Results 12,861-12,880 of 23,963 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Bodies Data (9 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The composition of the Boards of the twelve State Bodies under the aegis of my Department is provided below. The Deputy should be aware that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine appoints all the Board Members. However, six Boards have positions reserved for representatives of specific stakeholders and, thus, are not filled through the Public Appointments Service...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: To go back to the point I did not have time to finish earlier, the €79 million in additional funding for next year is in regard to additional environmental measures. It will be spent in a variety of ways. A fair proportion of that will be open to all farmers - those currently in GLAS and those not - and there is also going to be a pilot environmental scheme for those who are not...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agricultural Colleges (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Carthy. I assure him that the funding did come from the Government and, ultimately, from the taxpayer. Teagasc plays a very valuable role, which I strongly support and certainly, as Minister, it is one I prioritise. I ensured that it received an additional €4 million in the budget this year in order to support it. As the Deputy knows, that €4 million came as...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agricultural Colleges (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Carthy. I can reassure him, and he will be glad to hear, there was no hand washing on agricultural or Teagasc students. I certainly stepped up to the plate and worked with Teagasc to ensure that they would be supported. I also ensured that Teagasc would continue to be supported in the important work it carries out in the recent budget. The fact this funding was in place has...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for the question and I am pleased to update him and the House on the state of play on the transitional arrangements. Discussions on the legislative proposals are now nearing completion after an extended and intensive period of engagement at EU level. The legislation is expected to be approved shortly, by mid-December, and published shortly afterwards,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Ó Cuív. The basic payment scheme is 100% funded by the Commission and it will continue as a basic payment directly from it. The multi-annual financial framework will run for seven years alongside the seven-year CAP. There will be a two-year transition period, although I am not sure whether the second year has been formally signed off at European level. The full...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: From speaking to fishermen, I know the challenges and the difficulties with not having a quota for bluefin tuna. The Deputy knows from talking to fishermen the challenge of changing quota allocations every year. He will also know how, whether it is mackerel, herring, haddock or whiting, we hold on protectively to our total allowable catches and how we would like to get more. If the total...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I will be doing all I can to fight for our fishermen and push at European level, as part of the Common Fisheries Policy review, to secure some of that bluefin tuna catch for us. As the Deputy well knows, the challenge in that regard should not be underestimated. I will certainly step up and do all I can to fight in that regard. The Deputy knows the background, which I have well...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Agricultural Colleges (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I know the absolute value of the body of trained young farmers who will revitalise our farming sector, as well as the absolute importance of our educational system in equipping them to farm in the most efficient, effective and sustainable way into the future and to underpin our agricultural sector. Crucial to that are our educational providers. Teagasc plays a strong and crucial role in...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health and Safety Inspections (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputies for their questions. The health, welfare and safety of workers must be absolutely central to everything we do, particularly in environments where essential work is continuing. That is the clear message we are putting out to all sectors, particularly the meat processing sector. My Department has worked to assist the HSA in this regard, including in the carrying out of...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy for his question, which has been raised with me on many occasions by fishermen. Bluefin tuna is a highly migratory large pelagic species which spawns in the Mediterranean and then migrates over a wide area of the north-east Atlantic to feed.  This migration brings some of the fish into the Irish 200-mile zone for part of the year, as we discussed...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health and Safety Inspections (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The HSA comes under the remit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and any specific questions about its reports are a matter for that Department. Statutory responsibility for health and safety in the workplace rests with the HSA. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, primary responsibility for public health policy and implementation rests with the Department of Health...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health and Safety Inspections (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy. As I pointed out, I do not have the details here that the HSA would have because the authority comes under another Department's remit. I outlined the assessments and the checks that my Department has carried out on the authority's behalf to supplement that work. At all times we have been clear about the absolute importance of safety across all working environments,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Fisheries Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: As a Deputy from a coastal county, no more so than Deputy Mac Lochlainn, protecting and trying to ensure the welfare and incomes of our fishermen is very important to me. That has never been more the case than at the moment in the context of the Brexit negotiations and the very solid and forthright campaign we have mounted working with our European maritime nation partners to try to ensure a...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Fisheries Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The sustainability of our fisheries is really important, so we must ensure that fishing is done at a sustainable level. While it provides good income for our fishermen today, we must ensure that the stocks will be there for the years ahead. The way that is done at European level is through a quota system, although it is highly contested at all times. There is a quota system that puts a...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Cairns for her question. I am disappointed at the outset to see the negative approach the Deputy is taking to the development of a PGI application for grass-fed Irish beef. I do not believe it reflects the positive dimensions of that initiative and what it can mean in terms of being able to try to promote our beef more abroad and, ultimately, try to add value to it. The...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Coming out of the agreement signed at the beef task force of September last year were 37 separate actions. Of these, 20 have now been completed, six are in progress and one still is to be commenced, while ten are ongoing actions that are continuing. I will go back to the initial point I made that the task force is primarily composed of farmer representative organisations and they have...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Beef Industry (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I can assure Deputy Cairns I am absolutely committed to doing everything I can as Minister to support our farmers and support a fair income for them. That is why I worked strongly with the beef task force and the farming organisations to move the PGI forward. That is obviously something we must get approval for at European level and then ensure, in time, that we work to have it benefit...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Common Fisheries Policy (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for his question. As he will be aware, under the Common Fisheries Policy, EU fishing fleets are given equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds subject to allocated fish quotas. Irrespective of size, fishing vessels must comply with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, which includes rules regarding access and catch limits or quota. With regard to...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Trade Agreements (8 Dec 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Deputy for his question on the assessment of the potential impact on the agrifood sector of the EU-Mercosur deal. As was stated at the time of last year's EU-Mercosur political agreement, Ireland was disappointed with the inclusion of a 99,000-tonne tariff-rate quota for beef from Mercosur countries. If ratified, this quota would be phased in under the agreement in six equal...