Results 621-640 of 7,254 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (14 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 367. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, following the issuance of an afforestation technical approval for afforestation and a corresponding financial approval, and subsequent to ground cultivation taking place on a peat-oregano mineral soil site, that species selection needs to change from one forest type to another due to peat-oregano mineral soil depth, if this is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (14 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: 368. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to confirm as per a recent forest service training event in Killaloe, County Clare, on the new forestry programme, a department official stated that if peat depth is greater than 30 cm after cultivation is completed on a site that has received a valid technical and financial approval, that foresters should convert to another forest...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: First, I thank the witnesses for coming in. I thank Professor O'Mara for his innovative ideas. I contacted him two weeks ago. In fairness, he and Dr. Laurence Shalloo were quick about getting on the ball. I have a question for Teagasc. I am watching youngsters in national schools and secondary schools who are nearly brainwashed before we can get them because of how agriculture is being...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: There are problems. In the line of young farmers, do we even hold what we had? I look at the age of farmers on the suckler and dairy side of it. The release of farms is a problem. There is no point in saying it is not. What do we need to be doing to keep that figure up? In our local club at home, I watch how many youngsters are knocking around and born every year to see if we can keep...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My theory is that people farm for roughly 50 years. With that 1,000, it gives us 50,000. We have 130,000 farmers. What does the graph show? Are we in trouble?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: We have the ETBs doing it as well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: What are the figures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I think the message needs to be given out, and in fairness it would be very easy for me to say different in opposition, that there are a lot of good incentives for young farmers at the moment, between the young farmer's grant and the entitlements they will get. I think we need to be clear on that. In my opinion, we need to send out the message. When I started off, there was damn all. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I am sorry for interrupting but my general-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: My general thinking would be that we have the converted who go into agricultural science and who go to the ploughing championships because they are from a farming background, generally. They are the youngsters who are mad to go on a bus from school to the championships but we need to get to the youngsters who are not doing agricultural science in school but are doing art or something else....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: That is not such a bad thing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses for coming in. It has been 15 or 20 years since I met Mr. Silke to discuss bogs and designations. Mr. Broderick spoke about this committee and I will give him a few straight truths. There is no point in waffling and saying we are great people. The first thing is that the Shannon has not been drained in 100 years. As for the ground beside it, the Callows, to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: He should be de-ministered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Everyone sees it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Mr. Silke is right in what he is saying, but the law is an ass at the moment, to be frank about it. All that habitat is being lost but if people try to put a machine or dredger into it, the largest window they will have is 12 weeks. They have to go through paperwork. There is a place called the Four Courts which people love going to. In the European Court of Justice judgments,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: We could either go there or does this come under the nature conservation law? I do not know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Ireland's MEPs voted for the nature restoration law, where that is going to cause flooding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I spoke there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Concerns for Sourcing Winter Animal Feed in Shannon Callows Area: Discussion (8 Nov 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I will give Mr. Ryan a clear definition. Under the habitats directive, the definition of an emergency is that it has to be ongoing. Sorry for interrupting Deputy Nolan but Mr. Ryan just asked me what that was. The problem is that if there is a flood and the water levels go down, it is not an emergency, whereas if it is-----