Results 3,461-3,480 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The implementation of the nitrates directive is a matter, in the first instance, for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who signed regulations giving legal effect to Ireland's national action programme on nitrates on 11 December 2005. Ireland is proceeding with its request for a derogation designed to allow certain farmers to operate, under appropriate conditions...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: Work on drafting the animal health Bill is proceeding in my Department. There is still a significant body of preparatory work to be completed and it is not possible at this stage to indicate a date for publication.

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: Consumers are entitled to and should be provided with full information on foodstuffs. In this context, my Department continues to give considerable attention to food labelling. Given the complexities involved, with account having to be taken of EU legislation and the Single Market, a food labelling group was established in 2002 to examine the matter in detail. Since then, my Department has...

Written Answers — World Trade Negotiations: World Trade Negotiations (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: I believe that the interests of agriculture and consumers are best protected by the Common Agricultural Policy, as it has evolved following recent reforms, which is consumer-focused and guarantees food supply to the highest standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental sustainability. A cornerstone of this reformed Common Agricultural Policy is the recently introduced single farm...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: Following consideration of a technical report on possible additional costs that could arise following restocking, I sought and received approval from the EU Commission, under state aid rules, to make additional payments to flock owners who had flocks depopulated during the period December 2001 to 15 April 2003. As the additional costs in each case are related inter alia to the number of...

Written Answers — Rural Diversification: Rural Diversification (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The National University of Ireland's report Rural Living: An Analysis of 1,249 Households in the Republic of Ireland is welcome, and provides an interesting perspective on the issue of rural diversification. Although the report itself speaks of a relative degree of reluctance by farm respondents to consider new activities or diversification, it should be noted that there is already a large...

Written Answers — Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The main statutes governing cruelty to animals in this country are the Protection of Animals Acts 1911 and 1965. Responsibility for pursuing complaints under that legislation rests with the Garda Síochána which may, on receipt of a complaint, investigate and bring a prosecution against any person alleged to have committed an act of cruelty against an animal. Officers of my Department are...

Written Answers — Single Payment Scheme: Single Payment Scheme (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The huge task of implementing the single farm payment scheme was successfully achieved when over €1 billion in single payments issued to 118,500 farmers last December, meeting the target we had set ourselves of making the payments on the first possible date. This was a major undertaking and the outcome, after painstaking preparatory work in establishing individual entitlements, was, by any...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: I am supportive of initiatives to promote food on all-island basis where this is of mutual benefit and leads to closer economic co-operation. Bord Bia, as part of its statutory role in promoting the development of Ireland's food and drink industry, works in close co-operation with its counterpart in Northern Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland. Joint promotions and events have been successfully...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The implementation of the nitrates directive is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister has recently made regulations giving legal effect to Ireland's national action programme under the directive. There has been much comment and speculation in recent days and weeks about the effect of the nitrates regulations on...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: As indicated in the following table, since 1 January 2006, myself and the Ministers of State in the Department, along with Department officials, have met representatives of the farming organisations on issues of particular relevance to them, including the nitrates directive. In the weeks leading up to the signing of the nitrates regulations by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The implementation of the nitrates directive is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister has recently made regulations giving legal effect to Ireland's national action programme under the directive. It is now important for farmers to be given as much accurate information as possible about where they stand legally and...

Written Answers — Horticulture Policy: Horticulture Policy (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: With annual farm-gate production valued currently at €270 million and retail sales in the order of €650 million, the sector employs some 10,000 people across the production and distribution chain. The key issue that has impacted on the development of the horticulture industry as a whole in recent years is the increased concentration at retail level with the consequent significant change...

Written Answers — Horticulture Policy: Horticulture Policy (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: In August 2005, I announced a grant aid programme for the development of the seed potato sector. The programme, which comes under the national development plan, funds capital investment projects for specialised seed production in 2005-06. A grant rate of 35% applies under the scheme. The main objective of the scheme is to improve the marketing infrastructure of the seed potato sector by...

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: FIRM, the food institutional research measure, is a public good food research programme funded under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. Calls for proposals have issued periodically since 2000 and a total of €63 million in funding has been awarded for 137 projects, including €6.7 million, which was recently approved for 14 projects under the food safety and beverages themes. I am...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: REPS 3 has been a major success and participation has broken previous records. Spending on REPS has increased from €208 million in 2004 to €283 million in 2005, and provision has been made in the 2006 Estimates for a further increase to €323 million this year. The increased allocation for 2006 reflects the fact that I expect that there will be further significant growth in 2006.

Written Answers — Live Exports: Live Exports (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: Trade in sheep between member states of the European Union is subject to the provisions of Council Directive 91/68/EEC, as amended, which provide reinforced controls on the movement of sheep and goats. Until recently, these controls provided, as a minimum requirement, that breeding and fattening sheep had to be certified by an official veterinarian as having been continuously resident on a...

Written Answers — Research Funding: Research Funding (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: Under the 2005 research stimulus fund programme, 12 research projects were recently awarded grant assistance totalling €4.5 million. The research projects cover a broad range of areas, including agri-environment, non-food crops and agri-food economics and will involve inter-institutional collaboration. Three of the projects selected for funding relate to research projects involving biofuels...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The prospects for forestry planting in 2006 are positive. This is the final year for planting under the current rural development programme and farmers can avail of a 20 year premium by planting under the current forestry grant and premium scheme. The scheme provides a 100% planting grant. I have provided for a budget of €137 million towards the cost of forestry supports in 2006, the...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (16 Feb 2006)

Mary Coughlan: The forestry sector provides a high value input to the national economy, and makes a significant contribution to the economic well being of rural communities. The sector contributes some €698 million annually to the economy. While it is difficult to provide economic values for the non-timber benefits of Irish forests, an annual value in the region of €88 million for the recreation, carbon...