Results 3,241-3,260 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (28 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: Due to the volume of the information requested by the Deputy, it was not possible to provide it in the required time. I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as it is available.

Written Answers — Credit Availability: Credit Availability (28 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation advise that the following is the situation with regard to European sources of loan finance available to SMEs in Ireland: The European Union provides support to European small and medium-sized enterprisesindifferent formssuch as grants, loans and, in some cases, guarantees. Support is available either directly or through programmes managed at...

Milk Quotas (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: As the Deputy will be aware, I and my officials have been making consistent and ongoing efforts in recent months to secure a soft landing for all member states in the lead-up to milk quota abolition in 2015. These efforts have included close contacts with colleagues from the Netherlands, Denmark and other member states, as well as consultations with the Commission. Possible options include...

Milk Quotas (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I appreciate the Deputy's approach on this. We all have a responsibility to speak to farmers and farming organisations in blunt terms. They are already aware of the reality and know that we are very unlikely to get a political solution to this issue this year. Therefore, farmers need to act accordingly, but many are not doing that. Many of them are just pressing ahead, on the assumption...

Milk Quotas (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: We will continue to pursue the issue proactively, as we have been doing over the past couple of months. However, this will take time. It is a marathon rather than a sprint.

Grant Payments (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I will dispense with my notes on this as I know the issue backwards. The Deputy has asked whether I will reconsider a decision I made previously not to advocate an increase in payments for Natura qualifying land under the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, from €75 to €150 per hectare. I have had much discussion with farmers and farming organisations on this issue and I understand...

Grant Payments (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I agree with the Deputy on the stocking rate. Ireland has a problem with understocking in some commonages and mountainous areas. People need to realise that the sensitive biodiversity of the hillsides in question relies on stock keeping certain grasses and plants down by grazing. Understocking is often as dangerous to biodiversity and the protection of the landscape as we know it as...

Farm Safety (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this issue. Just a week ago, I spoke at the national farm safety conference held in Roscommon. I prepared for the conference by looking at the tragic statistics that comprise the story of farm safety last year and this year. Last year 26 people died on farms. This year so far, ten people have died. Only 25 have died in the workplace this year....

Farm Safety (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I agree with everything the Deputy said with perhaps one exception. I do not believe we need to go down the route of sending files to the DPP. I should have stated at the outset that some people listening to this debate may have lost a brother, a father or a child this year or last year and these are scars that will last a lifetime. We need to be conscious of this when we speak about...

Farm Safety (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I will try to bear this in mind.

Departmental Schemes (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The poultry welfare and sow welfare schemes were suspended for new applications on 8 June 2011 as part of my decision to temporarily close the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS, until the position in relation to the availability of funds for next year is clarified. As I indicated at the time, I could not defend a situation in which the Department continued to accept...

Departmental Schemes (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The pig and poultry sectors will be and are being prioritised. Applications opened for pigs and poultry last June, more than a year ago. I suspended applications a week less than a year into the scheme. People had almost a full year to submit their applications. There is an urgency with regard to poultry as by next January the necessary changes need to have been made in poultry units to...

Animal Welfare (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: My Department's responsibility, which is set down in legislation, extends to the welfare and protection of farm animals only, that is animals normally bred or kept for the production of food or for use in another farming practice. The relevant legislation in this area is the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes Act 1984 and the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals)...

Animal Welfare (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I expect animal welfare legislation to be introduced before the end of the year, hopefully in the autumn. The Department is working on the Bill and I intend to have it published by the end of the year, although it will require considerable consultation. I understand it is intended to consolidate all animal welfare legislation in one Act. The Deputy is correct that it is not satisfactory to...

Common Agricultural Policy (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to have an opportunity to comment on the state of play regarding the Common Agricultural Policy review. Given the general nature of the question, I could respond for a long time, although the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would not allow me to do so. It is noteworthy that we will know by this evening what is the opening position vis-À-vis the Common Agricultural Policy budget. The...

Common Agricultural Policy (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: Six months ago, people inside and outside the House were talking about a reduction in the Common Agricultural Policy budget of between 15% and 30% in actual terms. We are now talking about maintaining the position as is and trying to build on it. We have, therefore, come a long way and this progress should be recognised. We have not yet achieved this outcome and it is possible we will be...

Food Safety Standards (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The recent E. coli outbreak resulted in significant loses for horticultural producers and traders across the European Union. Thankfully Ireland was not affected to the same extent as the main exporting countries such as Spain and the Netherlands. The sharp fall in consumer demand in light of the crisis resulted in a significant surplus of produce on the EU market. I attended a specially...

Food Safety Standards (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is correct. The implications for Spain were that tens of thousands of seasonal workers lost their jobs and the industry has been decimated this summer. All that happened on the basis of a false accusation that the source of this problem was cucumbers from Spain. The food safety implications of the crisis were also discussed at yesterday's meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in...

National Apiculture Programme (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has been raising this issue for some time and I hope I can now finally give him an answer that is satisfactory. I will send him a more comprehensive briefing note as well, as I will not have time to provide all the information. Bees play an essential role worldwide by pollinating many of our commercial food crops. They also maintain biodiversity in the wild by pollinating wild...

National Apiculture Programme (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure about the acid but I will forward all the information I have on the matter to the Deputy. I have asked for extensive information because the Deputy has raised the issue twice and has not received satisfactory answers to date. The special import licence can issue quite quickly once approval is granted in a member state. Obviously, I am anxious for Ireland to get the most...