COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
TUESDAY 29 MAY 2007
ROOM 144, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present: Dr William McCrea MP (Chairperson)
Tom Elliott (Deputy Chairperson)
P J Bradley
Allan Bresland
Thomas Burns
Trevor Clarke
Willie Clarke
William Irwin
Gerry McHugh
Francie Molloy
George Savage
In attendance: Paul Carlisle (Clerk to the Committee)
Jim Beatty (Assistant Clerk)
Mary Hawthorne (Clerical Supervisor)
Kathy Neill (Clerical Officer)
Alan Rehfisch (Assembly Research)
Apologies: None
The meeting opened at 2.01pm in Public Session
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes of last meeting
The Committee agreed the Minutes of the meeting of 22 May 2007.
3. Matters Arising
(a) EC Regulations on farm sizes
The Committee noted the response from the Department which included copies of meeting minutes and draft regulations.
It was agreed that the Committee should write to the Department to express its concern at how regulations are interpreted and applied in Northern Ireland.
(b) DARD Computer System
After an investigation, the Department reported that it had not found any problems in its computer system when dealing with probate cases. Members were asked to advise the Department of individual cases known to them.
Mr Molloy joined the meeting at 2.06pm.
4. Budgets – June Monitoring
John Smith and Tom Rodgers, Department officials, joined the meeting at 2.07pm and gave a presentation on the current position of the June Monitoring Round for the Department’s budgets.
Mr W Clarke joined the meeting at 2.13pm.
After their presentation, the officials answered questions from the members.
Mr McHugh joined the meeting at 2.25pm.
The officials were unable to answer some questions and agreed to come back to the Committee regarding:-
(a) when the FNMS applications backlog would be cleared,
(b) where the monies needed to finance the scheme will come from, and
(c) why the capping limits imposed on applications have not been increased to take account of higher costs due to delays in processing.
Mr Molloy left the meeting at 2.39pm.
The officials left the meeting at 2.40pm.
5. Voluntary Modulation
Liam McKibben, Keith Morrison and Susie McMullan, Department officials, joined the meeting at 2.43pm and gave a presentation on voluntary modulation. After their presentation, the officials answered questions from the members.
Mr McHugh left the meeting at 3.02pm.
The officials left the meeting at 3.09pm. It was agreed that the Committee would return to this issue later in the meeting.
6. Issues Facing the Industries
Kenneth Sharkey, John Thompson, Graham Furey, Clarke Black and Wesley Aston, representatives of the Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), joined the meeting at 3.10pm and gave a presentation on what they consider to be the principal issues facing farming.
Mr Bradley left the meeting at 3.25pm.
After their presentation, the UFU representatives answered questions from the members.
The Committee agreed to write to the Department regarding compensation for injured animals which tested positive for hormones.
The UFU representatives left the meeting at 3.47pm.
Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Clarke and Jim Carmichael, representatives of the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association (NIAPA) joined the meeting at 3.48pm and gave a presentation on what they consider to be the principal issues facing farming. After their presentation, the NIAPA representatives answered questions from the members.
The NIAPA representatives left the meeting at 4.18pm.
Stanley Hanna, John Cassidy, Dick James and Malcolm Emery, representatives of the fishing industry, joined the meeting at 4.20pm and gave a presentation on the principal issues facing the industry.
After their presentation, the representatives answered questions from the members.
The Committee agreed to write to the Department regarding:-
(a) the delays in improving the entrance to Kilkeel harbour, and
(b) compensation for Strangford Lough fishermen, especially those banned from trawling for oysters.
The representatives left the meeting at 16.50pm.
7. Correspondence
(a) The Committee noted the communication from Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI).
(b) The Committee noted the letter from Justin King, Group Chief Executive, Sainsburys.
8. Voluntary Modulation
The Committee returned to the issue of voluntary modulation and how it should respond to the Minister’s letter of 22 May 2007. It was agreed that the Committee propose that the rate of voluntary modulation does not rise above 4.5%. The Chairperson will write to the Minister on behalf of the Committee.
9. Press Release
The Committee agreed a press statement for release after the meeting.
10. Next Meeting
The Committee will next meet at 2.00pm on Tuesday, 5 June 2007 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.
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Chairperson
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Date