COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
TUESDAY 8 JANUARY 2008
ROOM 152, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present: Dr William McCrea MP (Chairperson)
Tom Elliott (Deputy Chairperson)
P J Bradley
Allan Bresland
Trevor Clarke
Willie Clarke
William Irwin
George Savage
In attendance: Paul Carlisle (Clerk to the Committee)
Jim Beatty (Assembly Clerk)
Mary Hawthorne (Clerical Supervisor)
Kathy Neill (Clerical Officer)
Apologies: Gerry McHugh
The meeting opened at 1.34pm in Public Session.
1. Apologies
As above.
2. Minutes of last meeting
The Committee agreed the Minutes of the meeting of 11 December 2007.
Mr Elliott joined the meeting at 1.36pm.
3. Matters arising
(a) Correspondence Issued
The Committee noted the correspondence issued following the meeting of 11 December 2007.
Mr Savage joined the meeting at 1.37pm.
(b) Correspondence received
The Committee noted the correspondence received since the meeting of 11 December 2007.
The Committee considered a request to meet with Slieve Gullion councillors and the Forkhill Steering Group. Mr Bradley proposed that the Committee should accede to the request.
Mr PJ Bradley and Mr G Savage supported the proposal.
Dr McCrea MP, Mr T Elliott, Mr A Bresland, Mr T Clarke and Mr W Irwin opposed the proposal.
The motion was lost. It was agreed to write to the group to advise of the Committee’s decision.
It was agreed to invite Michelle Gildernew MP MLA, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development, to the Committee meeting on 15 January 2008 to discuss the outcome of the EC Fisheries Council, the forthcoming CAP Healthcheck and other ministerial priorities.
4. DARD EQIA CONSULTATION
Gerry Lavery, Tom Rodgers and Sharon Fitchie, Department officials, joined the meeting at 1.45pm to explain why the Committee had not been consulted on the Department’s ongoing EQIA consultation exercise in relation to draft Budgets, PfG and ISNI.
Mr W Clarke joined the meeting at 1.48pm.
The officials apologised for the oversight and answered questions from the members on the progress of the exercise to date. The officials left the meeting at 1.56pm.
5. Presentation – NI Trawlermens Trading Co Ltd
Adrian Coffey, Simon Wills and Mark Palmer, representatives of the NITTCL, joined the meeting at 1.57pm and made a presentation on the issues and difficulties facing the fishing industry. They then answered questions from the members.
It was agreed that the Committee would host a seminar with representatives of the fishing industry and DARD to discuss issues faced by the industry and how DARD may assist.
The representatives left the meeting at 2.37pm.
6. Presentation – Ulster Farmers’ Union
Kenneth Sharkey, Graham Furey, John Thompson and Wesley Aston, representatives of the UFU, joined the meeting at 2.38pm and made a presentation on key issues facing the farming industry. The representatives then answered questions from the members.
It was agreed that the Committee would write to DARD regarding electronic tagging, the export of live animals and Single Farm Payment appeals system.
The representatives left the meeting at 3.25pm.
7. Presentation – NI Fish Producers Organisation
Dick James, Paul Leeman, Brian Cunningham and Dennis McDonald, representatives of NIFPO, joined the meeting at 3.26pm and made a presentation on their objections to the proposed legislation, The Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing Methods) (Amendment) Regulations (NI) 2008. They then answered questions from the members.
Mark McCaughan and Kenny Parker, Department officials, were invited to join the meeting at 3.40pm and present the Department’s case for the proposed legislation. The officials then answered questions from the members.
It was agreed that the Committee would not consider the proposed legislation until talks took place between the representatives of the industry and the Department to see if an agreed way forward was possible. It was also agreed that the Department would be asked to complete an Environmental Impact Assessment on the potential impact of suction dredging.
The representatives and Department officials left the meeting at 4.10pm.
8. Statutory Rule – Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2007
Question put and agreed.
That the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development has considered The Pesticides (Maximum Levels in Crops, Foods and Feeding Stuffs) (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2007 and has no objection to the rule.
9. Statutory Rule – Plant Health (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2007
Question put and agreed.
That the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development has considered The Plant Health (Amendment No 2) Regulations (NI) 2007
and has no objection to the rule.
10. AOB
(a) It was agreed to ask the Department to explain the delay in forwarding papers on the increase in the milk quota to the Committee.
(b) Mr Elliott proposed that the Committee should consider accepting an invitation to visit the Harper Adams College. It was agreed to investigate the possibility of such a visit.
(c) Mr Elliott raised the issue of the removal of forest in Pomeroy for development. It was agreed to write to the Department to provide details urgently and to halt tree felling in the interim.
(d) It was agreed to write to the Department to seek details of any proposed re-organisation of the Forest Service.
11. Date of Next Meeting
The Committee will next meet at 1.30pm on Tuesday, 15 January 2008 in Room 152, Parliament Buildings.
The meeting was adjourned at 4.16pm.
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Chairperson
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Date