Results 12,741-12,760 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I spoke recently to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade on this matter and also when he was a Minister in the previous Government. While I appreciate the point Deputy Clare Daly makes, there is no monopoly of wisdom on this matter. We must make judgment calls on how best to pursue the interests of Ibrahim Halawa whose case would not be best served by disadvantaging Irish agriculture....

Other Questions: Agrifood Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I do not believe the targets were too ambitious. They were compiled by all the stakeholders together. Food Wise 2025 is, in fact, the industry’s document. It involves the collaboration of the industry both inside and outside the farm gate. Therefore, the plans are not overly ambitious. In the context of difficulties we are facing owing to Brexit and fluctuating commodity prices,...

Other Questions: Live Exports (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Questions relating to the release of the person referred to by the Deputy are a matter primarily for the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. In this regard, I understand his Department, both in Dublin and Cairo, is actively engaged in seeking a resolution in this case, as is the Taoiseach. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, gave a comprehensive speech to the...

Priority Questions: Fish Quotas (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I have met the National Inshore Fisheries Forum, which gave an interesting presentation on a range of issues, including this one. It will be a part of any consideration of how the quota is allocated. I am conscious of the fact that if we do not get this matter over the line by the end of July, the Commission will go into hibernation for August. The clock is ticking and I am anxious to...

Other Questions: Bovine Disease Controls (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The actions in question were undertaken under the overall control of the official assignee in bankruptcy acting as an officer of the court, who has stated publicly that the decision to proceed in the way he did in respect of the cattle was made reluctantly and in the interests of the public safety of the local community. It should also be noted that the cattle were at the time in the...

Other Questions: Bovine Disease Controls (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Deputy Clare Daly is correct, in that there is more to this than meets the eye, although some weekend publications gave a pretty accurate summation of the bigger picture. The Department is not in the business of shooting cattle. In any circumstance, it is the last resort. For this reason, there is an official protocol. This was invoked by the official assignee in consultation with my...

Other Questions: Agrifood Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Food Wise 2025, the new ten-year strategy for the agrifood sector published last July, replaced Food Harvest 2020. It identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise 2025 includes more than 400 specific recommendations spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability,...

Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: That is one interpretation and I am not surprised it is the one the Deputy takes of it. There is another interpretation which is that while there is room for substantially more applications with the industry being entitled to apply for up to 500 atypical worker permits, the problem is not as widespread as might have appeared in the first instance. The 159 applications might suggest as much,...

Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Many thousands of people work in the fishing industry at sea and in the processing sector who have valued and secure employment within a legal framework. The State is the ultimate guarantor of the legal framework within which they operate and has no vested interest in allowing the exploitation of any worker in that framework. I appreciate that Deputy Barry may not be a supporter of the...

Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: Deputy Barry had his chance. I appreciate that he wishes to paint a picture of an industry which I value and which the people who work in it value. If there is a small percentage of people who are abusing employees, we will get to the bottom of it.

Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I appreciate that the Deputy is anxious to tarnish the entire industry but I will not have that said of an industry which provides very valuable employment in peripheral locations where there are few alternative sources of work. The necessary authorities were involved in the working group. If the Deputy has specific issues he wishes to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities...

Priority Questions: Fish Quotas (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: There are two herring stocks in the north west area and there have been, correspondingly, two separate International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES, total allowable catch, TAC, areas. Ireland has a share in both TAC areas. Following a benchmarking exercise in 2015, ICES found that while there are two separate herring stocks, it is not possible to segregate them in commercial...

Priority Questions: Fish Quotas (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I am aware of the broad interest in the herring quota which has been fished by boats of all sizes. The Deputy makes the point well on smaller vessels. In the context of the exceptionally small quota that has been proposed, there is a case for considering amended arrangements focusing on the inshore fleet. We must first await the outcome of the request that we made to the Commission. I hope...

Priority Questions: Rural Development Programme (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The new programme for Government commits to the introduction of a scheme for sheep farmers under the rural development programme, with a budget of €25 million to be provided in budget 2017. This scheme, in addition to the existing supports available to sheep farmers under the basic payment scheme, the green low-carbon argi-environment scheme, GLAS, the areas of natural constraint,...

Priority Questions: Rural Development Programme (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I do not want to get dragged into a cul-de-sac, but it is interesting to note that, with respect to the aforementioned beef data and genomics scheme which I believe will do for the beef sector what the electronic identification, EID, scheme has done for the dairy sector, there is a huge demand to have it reopened to new applicants. I do not believe it is flawed but that, over time, it will...

Priority Questions: Rural Development Programme (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: My ambition is to have payments made in 2017 as per the commitment made in the programme for Government and, therefore, to conclude the negotiations with the Commission. In that respect, I appreciate that sometimes we await decisions from the Commission and that sometimes we have to finalise the paperwork. We have a broad outline of the scheme and are discussing the detail with the...

Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: The report of the Government’s interdepartmental task force on Non-EEA workers in the fishing industry recommended the establishment of a sector-specific atypical worker permission system which would provide a structured and transparent framework for the employment of non-EEA workers within defined segments of the commercial sea-fishing fleet. This system is an extension of the...

Priority Questions: Agrifood Sector (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: There is no decision as to whether there will be a mid-term review. The Commissioner has not decided whether that will happen. I met the German agriculture Minister last month at the Council meeting and I will meet him again next Monday morning. There is a great deal of concern in the broader Community about Brexit and there are issues of substance to be dealt with but I urge all...

Priority Questions: Departmental Legal Cases (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: In the context of delivering direct payment schemes and rural development measures, my Department is required to carry out on-the-spot inspections on a number of farms. These inspections address a range of issues in relation to land eligibility, scheme specific eligibility and other EU regulatory requirements. The basis for the inspections is governed by EU legislation and there are certain...

Priority Questions: Departmental Legal Cases (13 Jul 2016)

Michael Creed: I am acutely aware of the interest the issue has raised among many farmers, not least farmers in my constituency who have spoken to me about the implications, with them having been on the receiving end of departmental disallowances, fines, increased fines on review etc. The judgment goes to the heart of the process about the failure of the Department to issue a control report prior to...