Results 8,001-8,020 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Priority Questions: Rural Development Programme Data (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: Ireland’s rural development programme 2014–2020 represents a substantial investment by both the EU and the national Exchequer in the agri-food sector and in Irish farmers. The programme is co-funded by the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, EAFRD, to a sum of €2.19 billion over the programme lifespan. This EU funding is supplemented by...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Severe Weather Events (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: My Department has been closely monitoring weather conditions, grass growth and feed supplies. It is clear that the weather conditions over the past number of weeks have been challenging and this has created difficulties for farmers in parts of the country, particularly in the Western Regions and on heavier lands. Grass growth rates through September and October were ahead of recent...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The Competent Authority responsible for the implementation of the Directive in Ireland is the Marine Institute. The Marine Institute has confirmed to my Department that the operator of the aquaculture site in question has complied in full with the requirements of the Directive and Statutory Instrument No. 261 of 2008. The mortalities at the site referred to by the Deputy have been...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy Reform (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: I want to make it clear that the Government has not sought reduction in the amounts allocated for the Basic Payment Scheme, and that as a matter of National policy,  our objective has been to maintain the overall budget for CAP, including the Basic Payment scheme. In relation to the amount for individual payments, however, since the 16th October 2015, Ireland decided to confine the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Climate Change Policy (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: My Department has been actively involved in the whole of Government approach to climate policy and in particular, with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, which is the lead department in this area. Ireland’s contribution to the global climate action plan, The Paris Agreement, is through the intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) tabled...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: My Department meets regularly with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht on a wide range of forestry issues. There are currently no plans to establish a special task force on native woodlands. The Native Woodland Establishment Scheme is a key component of Ireland’s Forestry Programme, particularly...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: Coppice management is a traditional form of woodland management in Ireland, dating back centuries, and is associated with high native woodland biodiversity and the production of material suitable for local consumption, for example firewood, craftwork and cottage industry end-uses. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these woodlands have been neglected or exploited in the last century or...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: I and my officials have been very active in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European agriculture sector, and on the beef sector in particular. We continue to monitor the situation closely and respond as appropriate to developments in order to defend the interests of Irish farmers, working in close co-operation with my Government...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Funding (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme is a very important source of financial support for farmers across the country, paying over €200 million each year to over 95,000 farmers.  In view of this, the Programme for a Partnership Government included a commitment for a €25 million increase in funding for the Scheme in 2018.  I am happy to confirm that...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: I am aware of the report the deputy is referring to, however, I note that the report states that regarding livestock methane emissions there is notable variability among regions and sources.  The Report found that total livestock methane emissions have increased the most in rapidly developing regions of Asia, Latin America and Africa. In contrast, emissions decreased slightly in Western...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Issues (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: I fully recognise the potential difficulties that farmers, including those in County Wexford, are likely to face in the event of a hard Brexit, given the highly integrated nature of agri-trade between Ireland and the UK.  From the beginning of the Article 50 negotiations Government policy has been to maintain a trading relationship with the UK as close as possible to the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Exports (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The identification of alternative markets for Irish food and food products within the EU and elsewhere has been a key priority for me and my Department and we have renewed our efforts in this regard against the background of Brexit.  The task requires a focused effort on attracting new economically viable markets and, while our record to date has been very impressive, we have to raise...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The European Court of Auditors (ECA) mission is to contribute to improving the European Union's (EU) financial management, promote accountability and transparency and act as the independent guardian of the financial interests of the citizens of the Union. The ECA’s role as the EU’s independent external auditor is to check that EU funds are correctly accounted for, are raised...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Identification Schemes (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The bovine traceability system is operated in accordance with EU regulatory requirements whereby movements from holding to holding are recorded.  A bed and breakfast arrangement is where one farmer contracts another farmer to care for his animals on their farm e.g. overwintering the cattle. The rules for all movements, including those that occur during bed and breakfast arrangements,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: I am very aware of the damaging effects of Storm Ophelia on many sectors, including agriculture and horticulture.  This is most regrettable as the horticulture sector is experiencing strong market demand after a number of challenging years. I am confident that as our economy continues to grow the nursery sector will likewise prosper. In 2016, Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Usage (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The European Commission extended the approval of glyphosate for a limited interim period in June 2016 to allow for the completion of an assessment by the Committee for Risk Assessment (RAC) of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The extension followed a comprehensive review by the European Food Safety Authority. This review, which included detailed consideration of a report produced by...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Nitrates Usage (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: At the end of October the European Parliament approved a resolution, which is non-binding, against renewing the approval of glyphosate for 10 years and calling for further restrictions on the substance from 2018 and an outright ban in 2022. This resolution does not impact on existing authorisations of products that contain glyphosate.  The process that has been followed to date with...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Meetings (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (DHPLG) is the lead Department in relation to the nitrates regulations. The closed period for slurry spreading as provided for in the regulations commenced on 15 October. Taking account of the high rainfall in the lead up to the commencement of the closed period, the DHPLG and my Department recognised that there may be some concerns...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Noxious Weeds Act Enforcement (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: My Department actively seeks to enforce the provisions of the 1936 Noxious Weeds Act by issuing “Notices to Destroy” in all instances where it becomes aware of the presence of noxious weeds. To date this year 21 such notices have been issued. This reflects a comparable level to that reported in 2016. These notices are issued as a result of inspections...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (8 Nov 2017)

Michael Creed: Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as the management of its lands, are the responsibility of the company. The matter was, however, raised with Coillte who advise that it has a systematic and detailed inventory of all of the lands under its management which equates to approximately 440,000 hectares,...