Results 4,221-4,240 of 4,571 for speaker:Trevor Sargent

Fisheries Protection. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: ——it is an example of adopting a tough stance and getting a benefit.

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: Some €128 million has been allocated to the Forestry subhead for 2009, demonstrating the Government's commitment to maintaining an active and substantial forestry programme into the future. This significant investment by the Government will allow for the operation of a range of forestry schemes next year. However, much of the allocation for 2009 is already committed and the scope for new...

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: I cannot imagine that.

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: I will try to elaborate further. It is not telling tales out of school to say we sought more money so we could introduce the necessary schemes. We did not get everything we wanted, but we got most of it. The €128 million we got was considered good in the context of the situation with which we must deal. Therefore, we had to prioritise. The priority was to put the funds into the...

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: Much as I would love to be able to give the Deputy a date, I cannot. I have already said that the available resources will determine when it will be possible to extend the revised forest road scheme. Unfortunately, that is the reality and I cannot dress it up or make it sound any better. I remind the Deputy there is a growing demand for the thinnings because they are the raw material for...

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: All I can do is tell people the truth, which is they should not wait for the revised forest roads scheme before getting on with thinning. I have an interest in the forestry planting area.

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: We both have, so let us speak as people with that interest. It is bad advice to tell people to hang on so they may get a grant for thinning, because as the years pass, the trees become less valuable unless they are thinned at the right time. It is not possible to say wait and see and the grant will come in due course. I want people to take the decisions now and get the value of the...

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: We cannot just print the money.

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: No, it is a case of the budget. I do not know what the Deputy expects me to do. Does he want me to take the thinnings, turn them into paper and print money and give it back to people? The only outcome of that would be an increased sale of wheelbarrows, because we could not manage that without causing significant inflation. We must be realistic. We do not have the money for the schemes,...

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: There is more to be said about it, to be honest.

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: I am not answering the question but I would be guided by——

Afforestation Programme. (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: ——the Deputy opposite. Additional information not given on the floor of the House. The State has made a substantial investment in forestry over the last number of years and I recognise the need to manage the forest resource it has funded. Given the many calls on the funding available, my officials are assessing how available resources can best be employed to meet the demands of industry....

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: He will be.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: I thank all who took part in the debate yesterday and today. Regrettably, most of the contributions from the other side of the House failed to have any serious regard for the real state of the public finances.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: It has changed. Only yesterday we saw the November Exchequer returns show a further deterioration in tax revenues.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: No Minister could take any pleasure from having to reduce payments to farmers or suspend various schemes but difficult times demand difficult decisions. What the Opposition will not acknowledge is that our Department will still be supporting farming with €3.26 million next year. Unsurprisingly, not one Opposition Deputy referred to the fact that spending on REPS is increasing by 7% next...

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: I have to fill in some of the gaps in the debate.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: Several speakers suggested that income cuts would be made to the suckler cow welfare scheme. As the Minister made clear last night, however, this is a misleading and disingenuous representation. The partnership agreement states in regard to the introduction of a new suckler scheme that funding of €250 million will be allocated from the rural development funding package.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: The Minister has ensured this commitment will be honoured in full and it is about time that the Members opposite stopped misrepresenting the position. This is a new stream of income for Irish farmers, with the first payments only now being made, and it cannot therefore be regarded as a cut in farm incomes in 2009.

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) (3 Dec 2008)

Trevor Sargent: By the end of this month, €33 million will have been paid and a further €44 million is being paid in the early months of 2009. In regard to installation aid and early retirement schemes, the Minister has repeatedly stated that he is anxious to revisit the decision to suspend their entry as soon as circumstances permit. He indicated this during his contribution to last night's debate and...