Results 1,781-1,800 of 3,648 for speaker:Michael Collins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Plastics Recycling: Discussion (18 May 2021)

Michael Collins: It would be a great relief to farmers if that were to happen. Was the 30% used to subsidise cost-cutting in order to try to eliminate independent contractors in the way of fees to KPMG and other companies that are administering the tender applications?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister for being with us today. I have a number of questions for the Minister in relation to the crisis we have right now in fishing, with the weighing situation. Fishermen have contacted me from south-west Cork and from along the coastline, all the way to Donegal. Representatives of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, appeared before the committee on 20 April. I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister, and I respect that, but is he saying he was made aware of this before Christmas? The fishing industry was not made aware this until 4 p.m. on 16 April 2021. Why was there not some work done between Christmas and April, before it was announced and before industry was told of the changes? What happened in those four months? We are in a situation where it was two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have two minor questions because I know other members would like to get in. The Taoiseach signed a statutory instrument while acting as Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, during a very short period of time. The statutory instrument brought in penalty points. Can the Minister sign a statutory instrument bringing us back to the situation we were in in relation to the weighing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister. I am still mystified by the fact the Minister knew before Christmas that this was happening and nothing happened, as far as we can see, until 16 April and nobody was consulted. I find that very hard to believe. I do not understand what went wrong there but other members can ask that question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2021: Discussion (Resumed) (13 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have a few more questions I want to ask the Minister. I have listened closely for the past hour and a half, or however long it has been. There is an awful lot of talk that the SFPA is to blame, that the task force is to blame, that the task force going to work on this, or that the SFPA will bring things forward. Nobody is making decisions. As I have said, it now looks as though...

Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I have concerns. I am hopeful that the Government will accept the amendments in relation to the designation of land. I come from a constituency, and a parish as a matter of fact, where the designation of land is common. People can work with it as long as there is decent compensation to the landowner, because in most cases this designation can result in the land being deemed unused as such....

Loan Guarantee Schemes Arrangements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 May 2021)

Michael Collins: The objective of the Bill is to provide the necessary powers to the Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Agriculture, Food and the Marine to enter an agreement with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland to implement loan guarantee schemes for small and medium enterprises and small mid-caps, including many primary producers. Will the Minister of State advise the House of...

Private Security Services (Amendment) Bill 2016: Second Stage (Resumed) (12 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Essentially, this Bill is a move by the State to hand out the current work undertaken by county sheriffs to registered or private firms. It looks like Cromwell is back. We all remember what happened in Roscommon and the shocking scenes that were shown all over Ireland. Is that what this Bill is going to allow happen? Are we going back in time to when Irish people were evicted from their...

Companies (Protection of Employees' Rights in Liquidations) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (12 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I agree with this Bill. If implemented, the legislation aims to place workers at the head of the queue when it comes to payments from a liquidator and it would make an unpaid collective redundancy agreement into an unpaid debt in the eyes of the liquidation laws. The year-long struggle of the Debenhams workers has acted as an inspiration for this Bill. The Debenhams dispute highlighted the...

Residential Property Market: Motion [Private Members] (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have blamed each other for the current housing crisis, which has seen thousands of homes end up in the hands of global investment funds. These funds are commonly referred to as either vulture funds, which tend to buy up distressed mortgages, or cuckoo funds, which are buying up new housing estates and apartments and of which every person in the country is now...

Europe Day: Statements (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I am sharing time with Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Mattie McGrath. Last Sunday, 9 May, the member states of the European Union celebrated Europe Day. This year, the day took on a special dimension with the launch of the Conference on the Future of Europe. In the context of the fatigue of the pandemic and the longing for stability and predictability, Europe has entered a crisis stage....

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I fully agree with Deputy Mac Lochlainn that the Government has wasted a whole week. The inshore fishermen of this country deserve better. Indeed, the fishermen of Ireland deserve better. They are under severe pressure and the regime of weighing of fish that we are on the verge of bringing in is an explosive issue. We need more time set aside to debate this. I fully agree with Deputy Mac...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: Would the Taoiseach kindly resolve the issue? There is no point in just saying that there is a serious issue in terms of weighing fish.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: People in Castletownbere and Unionhall are stretched to the last.The Taoiseach was asleep at the wheel during Brexit.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: There is no point in "Deputy this" and "Deputy that" if the Taoiseach cannot resolve the issue for the people of west Cork-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: -----and the fishermen of west Cork. The Taoiseach has been asleep at the wheel for the past 12 months.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: EU Regulations (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: 155. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if Ireland is being fined by the EU for the failure to meet with the N-1 formula (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24180/21]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry: Discussion (11 May 2021)

Michael Collins: I welcome our witnesses. I have a good number of questions and I hope I can get answers to all or most of them. If not, I might get the replies in writing afterwards. In particular, the weighing crisis is a massive issue. I presume every coastal Deputy is inundated with calls from concerned fishermen. Many of them are very close to the brink and are seriously worried about their...