Results 11,301-11,320 of 23,950 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Our overall target for the year remains at 4,500 new licences. There will be fluctuations between months as was the case for April which was lower than previous months. I expect May to be higher for new licences and for this to increase further into June and beyond. There are a number of factors which influenced the April figure. Among these are that, for a short period, ecologists...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is an EU Regulation which governs data protection law for EU member states. It came into operation in May 2018 and the Department continuously works towards full compliance with the requirements of the GDPR. Many procedures and processes have been introduced since that time in order to comply with the GDPR requirements including : - Appointment...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Data Protection (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: As regards the twelve State Bodies under the aegis of the Department, the information requested is an operational matter for the State Bodies themselves. I have therefore referred the Deputy’s question to the Agencies and have requested that a response should issue within 10 days.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named submitted his 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application on 22nd April 2021 in which he declared the lands he was farming. Where land has been burned between the closed season for burning (1st March - 31st August) of any given year, it is not eligible for payment under the Basic Payment Scheme and the Department actively investigates incidents of illegal burning. ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: On 14th April, I published the Department's Statement of Strategy 2021-2024 alongside an Action Plan for 2021, which outlines 75 actions to further develop a sustainable, innovative and competitive agri-food, forestry and seafood sector. The Action Plan will build on significant work already underway by my Department on a range of key issues. On climate, The Government has recently...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: According to the results of the December 2020 CSO Livestock Survey, the number of dairy cows currently stands at 1.456 million, an increase of 30,300 or +2.1% compared with December 2019 figures. Despite a challenging macro-economic environment in 2020, Ireland exported dairy products to approximately 143 countries with a value exceeding €5.1 billion, a 0.4% value increase...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Government has recently approved the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. The Bill will support Ireland’s transition to Net Zero emissions and achievement of a climate neutral economy by 2050. The agricultural sector is already contributing to the national effort to address the climate challenge and will continue to do so. Being grass-based,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The figures for 2020 show that the total cattle numbers decreased by (-0.5%) compared to 2019. The number of other cows dropped by 3.6%, while the number of dairy cows increased by 2.1%. (000 head) Total cattle Dairy cows Other cows 2020 6529 1456 923 More detailed data from the CSO's June and December Livestock...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The pig sector has shown exceptional growth over the last decade. It is the third largest agri-food sector, accounting for 6.3% of the output value of the agri-food sector and generated exports of €893 million in 2020; this compares to an export value of €330 million in 2010. The sector supports approximately 8,000 rural jobs and has played a key role in meeting our Food Wise...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The future prospects for Irish sheepmeat exports, of which lamb is a core product, appear bright. According to the CSO, 2020 was a prosperous year for Ireland's overseas sheepmeat trade, with 64,000 tonnes exported to 38 international markets at a value of nearly €356 million. This represents an increase of 12% in value terms on 2019. Tighter supplies of sheepmeat globally and an...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Trade Data (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 388 and 389 together. The table below shows the level of imports of the meats according to CSO trade statistics, which are available up to Feb 2021 Meat Imports Jan and Feb 2021 Category €000 Tonnes Beef 16,094 3,555 Pigmeat 38,639 9,624 Poultry ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Industry (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I believe that it is important to ensure the preservation and protection of rare breed farm animals as a genetic resource for future generations and for the benefit of agriculture in general. The Rare Breeds measure in my Department's GLAS Scheme sets out to retain and, where possible, increase populations of specific rare breed animals (including bovines and ovines) to ensure their...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 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 TAMS II, including transitional expenditure, has reached €285m with commitments made to scheme participants who have yet to draw down those commitments of approximately €153m Over 39,800 applications have been approved under the scheme. All...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The person named had eight entitlements leased in from a third party with a lease end date of 31st December 2020. When the lease expired, the entitlements reverted back to the third party. The person named was advised of this by the Department along with the options available to them. The Department has received an application to renew this lease and transfer the entitlements back to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (20 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine utilises Workforce Planning processes to identify all critical resource requirements to deliver its business goals. Workforce planning is a key tool to facilitate management of Department’s staffing needs, subject to the limits of the annual estimates process, budgetary constraints and approvals by the Department of Public Expenditure...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (19 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department is committed to addressing the backlog in licences and has in place an initiative under Project Woodland to improve the rate of licensing. The target is for 4,500 new licences this year which is a 75% increase on last year. As to the issue of the conversion of licences to planting, approved afforestation licence applications are valid for three years, from the date the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (19 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: It is not correct to say that licensing targets are being missed by 50%. There has been an increase of 11% on the number of licences issued year to date compared to the same period last year. Felling licences are up 18% in the area licensed and 27% for the volume of timber. To date, 110km of forest roads have been licensed, which is 88% of the commitment given to license 125km of forest roads...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (19 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: In February 2021, I established the Seafood Sector Taskforce to examine the implications arising from the Trade and Cooperation Agreement agreed between the European Union and the UK for the Irish Fishing industry and coastal communities particularly dependent upon it and to recommend initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Consultations (19 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Department seeks to minimise the use of consultants and only engages consultancy companies when particular additional expertise is required for delivery of the services which support the business processes of the Department. Such services are used in areas where the Department does not have the necessary expertise or internal capacity to deliver the services and where it would not make...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry (19 May 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001 and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. Point-to-Point racing is funded by HRI and operates under the rules and regulations of the Irish Horse Regulatory Board (IHRB). The Irish National Hunt Steeplechase...