Results 11,001-11,020 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rural Development Plan (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I will. I was in Dún Laoghaire with fisheries local action groups, FLAGs. Deputy McConalogue knows about this because a group in Donegal covers the north west. We allocated funding from the rural development programme of over €12 million to the group. That is a multiple of what it received under the last rural development programme for rural peripheral coastal locations. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rural Development Plan (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: It happened to be launched in Dublin, but the funding is for all the coastal communities from Malin Head to Mizen Head. Tipperary is not included. I did not see the Wild Atlantic way washing the coastline of Tipperary yet, but the funding covers all the coastal communities and is multiples of what it was in previous years.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Under the rural development regulations, each member state must designate areas eligible for payments under the areas of natural constraints, ANC, scheme.  The ANC scheme replaces the previous disadvantaged areas scheme or less favoured areas scheme. The designation of eligible areas under these schemes to date has been based on a range of socioeconomic factors. From 2018, eligible...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: On the latter point on proper funding, it is something that the Government is committed to. In the programme for Government, we have provided for an additional €25 million in ANC payments in 2018. I appreciate that will not go all the way to make up the cuts in disadvantaged areas that were introduced when Fianna Fáil was last in government, but it is a step in the right...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I appreciate the Deputy's points. No decisions have been made with regard to how the additional €25 million will be spent in 2018. The funding is additional to current payments. As it said, there will be an appeals system and engagement with stakeholders. That will come within the confines set out by the European Commission in terms of the biophysical criteria. We are several...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rural Development Plan (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Ireland's rural development programme for 2014 to 2020 is co-funded by the EU's European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, or EAFRD, and the national Exchequer. The total financial allocation for the period is approximately €4 billion, of which EU support amounts to €2.19 billion with the Exchequer funding the remainder. This significant financial commitment is a key...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Rural Development Plan (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I acknowledge and no one disputes the fact that Leader funding is not at the levels it was. That is a consequence of the financial climate in which the European Union found itself. Consequently, the funding for rural development under Leader was reduced significantly. In response, the Government asked how it could focus its limited resources at the front line in terms of valuable projects...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: It critical that we protect the Irish countryside for the benefit of all and agri-environment schemes such as GLAS and the earlier AEOS provides support to farmers to do this. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, have to be completed...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I was pleased to announce the launch of the “Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme” on Tuesday. One of my priorities has been to address the impact of the change in the sterling exchange rate and lower commodity prices in some sectors, which have caused cash flow difficulties for farmers. The Scheme was developed in co-operation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, have to be completed before any payment can issue.  GLAS The number of farmers in Co. Meath active in the GLAS 1 scheme is 442 and a further 211 are active in GLAS 2.  A total of 327...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Under the EU Regulations governing the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue.  The position in relation to Co. Carlow is that 283 farmers are active in GLAS 1 and 131 farmers in GLAS...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Article 32 of EU Regulation 1305/2013 requires all member states to implement a new system for designating eligible areas under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme from 2018 at the latest.  At present, eligible land under the scheme is designated by reference to criteria such as stocking density, family farm income, population density and the percentage of the working...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Issues (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I am acutely aware of the potential risks and challenges that arise in the agri-food sector from the Brexit vote, and have been taking steps both to mitigate the short-term impact and to prepare for the longer-term implications that are likely to arise in areas such as tariffs and trading arrangements, and border controls and certification requirements.    The question...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry Development (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Brexit is obviously foremost in our minds and in Government it is very much a priority. It poses enormous challenges for the Irish agri-food sector as a whole including the fisheries sector. However, potentially, depending on what the UK seeks to do, there are additional and unique challenges for our fishing industry. Fish stocks are a shared resource managed under the Common Fisheries...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Commonage Framework Plans (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: I recently appointed a new chair of the independent Commonage Implementation Committee.  Since that appointment on 23 November 2016 the committee has met twice - on 21 December 2016 and on 27 January 2017.  A date for the next meeting of the committee will be fixed by the chairperson, in consultation with committee members, in due course to ensure timely responses to such...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Inspections (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: EU regulations governing the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including Ground or Remote Sensing (Satellite) inspections where applicable, are fully completed to ensure eligibility with the various schemes requirements, before any payments issue.  A total of 6,214 cases were...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Eligibility (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Article 32 of EU Regulation 1305/2013 requires all member states to implement a new system for designating eligible areas under the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme from 2018 at the latest.  At present, eligible land under the scheme is designated by reference to criteria such as stocking density, family farm income, population density and the percentage of the working...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pesticide Use (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: Deputy Wallace will be reassured to learn that my officials monitor all such regulatory activity in relation to all pesticides.  With respect to the US EPA’s review of chlorpyrifos, and its most recent publication in November of 2016, I can inform the Deputy that my officials had already taken action, resulting in an immediate cessation of its use in Ireland by 31 March 2016....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: There are a number of challenges facing the beef industry in the short and medium term, including exchange rate volatility, Brexit and political uncertainty both within the EU and in third countries. One of the key elements in coping with these challenges is ensuring that there are sufficient markets for Irish beef. A strong demand for meat, including beef exists globally,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Issues (2 Feb 2017)

Michael Creed: The recent announcement by Prime Minister May, while providing some further clarity in relation to the UK approach to the forthcoming negotiations, still leaves considerable uncertainty in relation to the likely course of the exit negotiations and the negotiations on the future EU-UK relationship. As such, the review of the potential impact on the agri-food sector, including the beef...