Results 2,861-2,880 of 18,450 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Unfortunately, those proposals were not accepted by the European Union. I mentioned at a recent committee meeting, and the Deputy questioned me on this recently, that I had observed a different attitude to labelling among other member states, country of origin labelling and European Union labelling. The Minister, Mr. Benn, in our nearest neighbour Britain, spoke recently about the need for...

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Under the specific pork recall scheme, €37.1 million has been paid to date.

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Some €37.1 million and the possibility of making second interim payments is currently being examined. Naturally every claim from a processor must be validated. As the Deputy rightly said, we have to protect the taxpayer. Whether the product is abroad or here, it must be rendered and validated by a competent authority. We will not pay out money until the relevant checks have been done....

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: There was no delay on our part in issuing payments. The funding is in place. We work under a system where a claimant must prove his or her eligibility for payment. We must have our checks and balances in place. We have to ensure that every claim is properly validated.

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Creed spoke about the need to protect the taxpayer. We will do that and we will issue the payments as rapidly as we can, as we have done. We dealt with this scheme very effectively and efficiently.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: The farm waste management scheme was introduced by my Department in March 2006 in order to assist farmers meet the additional requirements of the nitrates directive. The farm improvement scheme was introduced in July 2007 under the aegis of the 2007-13 rural development programme. The deadline for completion of work and the submission of claims for grant payment under the farm waste...

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I said earlier that the payments would be made on a phased basis. The Government is not in a position to make full payment this year. What has been decided is to have payments made on a phased and proportionate basis.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: To date, €548.7 million has been paid out from the Exchequer on this scheme.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I will deal with the schemes that were there when Fine Gael was in government.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: More than——

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Promises made will be honoured, as they always are.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: The Deputy's predecessors——

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. More than 18,000 farmers have been paid in full. Over 17,000 remain to be paid. The expenditure available to us this year will enable us to pay all the remaining 17,400 payment claims when they are processed. Of those a 40% payment will be made during the course of this calendar year, 40% of the remaining payment will be made in the first days of January...

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: This funding will amount to approximately €550 million. If one takes the coming January date, within ten months €988 million will have been paid out of a scheme that will cost the Exchequer in excess of €1 billion. This means that 90% of all eligible claimants will be paid by 3 January next. With the funding available this year we could have made a decision to pay more than 7,000...

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Another aspect of Deputy Creed's question concerned the banks. I appreciate there are farmers who have substantial commitments and bank loans. Everybody in this House knows these farmers who depend on the payments to come through.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I have spoken already to the major banks and am to meet them during the course of this week. I have asked that particular provision be made for individual farmers, in respect of their loans, to comprise a grant element. That money is guaranteed by the State even though it will not be paid as quickly as we would wish.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I have asked the banks to give particular consideration to people with loans.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I totally reject what Deputy Creed said. I was told during the course of last year, before July, when €150 million had been provided for this scheme, that no further payments would be made between July and December. A sum of €150 million was provided in the Estimates at that time. Before the year was out we had allocated €414 million in payments and we have provided——-

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I am entitled to speak. I belong to a party that believes in free speech and I should be entitled to answer.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: During the course of last year I was told that payments would cease under the farm waste management scheme during the course of the summer.