Results 1,481-1,500 of 7,978 for speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Do the witnesses find that with our meat factories, it is basically them that are sending out the meat? They do their own thing and take their own stands. They do not even bother with Enterprise Ireland. They might get capital grants but when it comes to selling the food at the different stands they take their own stand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Logistics and all that is part of it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Mr. Christal spoke about Australia and New Zealand and places like that and market pressures. Does Enterprise Ireland forecast around that or is it Bord Bia that does all that side of it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Senator Daly would have spoken about about this earlier around marketing and milk products, be it sheep or goats. I presume goats are as near to a ewe as you will get. Have we Irish companies that Enterprise Ireland is liaising with on exporting cheeses and goat's milk or sheep's milk?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I know there are the big processors. I will put it this way. In Ireland at the moment, if a farmer wanted to do organic milk we do not have the drying facility. Would that not be fair to say? Have the witnesses looked at that? Germany is supposed to be a fairly good market for organic stuff. Have they gone to any of the processors and said they will support the infrastructure for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Mr. Christal mentioned more than ten people being employed earlier, or something like that. Why is there this type of a threshold when we are looking at markets that may need a significant injection of funds? I am talking about the organic milk area. Not every farmer in Ireland is going to do this, first of all. If we go to the conventional places, they will give 60 cent per litre. It...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Is it just the big guys?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Right.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Or organic and fermenting activities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Does Enterprise Ireland get involved in other areas? This morning we heard the news, and I know this is different, that the Dutch voted yesterday to ban imports of calves. Does Enterprise Ireland get involved straightaway in an area to see where we might get new markets, or is it Bord Bia that does this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Just to get this clear in my head, I wish to establish what Enterprise Ireland is open to. I have talked to many organic farmers doing organic milk. They were saying that it goes into the same place as every other bit of milk. This is what happens in many cases, but not in all. If these organic farmers were to have their own small set-up in this regard, a co-operative or whatever, would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: On sheep, does Enterprise Ireland have any workings or research done in collaboration with Bord Bia on sheep's wool? This is a big problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: The problem is that sheep's wool is worth nothing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: It costs more to shear the sheep than what will be got for selling the wool. We are just wondering if research might be ongoing that we could avail of. I know Enterprise Ireland cannot do this research, but I am just wondering if the organisation is collaborating with Bord Bia or the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in research on insulation materials, for example? I refer to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Very good. I thank Mr. Christal very much.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: I thank the witnesses for attending. They will be aware of major problems in Australia as regards sheep numbers, with farmers even getting rid of them. As has rightly been pointed out, the EU did a trade deal when the UK was still with us. Obviously, the UK is now bringing in its own meat while leaving us with the surplus of lamb coming into Europe from those countries. This situation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: In their dealings with factories, farmers are penalised for underweight lambs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Development of the Sheep Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Fitzmaurice: Factories give farmers nothing for overweight lambs.