Results 5,461-5,480 of 18,459 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (10 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The person named applied for 24 animals in 2009 under the Suckler Welfare Scheme. It is a condition of this Scheme that for herds of more than 10 cows the calves must be weaned in at least two separate groups with each group being removed at a minimum interval of five days. The applicant did not comply with this condition and, therefore, is not eligible for payment under the provisions of...

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The rates of payment under the rural environment protection scheme included a premium over and above the basic REPS payment in respect of Natura, natural heritage areas and commonage land. The basic payment reflected the whole-farm approach of the scheme under which the same rate per hectare was paid to each participant regardless of the specific actions he or she had undertaken. To secure...

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: It is not REPS light; it is a new scheme. As Deputy Creed will know from discussions he has had with me and the Oireachtas committee, the European Commission would not allow us to bring in a whole-farm-based scheme. In 2006, the European Court of Auditors was severely critical of agri-environment schemes in general, not just our scheme, and it stated that it was often not possible to...

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Creed is aware the Commission brought in some years ago a calendar date for farmers to participate in REPS. In the past, those participating in REPS 2 and REPS 3, by and large, made their applications in November and December and the anniversary date occurred, by and large, at that time of the year; 17 May has now become the closing date because it coincides with the single farm...

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The whole-farm approach is not available to any country in regard to these measures.

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: REPS 4 was introduced-----

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I closed REPS 4 but I paid out the largest amount of money ever under that scheme. The reality is that 63,000 people are participating in REPS at the present time.

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: This time last year, there were 46,000 in it.

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Deputy should let me answer. I have not misled the House at any time. The Deputy is the one who continually misleads the House with his suggestions and inaccuracies.

Agri-Environment Scheme. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The reality is that 17,000 new applications were received before 15 May last year and a further 1,600 before 8 July. All of those are being honoured. The highest level of funding for REPS was provided and paid out in 2009. That will be repeated in 2010.

Dairy Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: In October 2009, I announced the establishment of a dairy consultative group so that I could ascertain the views of major stakeholders in the dairy sector on issues emerging at the EU Commission's high level group on the dairy sector. The Commission established the high level group following a special meeting of the Council of Ministers on the dairy sector last October. It is chaired by...

Dairy Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: When a working group is being established, there are always more organisations and individual representatives seeking access and participating than it is possible to facilitate otherwise it would become unwieldy. Apart from the working group and the consultative group, the Department meets other groups. More than any other Department, it is open to meeting groups, consultation and policy...

Dairy Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: This group would have met people at official level, although I am open to correction on that. We may be blamed at times for being too accessible to groups. The other groups represented on the consultative group also have disparate opinions on the dairy sector but the one viewpoint shared by everyone around the table is that the dairy industry has been going through a difficult time. It has...

Dairy Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I have no problem with meeting groups, I am probably too accessible.

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: As I indicated in my reply to the Deputy on 27 January, I am pleased that the Spanish Presidency is committed to progressing the issue of improving the functioning of the food chain. There is a need for considerable improvement so that all players, including producers and consumers, receive fair treatment. The Council of Ministers has held an initial exchange of views on a communication...

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I thank Deputy Hoctor for the question on the labelling issue, which she has raised with me on numerous occasions. The Commission has carried out a two-year consultation on Community quality policy to better communicate to consumers higher EU standards in marketing, geographic indicators and organic and quality assurance to give EU farmers a competitive edge. The Council has endorsed a...

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Sherlock's question is very comprehensive. Regardless of which side of the House Members come from we all support country of origin labelling. Some years ago, the Department of Health and Children, the lead Department with regard to labelling since it is the health directorate in Europe that deals with this matter, put proposals directly to the Commission on sheep meat and poultry...

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Doyle makes the valid point that this involves the primary producer, the consumer and the retail sector. It would be beneficial to everyone to have in place these new systems.

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Recently, the Tánaiste spoke in this House of the introduction in the near future of a voluntary code to be followed by a statutory code which would follow legislation to merge the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. It is within that particular architecture-----

Food Industry. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I appreciate Deputy Doyle's work in this regard but the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has been working very assiduously in respect of this issue. The legislation is complicated but it is a very important issue for every sector of society.