Results 11,761-11,780 of 23,975 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Chairman and members for their very prompt response to our request for pre-legislative scrutiny of the sea-fisheries (amendment) Bill. I brought the heads of the Bill to Cabinet last week and sought approval for the scrutiny process and to proceed to general drafting. I look forward to the engagement with the committee and to members' feedback and comprehensive teasing out of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I have previously discussed this matter with the committee in terms of the licence penalty points statutory instrument and licence holders. Also, I met and discussed the matter in great depth with fishermen's representatives. A number of proposals or suggested amendments were put forward on the licence holder statutory instrument, which my own party put forward in opposition, that we felt...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Regarding consultation with the industry on the previous statutory instrument, it is clear there has been considerable engagement with the industry on this issue over the past couple of years in particular. As I outlined to Deputy Mac Lochlainn, there was significant engagement with industry on proposed amendments and these were then fully assessed and examined. Those that could be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. I have taken on board and engaged in great detail with the industry, following my appointment, on the statutory instrument, and previous to that on their proposals and concerns around the SI that had been annulled by the Dáil. There were amendments that were given great consideration coming out of that as to whether they could be incorporated while ensuring that the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. Other member states have an administrative law system alongside their civil system. We are the only member state that has a criminal law system. Regarding the approach required for us to meet our obligations under the regulation, it is appropriate to our legal system. We are the only member state that has a criminal system in operation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: No, we are the only member state that has a common law system. The UK and Ireland were the only two member states that had this type of common law system. The other EU member states have an administrative system, which is how they apply their criminal law. Our legal system is based on common law.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The other member states have a different law system but a person can still get a criminal conviction.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The obligation on us is set by the EU regulation. It is specific to that and applies to all EU member states. It requires a penalty points system to operate alongside a criminal system. That is the obligation on us under the regulation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Under the basic payment scheme and other schemes, farmers get particular penalties and must sometimes leave a scheme altogether. Those schemes are administered within the Department. It is not a criminal system and it is not directly comparable to this. This approach is unique in that it is an EU regulation and we have a legal obligation to have a civil penalty points system in place...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I have not read it in detail but my officials have. It has informed our approach.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I have been advised, not just by my officials but also in the legal advice I have taken , is that the approach taken here, which is very much based on the approach taken on the penalty points system for licence holders, is required in order for us to meet our responsibilities as an EU member state and member state control authority. We are required to put in place a system which is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The committee will consider and deliberate on this legislation and report back to me as Minister. If there are any valid or reasonable points in the report or any other report that the Deputy wishes to have considered, the option is available to him to put them on the table. There has been a great deal of legal examination and consideration given to this penalty points system and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Indepth legal advice has been sought and obtained on this. The threshold that is being used is the appropriate threshold based on the legal advice we have received. If there are specific points the Deputy would like to raise today in regard to the report, he should by all means do so. The Deputy referenced the report, not specific points from it. If there are any points he would like...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: To which recommendations in particular is the Deputy referring?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Is there any recommendation in particular on which the Deputy would like a response?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There is an EU regulation which obliges us to introduce this system. This legislation has to be compliant with that regulation. We have examined the regulation in detail in the context of putting in place a system which would be effective, dissuasive and proportionate and meet those thresholds. We have to respond to and operate under that regulation. There is tremendous attention on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Collins. I refer to the point I made earlier about the requirement for the criminal and civil penalty points systems to be separate. There was a very indepth examination in regard to the licence holder statutory instrument. If we are to have a penalty points system which is implementable and effective then it has to stand separate to any criminal proceedings that might...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: General Scheme of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2020: Discussion (20 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: There has been tremendous engagement and consultation around this issue. I do not believe anyone can argue that this issue has not been examined in great detail. I also do not believe that anyone can argue, by virtue of the fact that we do not have a masters penalty points system in place alongside the licensing penalty points system, that we are not putting ourselves in a very challenging...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Poultry Industry (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I assure the Deputy that there is a very bright and secure future for the sector. It is a really important part of the overall agrifood sector. It is one I want to support and work with. There are challenges. Poultry farmers affected by diseases that do not automatically qualify for compensation and who must cull their flocks naturally incur massive financial costs. I had a very...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Poultry Industry (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Niamh Smyth for raising this issue, which is particularly important in her constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, which is the heartland of the poultry sector nationally. At the outset, I want to pay tribute to the sector. The poultry sector has an annual output of more than €610 million. It often does not get the recognition it deserves for the massive contribution it...