Results 6,561-6,580 of 11,413 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Financial Resolution No. 2: Mineral Oils Tax (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: At a recent meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach I challenged the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, in respect of agri-diesel and the fact that the Government had announced, to much fanfare, a meagre 2 cent reduction in the cost of agri-diesel but intended, on 1 May, to increase it again. The Minister justified that move but...

Carbon Tax: Motion [Private Members] (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing this motion to the floor and allowing us have an opportunity to discuss carbon tax. I was very interested to listen to the Minister of State's response. It was useful also to be able to read it and the justification for the carbon tax. The term "behavioural change" is not used once. When the carbon tax was introduced behavioural change was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Equine Welfare: My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Sincere thanks to our guests for being here. They are bringing us a very important perspective on equine welfare in the broadest sense. We spend a lot more time than I would ever have envisaged at this committee talking about horses, from all different perspectives. It would be useful, if the opportunity ever arose, for the committee to visit one of the farms because often it is only when...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Equine Welfare: My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Going back to my question then, who should be the lead partner on this? A lot of the problems we are talking about, including the funding problem, stem from the fact that different bodies can pass the problem on to somebody else and not take responsibility. Is it the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Equine Welfare: My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: There is a programme for Government commitment to double the funding within two years. We are past that now for animal welfare organisations. I take it the funding for My Lovely Horse Rescue has not doubled in the past-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Equine Welfare: My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: -----two years. I happened to be in the Dáil yesterday when Deputies Mark Ward and Gino Kenny raised a Topical Issue matter on the Clondalkin Equine Club, which I have an interest in because I got an opportunity to visit it some time ago. It is an example of best practice, where the local authority, the Department and the local community came together with horse owners in an urban...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: The Chairman might be relieved to know that I have to run off to speak in the Chamber shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: I am only saying what the Chair is thinking. I will try to be as brief as possible. The overwhelming sense I get when dealing with this issue is that there is a lack of enthusiasm and certainly a lack of drive, which is bewildering, considering many commentators suggest that this could be an important crop for diversification, farm incomes and climate action. Everything that has been done...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Would the Department consider a move to hemp to be environmentally positive for the different sectors of livestock, dairy and tillage? Is such a move environmentally positive in each instance?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Where does the Department consider that evidence coming from? Is it Teagasc, or does Mr. Moloney see a role for the Department to explore these matters at all?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: From the Department's perspective, does it consider-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: I will come to Teagasc in a minute. In respect of farm incomes, there are two parts to the hemp crop. The Government has committed to an exploration of the fibre element of it. We heard very strong evidence with the representative organisations that this is a fundamental mistake because asking anybody to grow a crop and to discard, potentially, half or more of the value of the crop would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Is Mr. Moloney saying that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine does not have an opinion on the regulatory issues? The issue has gone as far as the European Court of Justice, which made a ruling that suggests we are wrong in this regard. The Department of Health may be appealing that. Does the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine not have an opinion on that? Does...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: But the Department can give an opinion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Mr. Moloney mentioned that essentially, for any processing activity it is up to the sector and the market to develop that. If we took the same view on wind energy, for example, we would not have any in the State. Going back to the premise that this could potentially be very beneficial to the environment and could be very beneficial to farmers and to local economies, does the Department not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Would the Department bring forward a proposal as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: I have just a couple of quick points to put to Dr. O'Mara. It has been mentioned, and I believe he has accepted, that the research done by Teagasc in this area has been limited. The obvious question is whether Teagasc plans to expand that level of research, and what will that look like?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: That is regardless of the crop.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Is there a tonnage equivalent for sequestration that Dr. O'Mara could cite?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Hemp Industry: Discussion (27 Apr 2022)

Matt Carthy: Dr. O'Mara is saying that, in terms of the calculations used internationally, it does not count as ongoing sequestration if the product is used in, for example, building materials.