Results 121-140 of 753 for speaker:Pippa Hackett

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I have only five seconds left.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Horticulture Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: It should be noted at the outset that my Department has no role in the regulation or control of peat extraction. However, I am very aware of the current dependence of the horticultural industry on the availability of peat moss. Following on from the publication of a report on the review of the use of peat moss in the horticulture industry by the Department of Housing, Local Government...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Horticulture Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The Deputy's question relates to mushrooms and the wider horticulture sector. The decision by Bord na Móna to cease harvesting has directly affected the sector. The mushroom industry does not tend to acquire peat from Bord na Móna, so it has a slightly different problem, albeit we are going to reach a stage at some time in the future when nobody will be using peat for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Horticulture Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I accept what both Deputies are saying and that this is tiny portion compared to what we have extracted over the decades for energy production and so forth. Those are the questions the working group has been charged with and I am hoping to get some answers from it on this. As I said, the group reports to the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, but certainly it is directly affecting the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The need for a forestry strategy was one of the recommendations made by Mr. Jim Mackinnon in his report. Mr. Mackinnon was commissioned in 2019 to examine the processes for approving afforestation proposals and the linked issues for other forestry-related operations. The development of a new forestry strategy will provide an opportunity to not only review the goals set out in the last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: The Deputy highlighted the work of Jo O'Hara, who has stayed on as a member of the project board, which oversees the work of the project woodland. Before questions in the Chamber today, I was on the European Forest Institute conference. There is a Europe-wide forestry strategy being created at the moment. The interaction between what we do here and across Europe is important, including...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (20 May 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Deputies. I agree that perhaps in the past there has been too much of an industry-led focus on this. Perhaps this is why we have ended up with the complications we now see with forestry and the acceptance in communities and acceptance among environmentalists also. My forestry policy group is made up of 25 people at the moment. I would categorise there being one third from...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this matter. It is good to hear that he was in County Laois at the weekend. Government Departments and their agencies work collaboratively to collectively protect water quality in Ireland. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead authority for the nitrates regulations and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I reassure the Senator that the Department and I are committed to supporting those small farmers. They are indeed vital to rural areas. Whether they are full time or part time does not matter much to me at all. It is about how the land is managed and the water protected. If we can do that through supporting small farmers to maintain livestock, it is even better. At the end of the day, it...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: As one of the few Senators from the midlands, I am concerned about some of the negative press the midlands receives, particularly and disappointingly from some of its own political representatives. As a progressive and pragmatic Green Party politician, I refuse to accept their destructive story that decarbonising this important region means we are losing something valuable. We are not and I...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I welcome the Minister. I have four children and want the world they and their children live in as adults to be one that renews, refreshes and reinvigorates itself, not one that continues to degrade, decay and destruct. That, quite simply, is what this Bill is about. Life as we know it must change; otherwise, we will condemn our children and grandchildren to a bleak future with greater...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Fishing Industry (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank Senator Cummins for bringing this matter to our attention. It is an important issue. I appreciate the Senator's recognition of the €3.1 million investment in marine amenities in his area. The possible designation of Dunmore East as a landing port for UK-registered Northern Ireland fishing vessels is an important matter.As the House will be aware, in January 2021, the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Fishing Industry (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I again thank Senator Cummins. He acknowledged the reasons behind the designation. There is quite a difference in the landing figures between Howth and Dunmore East, notwithstanding the geographically strategic importance of Dunmore East. As the Minister has indicated, the designation is open for consideration. Regarding the weighing of fish at ports, although it is unfortunate, I am sure...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Senators for bringing this important Commencement matter to the House. As they both know, I fully acknowledge the important contribution bees make not only to agriculture and biodiversity but also as an important activity for people. Indeed, beekeepers are very passionate about what they do. In this regard, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides a range of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank both Senators once more for bringing this to the House. Joking aside, this is a serious issue. We have had bees on the roof of Agriculture House. They are not there at the moment because we are getting the roof fixed but I understand they will be back next season. I look forward to it.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: They absolutely better be. I will certainly make sure of that. We have made progress on this in the last couple of months, more so than what happened previously. As Senator Martin said, the beekeepers are a long time waiting for this. Hopefully the work between Department officials, the associations, the NPWS and whoever else needs to be involved will progress this. We just have to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Horticulture Sector (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Senator for bringing this very important issue to the House. I appreciate the importance of the mushroom sector in Ireland, particularly in the Senator's own area of Monaghan. My Department has no involvement in the regulation of peat extraction. This is a planning process under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and an integrated pollution...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Horticulture Sector (28 Jun 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I agree with the Senator. There is a strong understanding in the mushroom sector and the wider horticulture sector that in the future, peat will not play a major role in their production but we need that just transition. We need to be able to support the sector and move to that place where it is not so reliant on peat. Within the mushroom sector, the research has looked at spent mushroom...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Jul 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I also extend my warmest congratulations to Deputy Bacik on her election. What a wonderful addition to the Dáil she will be. Irish agriculture must change. The change required to put it on course is transformational and the 2020s must be the decade that starts that substantial directional change. The last major food systems shift was in the post-war decades. The misnamed green...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Challenges for the Forestry Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (4 Aug 2021)

Pippa Hackett: I thank the Chair and the committee for the invitation and welcome the opportunity to be here to update members on developments since the last appearance by my officials before this committee on 27 May. As the Chair indicated, my officials were also here on 29 January 2021, 3 December 2020, 17 November 2020, and I was here on 3 November 2020 on issues relating to forestry. I acknowledge the...