Results 1,681-1,700 of 18,593 for speaker:Michael Creed

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming Scheme Eligibility (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: My colleague Minister Doyle established an Organics Strategy Group last year comprising relevant stakeholders and state bodies. Part of the remit of the Strategy Group was to consider the case for a possible re-opening of the Organic Farming Scheme. They recommended that it should be re-opened but on a targeted basis. The sectors targeted were areas for which there is a clear market demand,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Staff Data (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The table below lists the number of staff in my Department from 2014 to 2019: DAFM Staff Headcount Figures 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 3,196 3,139 3,124 3,252 3,369 3,581 The table below lists the staffing budget for my Department from 2014 to 2019: DAFM Staffing Budget Amounts...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: There are very specific provisions contained in the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 as regards the welfare of animals and penalties in respect of breaches of these obligations are set out in section 52 of the Act. My Department conducts on-going engagement with all stakeholders in the livestock sector and undertakes inspections to ensure the welfare of animals is protected all along the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Employment Rights (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The Scheme for the employment of non-EEA fishers in parts of the Irish commercial sea-fishing fleet was launched on 15thFebruary 2016. The Scheme is an extension of the Atypical Working Scheme, administered by the Department of Justice & Equality (Irish Naturalisation & Immigration Service), and was introduced based on a series of recommendations made by the Government Task...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Live Exports (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I propose to take Questions Nos. 489 and 490 together. The relevant conditions of both Council Regulation 1/2005 and S.I. 256 of 2016 were met by Ireland in the issuing of the temporary certificate of approval in 2018 for the vessel mentioned. This temporary certificate issued on 15th February 2018 for a six month period and therefore covered the journeys in question. The episode off...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greyhound Industry (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: Bord na gCon is a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. Bord na gCon is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. On December 6th, 2019, Bord na gCon released an independent report undertaken by Indecon...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme Appeals (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The person named submitted applications for consideration under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) on 28 April 2017 for scheme year 2017, on 9 May 2018 for scheme year 2018 and on 13 May 2019 for scheme year 2019. The person named has submitted an appeal to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office and has requested an oral hearing. The case will now be considered by that Office.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: In accordance with the EU regulatory requirements, GLAS balancing payments can only commence when the Member State has verified that all on-farm inspections required have been carried out. GLAS advance payments at the rate of 85% of the full annual payment commenced on 4 November 2019 and continue to issue on a weekly basis as cases clear all validation checks. It is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: In mid 2018, my Department's animal welfare hotline was contacted regarding concerns for a group of goats in the Scalp area. Veterinary officers from my Department visited the site and, over a number of subsequent visits, conducted an operation to remove a number of goats from the location. Since the successful completion of this operation almost 18 months ago, no further reports in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I propose to take Questions Nos. 495 and 496 together. The SEA environmental report concluded that, with the adoption of the listed mitigation measures, it was anticipated that none of the effects identified as adverse in the detailed matrix assessment will be of greater than negligible significance and ensure that, even without adoption of enhancement measures, the overall effect of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Afforestation Programme (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: Issues concerning the designation of Special Protection Areas (or SPAs) and the setting of conservation objectives are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. As previously outlined by Minister Madigan, the issue of afforestation within SPAs important to breeding hen harrier is an ongoing issue, and a previous protocol on the issue was discontinued as...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Afforestation Programme (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht is the competent authority for the designation of Natura sites, including Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. Article 6(3) of the Habitats Directive sets out the requirement for Appropriate Assessment (AA) in relation to Natura sites. It reads: Any plan or project...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The person named was approved into the GLAS 1 scheme with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received payments for scheme years 2016 - 2018. Processing of the 2019 Advance is currently at an advanced stage and it is expected the payment will issue shortly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I will provide the committee with a quick update on the CAP post-2020 negotiation process which has continued apace under the Finnish EU Presidency. In preparation for discussion at next week’s AGRIFISH Council, the Finnish EU Presidency has presented a progress report outlining the work done to date on the CAP legislative proposals. This report includes revised drafting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I thank members for their questions, which I will try to deal with quickly. Deputy McConalogue asked for clarity. Unfortunately, it is not possible to be absolutely clear about where we are at in respect of CAP reform until such time as we know what funding is available. The amount of funding is critical. Senator Paul Daly alluded to this in terms of the MFF issue, which is the central...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: The original timeline had this done and dusted to be up and running for 2021 but that will not happen now. It is tied to budgets etc. There are three regulations and much progress has been made in two of the three. With the CAP strategic plan, the new delivery model and compliance performance, there is more work to be done. As I said at the outset, it is not entirely satisfactory. We are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I welcome this opportunity to present this sustainability impact assessment to this committee. As in previous years, a rigorous assessment has been undertaken to examine the implications for Ireland of the EU Commission’s proposals for the fixing of total allowable catches, TACs, for the coming year. The EU Commission proposal was issued on 24 October and a number of "non-papers"...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I will try to deal with those questions in chronological order. The biggest challenge for us will be the mixed fisheries. Deputy Pringle, coming from where he does, probably understands this better than most. Haddock stocks are strong but, as he said, haddock cannot be caught on its own. One invariably ends up catching whiting or cod. We acknowledge that those stocks are particularly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: It has to be said that often some of the scientific advice that is available is accrued and facilitated by the industry working with the Marine Institute. The Marine Institute has its own boats but it also relies on the industry for assistance on the matter.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meeting: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (10 Dec 2019)

Michael Creed: I covered the economic assessment, the mixed fishery and the Marine Institute.