Results 20,681-20,700 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: Yes.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: May I address that point because it is very relevant? We were preparing a first Supplementary Estimate that did not involve the sum of €39 million because we did not know about it. However, there was a second Supplementary Estimate that incorporated the figure of €39 million that did have the sum of €104 million. I have it here.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: It was published on 26 November by the Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: I can understand the confusion because we had been working on the previous Supplementary Estimate which was to be big and then we had this secondary issue in respect of the figure of €39 million that was not going to be in our accounts before the end of the year. We, therefore, had to add it. That is what happened, but I can understand the confusion.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: That is putting an extraordinarily negative spin on what is a very-----
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: Farmers were expecting to pay, as the Deputy knows.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: Farmers were expecting to pay.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: It is €20 million per annum for each of the next three years, giving a total figure of €60 million.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: I will answer that question.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: I might take the questions in reverse order, if the Chairman wishes. Everybody asked questions on beef genomics. We anticipate that in a full year we will spend €48 million on beef genomics. We had said at the start that we would look at spending €52 million and therefore there will be almost full spend. This is a fund we want to spend on the beef sector because it was...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: Yes. There are things that farmers can do and we have used the tax system to improve things. We have changed three-year income averaging to five-year income averaging so that people can average out their profits over five years rather than three years. As a volatility management measure, we actively encourage dairy co-ops to look at medium-term fixed price models. Glanbia and Kerry are...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: The Deputy would say so-----
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: -----because he does not like to acknowledge progress.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: The reality is that this was an issue that caused a lot of stress for people so there will be a huge amount of relief that the matter has now been cleared up and that farmers are not going to be asked to make the contribution. In terms of beef genomics, I share the same position as one of the Deputies. It is always dangerous to say that people have been vindicated. However, the beef...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: We cannot make such payments because we were not in charge of the scheme until we designed the GLAS scheme to try to resolve the hen harrier issue. In the future those farmers with designated land will be able to avail of the GLAS and GLAS plus schemes in order that they will receive what they had been promised previously but which was not delivered. They seem to be happy about this. We...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: No. One can avail of the scheme, but it will be designed for farmers who have more than 19 hectares of land. It has yet to be approved by the Commission.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: No, because effectively the GLAS scheme is those with hen harrier scheme designated land.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: The GLAS scheme is not overly onerous for hen harrier farmers. I have met them at public meetings and they are very happy with the scheme. The numbers applying suggest they are happy with it. The reason some of the larger land owners did not apply was that they were worried that if they did, they would be excluded from a future scheme. We have reassured them that they will not be. In...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: We will not itemise them. The World Food Programme receives funds from other countries specifically to feed certain people in certain camps. The reason it is so appreciative of what Ireland is doing is that we give it flexibility to choose to spend where there are gaps. We will not prescribe the camps it which it should spend the money, but I have made it very clear that I would like to...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 30 - Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015) Simon Coveney: It is also worth saying to farmers, if they are listening, that this is money that is not being taken from their budgets. We simply would not have this money if we were not spending it on the World Food Programme. It is part of Ireland's overall development aid contribution. In case farmers think we are taking it from the moneys for areas of natural constraint, ANC, or the beef genomics...