Results 281-300 of 2,330 for speaker:Tim Lombard

Seanad: Human Tissue (Transplantation, Post-Mortem, Anatomical Examination and Public Display) Bill 2022: Second Stage (22 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome our visitors to the Gallery. I welcome this important legislation. It is something I have been watching very closely in particular over the past three or four years. There are many aspects to it. The organ-donor aspect has been debated and spoken about quite clearly in the Chamber. I wish to focus my attention on the coroners element of it. Unfortunately, as the Minister is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their opening statement. I will follow on from my colleague on the issue about the passports. Will the witnesses elaborate on the e-passport that they are proposing to put out to tender and the timelines for that proposal?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: That technology probably follows from something that is in the bovine herd and will last maybe 15 years, if we look at how we register calves. It is online and works in a matter of minutes. One can do it in the shed and by the time one gets back above, one will have the card the next day. We are looking at a system that will not work as fast but will have the similar trait of delivering on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: My last question on that point is about the legislation itself. I looked at it during the week. Does a point need to be made to clarify that legislation, with the new digital world we live in today, regarding physical paperwork being part of the application all the way through? In many ways, legislation is written appropriately on the date it is written. Has time moved on with regard to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome Horse Sport Ireland's opening statement. It is five pages long. It is good at setting out what the witnesses are doing. I missed the last meeting on these issues. The last page of the opening statement outlines an expenditure of nearly €3 million going to affiliate organisations from 2020 to 2023. Will the witnesses clarify that page, please? These organisations all...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: Information was given at a previous meeting stating there were issues where other affiliates were not getting money. At least €2.8 million, which is nearly €3 million, was dispensed through Horse Sport Ireland. That was for issues from Covid measures, all the way through to additional grants. Is that page of the report perfectly correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: We need to note that. May I ask about Horse Sport Ireland's funding and how it actually operates? The opening statement mentioned that a lot depends on grants from Sport Ireland and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There was also mention of a potentially precarious position in the accounts. Where do the witnesses believe the organisation is going regarding that funding...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: My last question is on the work HSI does with pony clubs, particularly in disadvantaged areas, and expanding that project. It is a unique element of what HSI does on the ground. How many pony clubs does the organisation work with? What kind of feedback has there been about the project?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges Facing the Horse Sport Industry: Horse Sport Ireland (Resumed) (15 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: On HSI's funding of shows, it was mentioned in the opening statement that the organisation had supported 60 shows. I am not sure whether it was in the written statement or just stated verbally. How is that funding distributed? Is it for an event within the show or is the show itself supported?

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Schemes (14 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: The Minister of State is more than welcome. I am raising the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and the issue we have with time-sensitive applications and delays in the system. TAMS is a very important scheme for the agricultural community. It provides grant aid and helps to ensure we modify our systems to become more appropriate. We have schemes for solar farms, low...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Schemes (14 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome what the Minister of State said about the applications that have been moved forward regarding the slurry storage, which prove it can be done. The dairy equipment scheme element of that is the key issue here. It is a time-sensitive module of the scheme. It is sensitive because 95% of our cows are spring calving. We have the opportunity in the last few days of November and the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: This afternoon, I would like to raise the issue of the European Commissioner for the environment, who will be visiting Ireland on 23 November. This is a really significant visit. He is coming here to Ireland to speak and engage with the Irish community about the issues regarding the nitrates action plan. This is a really significant issue for the agricultural community. Unless we get some...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: The Cathaoirleach is a favourite with the kids. I would like to raise an issue that the Cathaoirleach is very much aware of. I was talking to Councillor Marie O'Sullivan in Kinsale this morning about the issue of Desmond Castle in Kinsale. It is a unique structure that is a really important and significant part of our tourism trade in Kinsale. It has been closed since 2018. It is a part...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: How will we deal with rural transportation going forward? There is a lack of taxis, in particular. People on a night out are unable to go home. Uber needs to be rolled out in Ireland. Medium and small rural towns have no taxi service at the weekend. People cannot go home so nights out are totally prohibited. Christmas trade will be affected again. The bus service in rural Ireland does...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I welcome all the witnesses. It is great to have them here. I want to start with the Signpost programme that Professor O'Mara mentioned. There are 21 advisers working on that programme. So far, 7,000 farmers have been involved in it and Teagasc is hoping to reach up to 50,000. There are approximately 130,000 farmers in Ireland. How many advisers are required to reach the target of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: Teagasc is at 21 advisers at the moment. Does Professor O'Mara reckon that 50 advisers would be an appropriate figure?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: It is true that the Signpost programme should involve all farmers, whether they are clients of Teagasc. In that sense, it is a totally different model to the client-based one that Teagasc generally uses. It is a unique model in that sense and it takes into consideration people who would use a private adviser as well. What level of advisers is required on the ground to deliver it, given the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: I am sorry, but I must cut across Dr. Lalor and ask my next question. It is for the same team, and I presume Dr. Lalor will take it. The knowledge transfer programme was probably one of the most significant programmes that Teagasc rolled out in the past decade. It changed how Teagasc got information out to the farming community. I am seeking a few indications regarding it, though. How...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: Dr. Lalor might forward the exact number in due course.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Education and Upskilling in the Agriculture Sector (8 Nov 2023)

Tim Lombard: Is the herd keeper issue becoming a barrier to the scheme, particularly for younger people and females?