Results 6,601-6,620 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I have seen statements and public media comment on this point and it is important to ground the issue in facts. Mortality figures for January and February 2018 show a small increase compared with 2017. The 2018 figure is slightly lower than the 2016 figure for January and February. We had Storm Emma and its associated fallen animals. We do not yet have definitive figures for March. I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: The Chairman will appreciate that I have scheduled a meeting with one of the pillar banks.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Chair and my colleagues for their questions. Deputy Neville raised an important one in respect of the well-being of farmers as opposed to the well-being of their farm enterprise. That has to be the priority. Whether it is engagement with my Department's inspectors or financial institutions, I think everybody needs to be cognisant of the difficulties farmers are facing now. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ongoing Fodder Crisis: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (11 Apr 2018)

Michael Creed: I will respond briefly. It is open to all co-operatives and other approved bodies to import fodder, if they apply to the Department and can satisfy it that they can meet the administrative requirements of the scheme. In respect of payment under the previous fodder transport scheme, as soon as the co-operatives which retain the data submit the applications there will be no delay on the...

Topical Issue Debate: Fodder Crisis (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I do not doubt the sincerity of any of the individuals opposite and have listened with interest to their points. I assure them that the departmental officials and I are actively monitoring this issue on a daily basis. In addition to my own activities in respect of this matter, being in the community, meeting farmers in my constituency and elsewhere, I have taken the opportunity to engage...

Topical Issue Debate: Fodder Crisis (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. As I have said on many previous occasions, the wet weather conditions that prevailed throughout much of last autumn and into early winter were difficult for many farmers, particularly in parts of the west and north west. However, the more recent turbulent and prolonged cold spell has created additional difficulties for farmers in all parts of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the committee for the opportunity to address it today on developments relating to the EU and specifically the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, Brexit and Mercosur. The committee will recall that my Department briefed it on CAP and Mercosur late last year. I will endeavour to avoid going over old ground and brief the Committee on the current state of play on each of these...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I thank the Chairman and members for their contributions and constructive approach to these three very complex issues that are inter-related in many respects and are dynamic situations. They have not been concluded but individually and collectively have considerable potential to have an impact, adversely or otherwise, on the future of the agrifood sector, the rural economy and the economy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: In most cases it is not. Through consultation and agreement with farm organisations we have had linear cuts. I acknowledge the challenge to deliver more supports and redistribution as part of that. If we were to provide a €200 suckler cow payment out of Pillar 1, it would be a very substantial cut across the board and in the context of Mercosur would risk driving numbers through a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: I will let the Deputy come back in because I want to deal as best I can with all the other issues that have been raised. Deputy Penrose made this point in the context of the CAP but there are competing and conflicting interests around the table in Europe on all these issues and certainly on Mercosur. There are forces in Europe that are gung-ho for a deal in circumstances that would not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Deputy Cahill raised the issue of price supports. In the new CAP, we will be seeking that all the policy instruments available now would be retained. The point he is making relates back to the changes that have taken place in the context of the skim milk powder issue this year. He should bear in mind that on the basis of our intervention it only applies to this year. It would be foolish...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: What is the context of the greening point?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: My understanding is that in the future it will be a single scheme with actions to be determined after 2020. It is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Yes. The great thing is - this can be a double-edged sword - that we are being promised greater latitude to design schemes to suit our individual circumstances. Invariably the knee-jerk response is that we blame Brussels for things we do not like and take credit for the things that suit us. It is very welcome that we will be able to design environmental schemes that are tailor-made to our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: It is 77%.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Yes, that is the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Yes, that is correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: In the previous CAP, we availed of the maximum possible discretion available to us in terms of capping. That was €150,000. The numbers of people getting substantially high payments, less than €150,000, or if we add in greening, more than €150,000, are small. This is a headline and emotive issue. I do accept it does reputational damage to the CAP. They anger and annoy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: Regarding Senator Lombard's point on Mercosur and what happens next on the dairy side, there are ongoing contacts between officials from the EU and Mercosur countries. As I understand it, there are a number of issues to do with automobiles, geographical indicators, dairy access and ethanol. There is a lot of contention around those issues at the moment. We are looking for greater...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Post-EU Council Meeting of Agriculture and Fisheries: Discussion (29 Mar 2018)

Michael Creed: The real challenge we have are efficient and extensive beef producers. Their costs of production are far lower than ours.