Results 6,201-6,220 of 23,948 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named above applied for grant-aid under the Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme which is a measure under TAMS II. He was approved for grant aid for Animal Housing, Circulation pipe and Mass Concrete Tank by letter dated 12th June 2020 and had one year to complete and submit a payment claim for all works. The applicant submitted an online payment claim and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the committee for this opportunity to outline my main issues of concern ahead of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting this coming weekend. To examine the implications for Ireland of quota setting proposals for 2023, a sustainability impact assessment, SIA, was carried out and brought before this committee on 25 October last. The SIA draws its conclusions from a public...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes. I thank Deputy Michael Collins for his questions. As regards bluefin tuna, as I said at the outset, I am seeking a bluefin tuna quota at this December's Council meeting and I am putting the argument in relation to the experience with what has evolved with the UK as a strong rationale as to why Ireland should be able to be recognised in that regard. The historic situation was there was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I believe France is the only other member state that did a temporary tie-up scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: From the inquiries I have made, the decommissioning scheme we put together is more generous to applicants than schemes being brought in by other member states. We have tried to reflect the impact for those that do take it up as much as possible. It is a very significant decision. The other point is that we were the first to do decommissioning. I put together the sea fisheries task force...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: What I would also say is that was clear from the outset, in advance of the announcement of the tie-up schemes. It would have been clear that for anybody taking the tie-up scheme, it would have to be deducted from the decommissioning scheme. It is not something that would have come late in the day. Anybody who was considering the decommissioning would have been aware of that. Some vessels...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: My information is that our decommissioning scheme is a lot stronger and more generous than the French one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Funding for the marinas and harbours is going to make a large impact. The funding of €6 million for Cork will be significant. I also took the step today to increase the co-funding requirement to 95%. When I launched tranche 1 funding back at the start of the year it was 80% co-funding for the majority of projects. That has now gone to 95%. I have done that retrospectively....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: However, I extended the tie-up scheme, which finished at the end of November, by one month to ensure fishing remains viable and economic. The sea-fisheries task force proposed a one-month tie-up scheme in response to Brexit. I increased that to a second month after the invasion of Ukraine. I increased that to a second month after the invasion of Ukraine. This was to ensure that for boats...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Rockall is an important fishery. Ireland has never made any claims to Rockall but we have never recognised British sovereignty over the island either. Accordingly, we have never recognised a 12 nautical mile territorial sea around it either. That remains the position of the Government. At every opportunity, the Government is engaging with regard to access within the 12 nautical mile...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Chair and Deputy Mac Lochlainn. It would have been preferable to have the fishing organisations earlier rather than later. I have certainly spoken to them earlier. I have been engaging with them on an ongoing basis. I met them approximately ten days ago for three hours. I also met them not so long before that to discuss these issues. There is nothing new in this to me. I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I will move on to blue whiting. There have been a couple of negotiations over the past two years. I have had success working at European level on reducing the transfer of blue whiting. The year previous to the first year I started negotiations, the transfer had been at the rate of 9%. We successfully reduced that to 4% the year before last. We held it at that for 2022. Last year, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I am pleased that the Irish position has been taken on board and recognised by the Commission. The negotiations are ongoing but I was referring simply to our starting point and the Commission recognising our position and taking that on board in how it is approaching the negotiations. The negotiation has to play out yet.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, that has been informative in forming the European position. There will be other sides in the negotiation who will have a different view and there is no way of knowing how it will play out. I will be holding and keeping a very clear line of communication with the Commissioner in relation to trying to hold it to what we have established. That is all to play out.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Would Dr. Beamish or Mr. Rihan like to come in on this point?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Listen-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes, I mean-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: What has been happening is entirely unsustainable and unacceptable, so-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council Meeting: Discussion (7 Dec 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Where we are at the moment is that negotiations are ongoing. Ideally people will cop on and we will get a sensible approach because what has been happening is ultimately unsustainable. The fish will be fished unsustainably and will be gone and it will be kaput and it cannot go on. What is important as regards the European position is that we continue to get our line across and do not see...