Results 621-640 of 7,985 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I come from a farming background. No matter where you go now in Ireland, there is nowhere that planting trees will not result in run-off down to some drain or river. When people planted forestry one time, they did the mounding and there was a system where it took out all the material. It is delusional to think we are going to sow 500,000 ha of trees and still get better water quality. In...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What length is a stretch?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The water framework directive was mentioned. In Europe, we are on the higher scale for having good quality water compared with some countries. Is this correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The EPA has been a while on the go looking up water. A directive is a directive, but you can dream a dream and then you can have realism. Will we ever get to 100%? Being realistic, will this ever happen, be it in Ireland or in any other country in Europe? Have we brought in a directive that, to be honest, if 2027 is basically the date that people are on about for Europe, I am not saying...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Has the threshold not risen?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The threshold has never risen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Fair enough. I thank the witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Compliance with the Nitrates Directive and Implications for Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (10 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Are there other models?

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Tax Forms (9 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 215. To ask the Minister for Finance when the current issues being experienced when submitting form 11 will be resolved, that has been ongoing from 16 June 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29830/24]

Report of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Motion (4 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Excuse me, but I believe I have eight minutes. I commend Deputy Cahill, the Chair of our committee. He has sunk his teeth into this. As Deputy Harkin said, Deputy Carthy is from Monaghan. I am from Roscommon-Galway. Dan Brennan does not live in our area. Deputy Cahill is from Tipperary. When Dan Brennan appeared before our committee, we knew that somebody does not keep something...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (4 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 397. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when information as discussed by the Joint Committee on Agriculture Food and the Marine held on 25 January 2023 on inventory of the quantity and quality of what Coillte has in stock in its 40-year cycle will be forthcoming as previously requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28721/24]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses for coming in. Mr. Gleeson talks about 173,000 in employment. What was the overall number involved in agriculture 20 years ago?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: No. I want to touch on what the Chairman spoke about. In fairness, the animal identification and movement, AIM, system for cattle is probably the best in the world. We register 2.5 million calves a year, give or take. In fairness, it is clinical. No one could ever fault it. As the Cathaoirleach said, if you do not have it done within the 21 days, you are in trouble. You get the letter....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On strategy and targeted supports for farmers, there is a new EU directive that exempts farms of up to 10 ha. However, farmers contend that paperwork is making it harder to farm. Is there any strategy to simplify that? Does it worry the Department that there are concerning signs of an exodus from the suckler sector? In the last few days, we have seen that the sheep sector seems to be down...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Mr. Gleeson knows the system inside and out. At the moment, there is a fiasco with ACRES for many farmers. The matter is not being resolved. It is dragging on and on. I know a certain amount of money was given. As part of this thing of looking at the flowers present in an area, the Department might say that it did not get something even though it had been sent in and it may look for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: In fairness, the rest of it was-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I agree with Mr. Gleeson, especially in respect of the environmental schemes. If people are in on something and they have it there, the computer system is all we hear about. The forestry scheme from 2020 up to now is problematic for the Department, to put it mildly. Even from 2016 to now was problematic for the Department. In fairness to this committee and the Chairman, we have spent a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On organic farming, Mr. Jack Nolan and others went around the country and had meetings in halls at night and that is how the Department got numbers up. He explained it in bread and butter terms. He is at it himself, which means he was able to go through it. A bit of credit has to be given there. Mr. Callanan spoke about water with Senator Lombard earlier. I read a report again this...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Statement of Strategy 2023-2026: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am a TD.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agricultural Schemes: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (3 Jul 2024)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will be brief. I thank the witnesses for coming in. What is owed today on the 2023 ACRES scheme in total?