Page 22 - Declan Mcaleer News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

March 4, 2021 8:00 am Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons has said he is considering financial support for organic milk producers and sheep farmers affected by the downturn in wool prices resulting from Covid-19. However, the minister’s comments come just a week after it emerged his department had failed to bid for any of the latest round of Covid-19 relief money set aside by the Assembly. Speaking during Minister’s Questions on Tuesday (March 2), Minister Lyons said legislation needed to grant £4.2 million of previously-announced payments for pig and poultry farmers would...

Two more tranches of EFS confirmed There will be two more tranches of the Environmental Farming Scheme (EFS) in NI, Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons has said. In response to a written question from West Tyrone MLA Declan McAleer, Minister Lyons said that around 5,000 farmers have participated in EFS over the first four tranches. “Two further tranches are planned, subject to the necessary approvals,” the minister confirmed. The previous plan within DAERA was that the fourth tranche of EFS, which opened in 2020, would be the final intake of applications. Unprecedented bird flu risk in NI ...

BBC News Published image copyrightReuters The DUP will fight to oppose the NI Protocol "with every means we have", Sammy Wilson has said. Other Stormont parties have said Mr Lyons did not have the authority to take such action. The DUP has argued that it is responding to trade difficulties caused by the protocol. image copyrightPacemaker image captionGordon Lyons temporarily replaced Edwin Poots as agriculture minister in February Border Control Posts (BCPs) are used to check food products from GB and are a requirement of the Brexit deal between the UK and EU. Existing temporary BCPs are con...

Nichola Mallon. Image source: Declan Roughan Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister has led calls for an emergency Executive meeting following Agriculture Minister Gordon Lyons’ decision to halt progress setting up customs facilities. Nichola Mallon accused Lyons of a “solo run” after he announced he had ordered staff to stop building work, recruitment, and the implementation of customs charges. “I’ve now activated the ‘Three Minister Rule’ to call an urgent Executive meeting tonight. DUP Minister Gordon Lyons’ solo run on this cross-cutting and controversial issue i...

February 24, 2021 8:01 pm Long runs the fox as Shared Environmental Services (SES) continues to evade calls to provide evidence to a key Stormont Committee. Previously staff working for the Stormont committee said it has been “difficult” to get responses from the environmental planning quango. During the meeting on February 11, the committee warned it could be forced to use its legal powers to compel SES to attend. In the most recent meeting (held on February 18) members heard that despite further efforts by the committee clerk to contact the organisation, no response had been received. T...