Programme Financial Plan sets out an...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The EU provides co-funding to support member countries undertake disease control and eradication programmes. Ireland receives EU co-funding for veterinary programmes on bovine TB, avian influenza, TSEs and salmonella. EU co-funding is based on costs incurred for specific programme inputs and is paid a year in arrears. Therefore, funding payable in respect of the 2020 Programme year is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: My Department's €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Operational Programme 2014-2020 is the vehicle for financial supports to the seafood sector and is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union. The Programme delivers a wide range of supports for enterprises and individuals in the fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors, for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The CSO Farm Structure Survey in 2016 estimated that there are 137,500 farms in Ireland, with 137,100 of these classified as family farms (99.7%). The CSO defines these farms as those that "are operated as family based enterprises". The CSO estimated that the average farm size in Ireland is 32.4 hectares. The Teagasc National Farm Survey preliminary estimates for 2019 found that on average...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: The CSO Farm Structure Survey in 2016 estimated that there are 137,500 farms in Ireland, with 400 of these not classified as family farms (0.3%). The CSO defines these “Commercial Farms” as “registered as companies which paid all their workers as employees (including management) or farms connected with institutions (e.g. schools, colleges, religious communities, prisons...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: Teagasc published a report on the Sustainability of Small Farming in 2017. The report focused on a sample of farms with less than €8,000 of 'Standard Output' (i.e. the average monetary value of the agricultural output at farm-gate price). They found that 37% of farms nationally were classified as small farms, farming 16% of the total farmland area and producing approximately 5% of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Correspondence (28 Jul 2020)

Dara Calleary: I can confirm that the correspondence referred to has been received in my office.  A direct response will issue in due course.