Results 7,521-7,540 of 24,065 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Chairman and members. I appreciate the opportunity to be with the committee this evening as we begin the pre-legislative scrutiny on one of my key priorities, as well of as my Department and the Government. I thank the Chairman and all members for the time they are taking to do pre-legislative scrutiny, for the engagements members will have around this, for engaging with others...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: That would be okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: That is okay. Will I begin to work my way through the Bill? Is that the easiest way to do it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Head 1 includes the Short Title and citation. Head 2 comprises interpretation and definitions. Head 3 relates to regulations and provides for the laying of regulations and orders to be made under the Bill. Head 4 deals with expenses. It provides for a standard provision relating to expenditure in the Bill, such as funds to be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The unfair trading practices directive takes over some of the roles which would previously have been carried out by the CCPC. One of the key functions, alongside the enforcement of the unfair trading practices directive, will be the capacity of the office to assess what is happening in the supply chain, to carry out reports and, indeed, to trace where margins are going within the supply...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: One cannot set what happens in the market. All one can do is monitor and bring transparency to what is happening in the market. We have a situation where 90% of the food we produce is exported so the ultimate price we get for much of our produce is determined by what is happening in some 160 international markets around the globe. The key focus of our national agricultural sector and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: It is not proposed to ban below-cost selling. We had a ban on below-cost selling up until the earlier part of this century. That ban was done away with in 2005. The reason it was discontinued was because it was found to be ineffective in achieving the stated objective. The key objective behind it was to ensure that the primary producer got a fair deal and a fair price but the practical...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Minimum alcohol pricing applies to alcohol sold within the State. It is a price per unit per alcohol and requires it to be sold at a certain level. It applies to all alcohol products and is designed to incentivise responsible use of alcohol and prevent its abuse. Given that 90% of the food we produce is exported and that this determines the price, I have not heard from anyone how such a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: There will be a board, two members of which must represent primary producers. They will be appointed through the Public Appointments Service-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Out of five. They will be appointed through the Public Appointments Service.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The five includes the chairman. That will be the board that will oversee it. There will be a really important role here for the CEO and the lead person in terms of the leader of the organisation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The CEO will be appointed by means of a competitive recruitment process - probably through the Public Appointments Service. We have been engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform about approval for the post and the criteria for it. It will be the first post to be filled. The capacity and abilities of that person will be really important when it comes to leading-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Powers relating to competition are under competition law-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: At the moment, we do not have an independent office with credibility that assesses, reports and plays an active role in the context of having oversight over and ensuring transparency in respect of the food chain. If we think back to the beef protests of 2019, so much of that was about a lack of trust and transparency. In order to address that, the beef task force was set up. A number of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: It can examine the entire supply chain and assess what is happening.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I do not have a firm view on that at this stage. It is important that, through the primary legislation, we have a mechanism in place. We would need to see how the office is being used. What is fresh in my mind is the experience regarding forestry appeals. A vast number of appeals that could be submitted simply by firing off an email, which went into an appeals committee that got clogged...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I wish to correct a previous answer I gave. The board will comprise a chair and five members. The process will be similar to that of most State boards in the country. It will be an open application process, through the Public Appointments Service. Advertisements will go out, people will apply and the criteria for the various board members would be stated. For example, as I said, two of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (29 Jun 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Can the Deputy repeat the question?