Results 8,141-8,160 of 23,963 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pigmeat Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department is currently reviewing the proposal referred to in the Deputy's question, and is engaging with stakeholders in this context, and on the situation in the pig sector in general. Our pig farmers have always been remarkably resilient but I am acutely aware of the unprecedented challenges that Irish pig farmers are facing at present. The continued development of the pigmeat...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 907 and 906 together. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's (DAFM) approach to protecting European sites has evolved significantly since the publication of the Natura Impact Statement (NIS) for the Forestry programme 2014 – 2020. The Appropriate Assessment procedures and subsequent mitigation measures in place today go beyond those...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 908 and 909 together. The Department issued 2,877 felling licences last year which represented more than 8 million cubic metres of timber. This was the highest ever output licensed in volume terms in a single year. This year, in the Forestry Licencing Plan, we have committed to increasing our output to 3,360 felling licences. These are broken down between...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 910, 911 and 912 together. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has, through Project Woodland, established a definition of the backlog, which is any licence application on hand for over 120 days. As the table below shows as of the 25th March 2022, there are 836 Coillte felling files with the Department more than 120 days, while there are 1,481...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Archaeological Sites (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: National Monuments which include raths or ringforts are eligible under the current CAP and it is proposed that they will continue to remaineligible in the new CAP starting from 2023. Within Cross Compliance, there are certain Landscape features which are designated under the current GAEC (Good Agricultural and Environment Condition) 7 – “Retention of Landscape Features...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticulture Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I am acutely aware of the difficulties being faced by many sectors across the agriculture industry due to the increase in input costs including rising energy costs. The horticulture sector has been negatively affected by the increase in the cost of energy, in particular, the heated glasshouse sector producing highwire crops such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. I made a recent visit to a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Rural Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department of Rural and Community Development has delegated responsibility for the LEADER programme on behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The LEADER programme will continue to be a key component of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from 2023, and I am committed to ensuring that the programme continues to play a central role in delivering on the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Official Engagements (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: In the last 12 months, I held a bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack as well as engaging in other communications with Secretary Vilsack. Our bilateral focussed on trade issues, a discussion on Brexit and the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol as well as other issues relating to Irish and US agriculture policies. Later this month, I will lead a Bord Bia...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 917 and 918 together. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine publishes extensive information on forestry licence and other forestry-related statistics on its website, including the weekly Forestry Dashboard available here gov.ie - Forest Statistics and Mapping (www.gov.ie). The Forestry Licensing Plan for 2022 envisages a 36% increase in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 919 and 928 together. Along with Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector, it is my aim to deliver a licensing system which meets the needs of all those who apply for forestry licences. This is regardless of whether that application comes from a private individual who wishes to plant trees, a forest owner who wishes...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: COFORD, an advisory body to my Department, provide a series of round wood production forecasts which are updated approximately every five years. The most recent forecast predicts that the annual potential roundwood supply, will increase from around 4.7 million in 2021 to 7.9 million cubic metres by 2035 on the Island of Ireland, which includes Northern Ireland. The forecast is available on...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horticulture Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has led to hikes in input prices and concerns around supply chain disruption. I met with the main farm organisations and Teagasc on 8th March to discuss the impact on Irish agriculture and supply chains. At that meeting I established the National Fodder and Food Security Committee to prepare an industry response to the emerging crisis in feed,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Renewable Energy Generation (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: While overall national energy policy formation is the direct responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), my Department continuously engages with DECC on all energy related matters from an agricultural perspective, as well as a wide range of industry and other stakeholder groupings. Minister Eamon Ryan, Minister for Environment, Climate Action...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: At present, there are 1,734 participants in the Organic Farming Scheme. The 2022 scheme is currently open to farmers until 8thApril. At this point, it is not possible to determine the number of eligible applications that will be received. However, I am confident that the funding provided this year will be sufficient to allow all eligible applications to be accepted into the Organic Farming...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The attributes of our grasslands are the foundation for the added-value and quality of those foods produced from grazing livestock. The Deputy is right to draw attention to the area of multi-species swards. This is an area that my Department has been funding research in recently to help demonstrate the positive impacts they can have on climate, soil, biodiversity and water quality in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 925, 926 and 927 together. In February 2020, Section 8 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 was commenced and the Forestry (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 2020 (SI No. 39 of 2020), were signed. This legislation made provision for my Department to act as the single consent authority for applications for forest road works licences, where the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The Forestry Licensing Plan 2022 was published earlier this year and deals with projected licensing output and approvals for support schemes. A key target of the plan is to refocus on the Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) (Ash Dieback). The scheme provides 100% grant aid to landowners to clear their ash crop, replant with an alternate species and manage their forest until...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The damage caused by ash dieback disease is rapidly increasing across the full natural range of ash in Europe and here in Ireland. The disease is likely in the coming years to have a catastrophic impact on ash wherever it occurs in the Irish landscape, including in hedgerows and in the wider natural environment. Forestry contractors are well aware of the risks in felling trees and the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The felling and forest road licence application system involves two separate licensing processes. Felling licences may be applied for up to 10 years and road licences for up to three years and it is often the case that they are not applied for at the same time. If the Department receives these applications at the same time, for the same site, they will be dealt with by the same District...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (5 Apr 2022)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named recorded a sire as "unknown" in his records submitted to ICBF as part of the 2021 scheme. As a result of this, a query was raised and the person named did not receive his Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) payment for 2021 because it was deemed the scheme requirements has not been met, specifically in relation to the use of a stock bull. However in light of new...