Results 11,861-11,880 of 24,065 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 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...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Health Promotion (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy will be aware, the EU School Fruit and Vegetables scheme, the main objective of which is to promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables amongst school children, is implemented in primary schools under the Food Dudes Healthy Eating Programme. The Programme is an evidence based, incentivised healthy eating programme which is rolled out to children over three years: Year 1 is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: School Milk Scheme (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 380 and 381 together. As the Deputy may be aware, the EU School Milk Scheme, the main objective of which is to promote and encourage milk consumption amongst school children as part of a healthy balanced diet, is operated in Ireland by the National Dairy Council (NDC) through the Moo Crew Programme. The scheme is open to pre-schools, primary schools and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Felling Licences (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I propose to take Questions Nos. 382 and 392 together. I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and the timber industry and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Wildlife Control (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: In 2015, my Department, together with the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht, published Deer Management in Ireland – A Framework for Action, which recommends a series of actions on deer management and conservation in a number of areas, including addressing the impact of deer in places where they are abundant. The Irish Deer Management Forum was established to implement the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regulatory Impact Assessments (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Under Article 105(4) of Regulation 2019/6, which is directly applicable in EU Member States from January 2022, professionals other than veterinarians are permitted to prescribe certain veterinary medicines if a Member State facilitated this at the time the Regulation came into force in 2019. Such a system did not exist in Ireland at that time. The applicable legislative framework in Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Harbours and Piers (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: The Fishery Harbour Centres Act 1968 established the concept of fishery harbours in the State and invested their management in the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine took over responsibility for the Fishery Harbour Centres (FHCs) in October 2007. Ros an Mhíl is one of six Fishery Harbour Centres, the others are located at...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: Farmers who joined BEAM agreed to reduce the production of bovine livestock manure nitrogen on their holding by 5% for the period 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021 as compared with the reference period of 1st July 2018 to 30th June 2019. I am mindful that some BEAM participants may be locked up by TB during the course of the 12-month reduction period. In that context, my Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Data and Genomics Programme (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: In applying to join the Beef Data Genomics Programme (BDGP), the person named committed to participating in the programme for the full six years of the programme. The BDGP application was received under a specific Herd Number. One of the requirements of the Programme is that a valid Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) application is submitted to the Department on a yearly basis and on which all...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of output. The introduction of Project Woodland, recently launched by Minister-of-State...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 Apr 2021)

Charlie McConalogue: As of Friday 26thMarch, the Department has issued 814 forestry licences in 2021. This is 18% of the target of 4,500 that will issue this year. The number of forestry licences issued this year is almost 20% higher than the same period last year. I remain hopeful and confident based on these figures that target of 4,500 will be met in the remainder of the year notwithstanding that it will be an...