Results 10,921-10,940 of 23,950 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The below table includes GLAS area-based actions only. The information provided is a snapshot of the current situation. The figures can change if a participant withdraws from the scheme, withdraws actions or progresses to payment for a following year. For example, if an applicant has not yet received their 2020 payments, their land details will not be...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Carbon sequestration has an important contribution to make in an agriculture decarbonisation pathway. Quantifying the carbon sequestered in our soils requires scientific research. The ability of agriculture land to absorb CO2 is influenced by a number of site-specific factors, studies have shown that temperate grasslands can have annual sequestration rates of approximately 1 tonne C per...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The GLAS terms and conditions clearly indicate that afforestation is fully compatible with GLAS and is recognised as contributing to the creation of a valuable landscape mosaic at farm-level. It is also important to note that GLAS is not a whole-farm scheme and that opportunities continue to exist for afforestation and for other Forestry Schemes on parcels not in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 621 and 622 together. The allocation of 400 tonnes for a fishery for smaller vessels using hook and line as a means of fishing was set down in Policy in 2010.  The then Minister amended the Mackerel policy in July 2017 after intensive review and public consultation. This amendment did not involve the hook and line fishery.   The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The objective of the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) was to provide temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in EU Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1132.  One of the conditions of the BEAM scheme under which funding was provided by the EU was that there had to be an element of reduction...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: From time to time, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine recruit ecologists and these are deployed into various Divisions of the Department. The most recent competition required a relevant degree at Level eight and at least 18 months satisfactory work experience as a professional ecologist, including assessing and evaluating biodiversity issues, such experience having been...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The table below indicates the number of farmer/non-farmer applicants that chose to establish forestry in the years 2015 to 2020.  The table shows the overall number of newly established forestry sites has been in decline recently.  There could be many reasons for this as farmers have many options open to them to manage their land, including the lease or sale of lands. ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The draft CAP Strategic Plan regulation, currently under negotiation, requires that an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) and a Needs Assessment forms part of the CAP Strategic Plan prepared by each Member State. A SWOT analysis was accordingly undertaken as part of the development of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027, in which the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The UK is now operating outside the EU Single Market and Customs Union, and we are trading with the UK (excluding Northern Ireland) as we do with other non-EU countries.  The UK Government sets its own import policy, and has revised its timelines for the introduction of new controls on imports from the EU. The next phase of these controls comes into...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I was delighted to see the huge level of interest in the Results-Based Agri Environment Pilot (REAP) demonstrated by over 10,800 applications being received for the project. REAP is a pilot initiative designed to trial the results-based model on Irish farms. As this model is expected to feature under the new CAP, REAP will better place Irish farmers and their advisors...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The following table sets out the Exchequer funding allocated in 2021 related to COVID-19 measures.  Furthermore, provision was made for COVID-19 related spending in a number of administration areas, including on items such as PPE materials and IT costs related to remote working arrangements. These cannot be separately apportioned. Subhead Measure/scheme/ initiative...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The following table sets out the Exchequer funding allocated in 2020 related to COVID-19 measures.  Furthermore, there was COVID-19 related spending in a number of administration areas, including on items such as PPE materials and IT costs related to remote working arrangements.  These cannot be separately apportioned. Subhead Measure /scheme/initiative...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Deputy will appreciate that significant administrative resources in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are being utilised on an ongoing basis for Brexit related purposes, the cost of which cannot be isolated.  The following table sets out the additional Exchequer funding allocated to the Department in 2021 related to Brexit spending.  Subhead ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Funding (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: In 2020, much of the work of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine focussed on Brexit preparedness and internal resources were re-prioritised accordingly.  The cost of same cannot be isolated, but specific additional provision was made in the areas set out in the following table: Subhead Measure/Scheme Brexit-related Exchequer funding allocated...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The 10thamendment to the Rural Development Programme was recently approved by the EU Commission.  It provides for the possibility for the extension of the GLAS scheme in 2022.  As with all relevant Rural Development schemes, consideration of an extension will be subject to the availability of national funding through the annual budget process in the autumn.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The number of applications received under the Results-Based Agri Pilot Project (REAP) project are provided below. I was very pleased both with the application rate and to have secured places for almost 5,000 of these which was significantly above the original projection of 2,000. There are a number of agri-environment initiatives under the current CAP in which there are successful and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Organic Farming Scheme payment is computed on the basis of a minimum stocking rate of 32.5 kg per hectare per annum of livestock manure nitrogen.  This is the equivalent of 0.5 suckler cows per hectare, which is an extensive stocking rate. Farmers not achieving this stocking level receive payment on a pro-rata basis. A minimum stocking level is considered important in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Strategies (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The main objectives contained in the EU Action Plan for the Development of Organic Production is to increase consumer trust in organic food and to promote the conversion to and maintenance of organic farming methods. There is a strong corelation between the EU Action Plan and the targets contained in the Strategy for the Development of the Organic Sector.  I believe the current strategy...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Schemes (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There are a wide variety of items available under the suite of seven measures under TAMS II.  To date, total expenditure under the seven measures of the TAMS, including transitional expenditure, has reached in excess of  €290m with commitments of an additional €157m made to scheme participants who have yet to draw down those commitments. The rate of grant...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (22 Jun 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Applications for forestry licences are assessed on their own merits, taking into consideration the potential impact the proposed operations may have on the surrounding countryside and environment.  The application is examined on its own and in combination with other plans and projects in the area.  There are several reasons why an application for a forestry licence may be...