Results 19,981-20,000 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Equine Industry (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Connemara Pony Breeders Society is currently approved by my Department  in accordance with EU rules and the relevant domestic legislation, namely the European Communities (Equine) Regulations 2011 (as amended). The Society holds an approval which is valid up to 28thNovember 2016. The Connemara Pony Breeders Society is in receipt of funding from my Department under the Equine...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Data Programme (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 106 together. The purpose of the BDGP is to bring about long-term strategic improvements to the beef breeding sector by substantially improving the overall genetic quality of the national beef herd. A robust and reliable replacement index, built specifically for Irish animals and production systems, on which farmers can make informed breeding...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Basic Payment Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application under the Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraints Schemes was received from the person named on 11 May 2015. The applications of the person named and other applicants on the commonage to which the Deputy refers have been examined. The commonage is over claimed in 2015. All applicants have produced various forms of commonage evidence to substantiate their applications. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sheepmeat Sector (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The sheep sector is an important component of our agriculture sector and the third largest farming sector in Ireland with over 34,000 producers and an output value of over € 230 million in 2014. Sheep farmers in County Galway will continue to benefit under the same wide range of schemes and supports that are available to sheep farmers in other counties in Ireland. Payments under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The relevant EU legislative provisions providing for this direct aid payment came into force in the last number of weeks and provide that Member States have the flexibility to distribute this aid through the most effective channels at their disposal. It is a clear requirement of the provisions regarding this aid that the funds need to be distributed on the basis of objective and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: This year, my Department receives over 135,000 applications from farmers under the Direct Aid Schemes, which are funded or partially funded by the EU. The Schemes involved include the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme.   Under EU Regulations, all applications must be subjected to robust administrative checks prior to payment. The main element...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Bovine Disease Controls (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The National BVD Eradication Programme is an industry led programme delivered by Animal Health Ireland (AHI). The legislative basis for this is set out in SI 118 of 2014 which requires that all animals with a date of birth on or after 1 January 2013 must be tested for the presence of the BVD virus. Excellent progress has been made on the programme to date with a very high percentage of herds...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Eligibility (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The number of entitlements to be allocated to any one farmer under the Basic Payment Scheme in 2015 is based on the number of eligible hectares declared in 2013 or 2015, whichever is lesser. The person named declared 17.78 hectares of eligible land in 2013 and, in 2015 declared 18.76 therefore he will be allocated 17.7 8 entitlements. The 2015 value of entitlements is based on a fixed...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application under the 2015 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraints Schemes was received from the person named on 17 May 2015. I can now confirm that processing of the application under both schemes has recently been finalised and payment will issue shortly, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The person named registered 24 animals under the 2008-2012 Suckler Welfare Scheme. Five animals were paid on 19thDecember 2014. The remaining nineteen animals have been cleared for payment which will issue in the coming weeks.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Applications (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted an application under the Basic Payment Scheme on 22 April 2015. This application has been fully processed. The payment due should issue shortly to the nominated bank account of the person named. My Department has not been made aware previously of any issue in relation to a GLAS application. I have asked my officials to contact the person named to follow up on the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry Funding (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The current Foal Levy scheme, which was introduced in 2000 on a statutory basis, applies to all thoroughbred foals registered in Ireland. The proceeds of the levy are used by Horse Racing Ireland to help fund the Irish Equine Centre, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. These organisations provide key support structures to the Irish thoroughbred...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Horse Racing Industry Funding (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Foal Levy applies to all thoroughbred foals registered in Ireland. There is currently a very high compliance level with the Levy. The proceeds of the levy are used by Horse Racing Ireland to help fund the Irish Equine Centre, the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing. These organisations provide key support structures to the Irish thoroughbred breeding...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme Payments (12 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted a 2015 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme application on 18 May 2015. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases Remote Sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The application of the person named was selected...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tax Exemptions (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: Taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of the Minister for Finance. However I have on-going contact with Minister Noonan to ensure that taxation policy reflects the Government’s commitment to agriculture, as evidenced by our cooperation on the ‘Agri-taxation Review’ and its implementation over the last two Budgets. Assisting succession and the transfer of farms...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fishing Industry (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 253, 280, 286 and 288 together. The fishing opportunities available to vessels, including within the Irish Exclusive Fishery Zone (EFZ) for 2015 are set out in TAC and Quota Regulation (Council Regulation (EU) 104/2015 dated 19 January 2015) on a stock by stock basis. In addition to the TACs and quotas set down each year by the Fisheries Council, under...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: To date a total of 24,830 farmers have been approved under the GLAS scheme of which 22,898 have been given a 1 October commencement date. There are an additional circa 2,000 applications that have had validation queries raised on them, which are being examined systematically by my Department. I expect the vast bulk of these to be reviewed and re-processed very shortly. The information...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 255 and 256 together. An application under the 2015 Basic Payments (BPS)/Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Schemes was received from the person named on 12 May 2015. The application for the ANC Scheme is integrated into the BPS application form and in order to apply for the ANC Scheme, applicants are requested to tick a box on the BPS application form. ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application under Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Schemes was received from the person named on 27 May 2015. Processing of the application under both schemes has recently been finalised and payment will issue directly to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: My Department is currently examining approximately 400 cases that submitted invoices from one particular company to verify and support claims under the non-productive capital investment action of AEOS. It is known that in some cases the invoices submitted were for amounts different to those actually paid by the participants. Funding provided under the scheme comes partly from the EU and...