Results 13,261-13,280 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: The Department is endeavouring to deal with this backlog sequentially, but if there are individual cases where, for particular reasons such as animal welfare, a job needs to be plucked out of the system and brought forward, the Department will look favourably on that. If there are individual cases, I am sure the Deputy would find a willing ear in the Department to deal with them. We are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fisheries Offences (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: The Deputy will be aware that Statutory Instrument No. 125 of 2016, European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2016, implements the required EU points system, which applies to the licence holder of a sea-fishing boat when a serious infringement of the Common Fisheries Policy is detected within the exclusive fishery limits of the State or, for an Irish vessel, wherever...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: During 2015, six new schemes were announced under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS II. These schemes were launched under the new rural development programme for 2014 to 2020 and are co-funded under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The financial allocation to each scheme for the full rural development programme period is as follows: the young farmer...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: It is 1,300.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I acknowledge that this has not been our finest hour, but the Deputy should consider this. It was the legitimate ambition of the Department to try to roll out as many schemes as possible at the earliest possible dates, which put significant stress on the administrative capacity of the Department. For example, it would have been easier to defer a number of these initiatives to 2017 and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Live Exports (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: On the latter, the truth is that the ball is in the Turkish court at this stage. The Turkish veterinary delegation were here inspecting a number of our plants, processes and so on. A substantial number of plants have expressed an interest in this trade. We must wait until such time as the members of the Turkish delegation come back to us with their proposals and we then finalise the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Live Exports (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: The Egyptian market is already open. I will revert to the Deputy with the details for the other areas. I cannot say definitively when the Turkish authorities will come back to us. It is approximately two weeks since they left here and I understand from the officials in my Department that they were quite impressed by what they saw in terms of the specification of animals that would suit...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agrifood Sector (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: Much of the public commentary on these trade agreements is slightly worrying because it does not seem to acknowledge that if we do not trade we will have ten year old bullocks roaming the highways and byways of west Cork and other parts of the country. We need to export 90% of what we produce on the island. We can feed 50 million people with the exports we produce here to a high quality and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Live Exports (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I view live exports as serving a vital purpose as a means of satisfying market demand for live animals and providing alternative market outlets for Irish cattle farmers. I attach major importance to the live cattle export trade, and my Department, along with Bord Bia, has been proactive in encouraging and facilitating such exports. Last year saw high levels of exports of cattle to both...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Licences (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: In respect of the latter issue, I will come back and consult with the House. Under the EU requirements, the system must be effective and dissuasive. That is the lingo that is used at EU level. The difficulty in terms of the legal process here versus the legal process in the UK, to which the Deputy alluded and which has points consequential on conviction, is that there can be a long delay...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agrifood Sector (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I did not realise the Acting Chairman was in a position to question me. Some 800,000 jobs are directly or indirectly dependent on trade in the Irish economy. Accordingly, free trade and free trade agreements are very important to us. Historically, the negotiation of access to new markets has been a big driver of economic development in Ireland. It is commonly recognised that 90% of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Licences (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: The Deputy will be aware that Statutory Instrument No. 125 of 2016 - European Union (Common Fisheries Policy) (Point System) Regulations 2016 – implements the required EU points system which applies to the licence holder of a sea-fishing boat when a serious infringement of the Common Fisheries Policy is detected within the exclusive fishery limits of the State or for an Irish...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Licences (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I thank Deputy Gallagher for his comments on this issue. I appreciate that it is a matter of concern for Deputies representing all coastal areas from Malin Head to Mizen Head and, indeed, on the eastern seaboard. I could not revoke the existing statutory instrument without being in a position to replace it immediately with something else because that would have attracted the attention of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I confess that I did not quite grasp the level of achievement by the Irish agriculture sector until I was appointed as Minister. It is not widely understood that we are the most carbon-efficient producer of milk, bar none. In addition, through the beef data and genomics programme we are targeting the beef sector to lighten its carbon footprint. Deputy McConalogue said that agriculture...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I thank Deputy Penrose for his remarks. Agriculture always has been close to his heart, and I look forward to working with him. Brexit is an issue of enormous concern for the agriculture sector in particular and is exercising the minds of the whole of Government. While people ask themselves what they can do without being seen to meddle, there are 140,000 people in the State who are...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: There is absolutely no upside for this economy of a Brexit, and the Deputy has listed a series of risks, including the issue of energy supply. There are existing cross-Border interconnectors and so on, and all of these arrangements would come under the microscope in the new dispensation that would apply. I refer to the uncertainty that would follow in the context of two years of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: While there is an expectation that they may remain the same for some time, there will at least be a once-off requirement for veterinary certification if there is a change. These are all additional costs that will place Ireland's products at a disadvantage relative to other similar products on supermarket shelves in the United Kingdom. As I stated, there is no upside to a Brexit, and I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: Ireland has adopted a whole-of-Government approach to developing climate policy. The Government has engaged in intensive discussions with the European Commission for some time now to highlight the importance of ensuring a coherent approach to the twin challenges of food security and climate change. As part of our ongoing engagement at EU level, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Mortgage Book Sales (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: I am reminded of the words of Shakespeare, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be". Perhaps it would be good advice in respect of the parties involved. However, I take the point the Deputy raised. I do not think there is much difference between the approaches we take to the matter. My approach will be to assist, in so far as we practically can, farmers who are in that situation. We will...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (8 Jun 2016)

Michael Creed: The UK is by far our largest single trading partner. According to CSO figures, in 2015 we exported almost €5.1 billion worth of agricultural products and imports from the UK were worth €3.8 billion. The prospect of a UK vote to leave the EU therefore has serious implications for the agrifood sector. That is borne out in the reports that have been produced in recent months on...