Results 9,141-9,160 of 11,413 for speaker:Matt Carthy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I thank Mr. Dowling for his answers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I want to go back to the 30-month and four movement rules. The task force is essentially putting its hands up and saying that nothing can be done and that these rules are in place. The penalties, as I would describe them because I do not believe they are bonuses, will continue to be in place. Is that a fair reflection of the task force's position?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I am not sure how anything Mr. Dowling said contradicts the statement I made.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I said that Mr. Dowling said that nothing can be done about it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: It is important to clarify. Mr. Dowling mentioned the market and in a number of instances talked about consumers or customers. He is talking about retailers in this instance.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: They buy it to sell on to the next person, who is the actual consumer. Therefore, I think it would be useful to know whether Mr. Dowling has carried out any analysis of whether any of the group that he has just mentioned has labelling systems in place for the end customer that indicate the age or number of movements that the cattle and beef in question went through when they were back home...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Does it strike Mr. Dowling as strange that a retailer would be so specific about what it needs to sell a product but would not feel a need to provide that specification to the end customer?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: There is another reason retailers and processors like it, which is that it allows them to exert more control over the primary producer. In terms of the product, there is a primary producer and the end customer but the people in the middle, whom, I suspect, are making the vast of the profits being made on beef, happen to have a set of specs that allow them to, in many cases, manipulate the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: To return to the establishment of the beef task force, we all recall the protests at factory gates. I am sure Mr. Dowling will accept that the primary cause of the agitation, which led to the establishment of the beef task force, was price.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Mr. Dowling's evidence to the committee is that matters pertaining to price are outside of the scope of the beef task force.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: In terms of the remit, the problem from my point of view is that we have beef prices that are potentially manageable if they remain stable. I have heard nothing today which suggests that we are moving to a point where we can prevent the type of major price fluctuations we have seen in the past. In reality, this means that many primary producers will have to endure periods of poverty because...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: We have a beef sector agreement that was reached in 2019 but that has not been fully conveyed to all farmers. Some farmers have outlined to us that there are major issues in terms of beef price transparency. In real terms, nothing has been proposed to deliver on that. We have penalties in respect of movements and age and no proposal in that regard. We do have proposals in regard to PGI...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Task Force: Discussion (6 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I thank the witnesses.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. I welcome our guests and thank them for being here. I want to talk about the technical universities and particularly the issue in the south east. Generally, does Dr. Wall know how many universities employ an executive director?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: I mean the position Mr. Tom Boland holds in the south-east university.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: He is not aware of any other universities-----

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Dr. Wall's understanding is that other technical universities do have the same position.

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay. Would the HEA have played any role in that appointment?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Would there have been any dialogue at all between the HEA and the technical universities on identifying potential roles that might be necessary?

Public Accounts Committee: Higher Education Authority: Financial Statements 2019 (1 Jul 2021)

Matt Carthy: Okay, so the HEA would not have any role in identifying the type of positions that would need to be filled as the technical university process was-----