Results 12,621-12,640 of 18,496 for speaker:Brendan Smith
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: My Department has adjudicated that the Sworn Affidavit received from the person named with regard the Single Payment Scheme 2009 confirms proof of postage to the Department of the appropriate Single Payment Scheme application form before the 15th May 2009 i.e. the deadline for receipt of applications. The appropriate payment will now be made to the person named.
- Written Answers — Harbours and Piers: Harbours and Piers (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: The six designated Fishery Harbour Centres, including Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre, are managed via a statutory fund, known as the Fishery Harbour Centres' Fund, which the Comptroller & Auditor General audits on an annual basis. The most recent audited accounts available are for the year ended 31/12/2006 and show the total income for Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre for that year to be...
- Written Answers — Harbours and Piers: Harbours and Piers (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: The harbour at Killybegs is designated as a Fishery Harbour Centre under the Fishery Harbour Centres Acts 1968 (as amended) and is managed and operated by my Department in accordance with these Acts. These Acts provide for the establishment and operation of the Fishery Harbour Centres to promote, develop and carry on sea fishing, fish processing, fishing related activities and matters...
- Written Answers — Food Safety Standards: Food Safety Standards (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: Ensuring that foods marketed in Ireland are safe and compliance with relevant food safety legislation is the responsibility of the individual food businesses. Enforcing the legislation is the responsibility of the Food Safety authority of Ireland (FSAI), which delegates that activity to various official agencies under service contracts. In accordance with its service contract with the FSAI,...
- Written Answers — Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: It is clear from on-going communication between officials of my Department and representatives of relevant stakeholders including Local Authority Veterinary Inspectors, Animal Welfare Organisations and the Horse Industry that horse welfare problems continue to be reported including a risk of abandonment of horses. My officials are continuing to engage with the relevant stakeholders in an...
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: Grant-aid under the Young Farmers' Installation Scheme was paid by my Department to the person concerned on 29 April 2010.
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: I understand that the relevant payments have now been made to the person in question.
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (5 May 2010)
Brendan Smith: My Department does not have detailed records in all cases of the previous employment history outside the civil service of staff members and therefore details of pension entitlements of staff currently employed in my Department as a result of previous employment in the public sector are not available.
- Carcase Classification Systems. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: Beef carcase classification is traditionally based on a visual assessment of the carcase by a human classifier and, prior to the introduction of mechanical classification, critics would have regarded such human assessment as subjective, prone to error and lacking consistency. Mechanical classification was introduced in Ireland more than five years ago and is now well established and accepted...
- Carcase Classification Systems. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: I am glad Deputy Creed referred to the report in one of our daily national newspapers which totally misinterpreted the data given to them, causing as he correctly stated, anxiety among farmers who are sending cattle for slaughter and payment. I assure Deputy Creed - it is important to put this on record - that there is large-scale checking by human classifiers of the mechanical results....
- Carcase Classification Systems. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: Yes. It was ridiculous.
- Carcase Classification Systems. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: It is very important to put on record for everyone that the machines have continued to perform very well when assessed using the performance criteria laid down in the EU regulations. As I remarked earlier, classification was based on a visual assessment of the beef carcass by the classifier. Since the introduction of the mechanical classification of beef carcases, the performance of the...
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: The sheep sector is a valuable part of the economy with two-thirds of its product destined for export and its future dependent on its ability to meet the needs of the market. I have always acknowledged this fact and have developed a strategy to provide specific supports to the sector. On the financial side, I assigned â¬7 million from the 2009 single farm payment national reserve to 13,000...
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: I totally disagree with Deputy Creed. We are not throwing money at anything. We are providing a very valuable investment.
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: I noticed Deputy Creed's statement on the Wednesday after Easter when I launched the scheme. I recall that he both welcomed it and criticised it the same sentence.
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: Of course I do. I introduced the â¬7 million upland sheep scheme last year. That was the totality of the funding available from the unused funds to which I had access in 2009. I stated I would dedicate that funding to the sheep sector because of the difficulties it has gone through. More than â¬5 million of that â¬7 million has been paid out. Queries were made to certain people. It...
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: The figure was â¬7 million in 2009.
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: We are discussing the upland sheep scheme now. More than â¬5 million has been paid down. We have introduced schemes that are altogether administratively simple, under which we do not have a necessary inspection process that costs money. I refer to the new â¬18 million scheme. Department officials were engaged in widespread consultation with each of the farming organisations. We sought...
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: We are providing assistance now. Sheep farmers and their representatives have warmly welcomed this investment, which is very important and will maintain an increased-----
- Grant Payments. (29 Apr 2010)
Brendan Smith: I totally reject what Deputy Creed has said. I refer to genetics. We have established Sheep Ireland which will be very important for improving the genetics. People will not remain in a sector if they do not get an adequate return.