Results 13,661-13,680 of 23,964 for speaker:Charlie McConalogue

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), official landing statistics are reported by Member States by ICES division, rather than by Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and most ICES divisions straddle more than one EEZ area. However, landings are also reported by ICES rectangles - these are smaller sub-divisions of the sea area used for statistical analysis. While reports by ICES rectangles are...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: As the Deputy is aware, the 2009 EU Fisheries Control Regulation 1224//2009 and EU Commission Implementing Regulation 404/2011 introduced points systems for serious infringements of the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy committed inter aliaby the licence holder of a fishing vessel. These are intended to complement sanctions and promote compliance and were required to be in place on 1st of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fisheries Protection (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: As this is an operational matter for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), I have referred the Deputy's request to the SFPA for attention and direct reply.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Contracts (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: My Department has not engaged a third party to provide reports on social media coverage of the Department. Staff in my Department’s Communications Division manage and monitor the Department’s official social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. My Department engaged media monitoring services, including monitoring of print, broadcast and online news media, from...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The table below shows the number of staff in my Department that availed of sick leave between March and September, by month, in 2019 and 2020, as well as the number of days accounted for during this period. MONTH YEAR No. of Staff on Sick Leave No. of Sick Leave Days January 2019 436 3,325 ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Chairman, and congratulate him on his appointment as Chair of the committee, and Senator Lombard on his appointment as Vice Chairman. It is good to see so many colleagues here today. I mention, in particular, my colleague, Senator Paul Daly. There are many new members here and many who made significant contributions to the previous committee. As this is the first time I have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank the Chair and all the members of the committee for their good wishes and their comprehensive questions. The Chair asked about the meat plant in Banagher, and there was a later reference to it as well. The situation is that the Department is expecting a report to be submitted shortly and we will consider that when it is received. Turning to the questions from Senator Paul Daly, he...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Chairman spoke about the progeny of the dairy herd and it is something we must address. There must be consideration given in breeding to all aspects of what is being produced and ensuring it is not just about the milk side of things. Beef potential must also be considered. It is certainly something I know the Chairman has raised with the committee before and whenever I engage with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The LEADER funding comes under the rural development programme within the CAP. As the Deputy knows as well as I do, this makes a massive contribution to the rural economy, supporting new ideas, farm diversification, rural business and the economy. It will be essential and the intention is that there would be a very substantial LEADER programme in the next rural development programme. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: With the Mercosur agreement, it is absolutely appropriate that a clear and evidence-based impact assessment would be done to inform how we proceed. It is an appropriate way to go forward and make an argument at the European level about our concerns. With respect to equivalence of standards, it is essential that there is reference to how the beef should be sustainably produced and the impact...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice. Regarding our grass-based system, we will be providing funding for research into how to do things more sustainably in the years ahead. Our grass-based system is being advertised and marketed internationally. The idea behind the PGI proposal is to be able to advertise what we produce domestically in overseas markets. It is a significant part of how Irish beef...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: There has been progress in this regard. Previously the threshold for de minimis aid was €15,000 over three years but that has been increased to €25,000 over three years. It has been increased recently so there is significant capacity there now to put schemes and contingencies in place to support particular sectors.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Impact of Covid-19 on the Agriculture Sector and Priorities for CAP and Brexit: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: I thank Deputy Browne for his question. Income volatility is a significant issue for farmers, particularly in recent years. The industry is turning its attention to the issue and needs to do so in order to provide tools to the farming community that are practical and that work. The Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, ICOS and the ICMSA have put forward proposals on ways to set aside...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Communities (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The Fisheries Local Action Group Scheme is a community-led local development initiative for the socio-economic development of coastal communities and forms part of my Department's European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Programme 2014-20.  There are seven Fisheries Local Action Groups, each responsible for a specific coastal region, and each has published a Local Development Strategy for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Covid-19 Pandemic (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: There are no Covid-19-related restrictions in place regarding the importation of domestic animals and pets through Dublin Airport.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: The role of my Department is to oversee the development of forestry in a manner which is compatible with the economic, social and environmental sustainability objectives of the Government as a whole. The Department is also designated as the National Plant Protection Organisation and is responsible for the implementation of the relevant Official Controls Regulation...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Timber Supply (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Forest pests and disease can be readily transported from one country to another and we need to be vigilant in respect of all these harmful organisms. These organisms may be associated with a variety of internationally traded plants, plant products including wood and wood packaging material such as crates and pallets which can be associated with goods of any kind. In order to address this...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: An application for the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme was made by the person named on 9 March 2020.  Subsequent to the submission of the application for the scheme, it was necessary to process a change in the status of the herd number under which the application for the scheme was submitted.  My Department is currently processing this change and is awaiting...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tuberculosis Eradication Programme (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: A full breakdown of the costs of the TB programme for 2017 to 2019 is presented in the table. The most up to date estimates of expected 2020 expenditure on the TB Programme are also presented. The overall cost of the TB Programme has increased from €86.4 million in 2017 to an estimated €97.3 million in 2020 (+€10.9 million or 13%). In that time, the primary drivers of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Appeals (1 Oct 2020)

Charlie McConalogue: Following processing of the applications for 2019 and 2020 on behalf of the persons named, a number of overclaims were identified.  These overclaims were notified and accepted by the applicants' agricultural agent. The largest parcel was then appealed and a Rapid Field Visit was arranged. This resulted in the eligible area being increased by 0.72 hectares.  The result...