Results 5,821-5,840 of 18,461 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Written Answers — Sheep Production: Sheep Production (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53, 56, 66 and 80 together. As further evidence of my commitment to support the sheep sector, I recently announced the introduction of the Grassland Sheep Scheme. This is a three-year Scheme, with a total budget of €54 million. This funding, which comes from unused Single Payment funds, will provide a very important and timely boost to support incomes in the...

Written Answers — Dairy Industry: Dairy Industry (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Over the past few years the international dairy industry has witnessed extremes of volatility in product prices on an unprecedented scale. During 2007 dairy prices reached record high levels during the international commodity price boom. In 2008 world dairy markets returned to far lower levels primarily due to a collapse in demand caused by the global economic downturn. The slump continued...

Written Answers — Single Payment Scheme: Single Payment Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: No changes have been made with regard to the definition of eligible areas under the Single Farm Payment. Historically, the vast majority of Scheme applicants have been making sufficient deductions from their claims to take account of such areas in that they reduced the area claimed on. In many cases as no mapping evidence supporting these deductions was provided, the ineligible features...

Written Answers — Live Exports: Live Exports (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: My Department facilitates international trade by providing prospective importing countries with the necessary assurances and certification in relation to the health and welfare of animals, and where demand exists, through the assessment and approval of means of transport to ensure that they meet the necessary animal health and welfare standards. In the past two years, my Department has...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Out of 29,376 farmers due payments in REPS 4, 100% payments have issued to over 21,000 as of 23rd April 2010, with a further 1,342 payments issuing this week. To meet the requirements of EU regulations, applications for REPS payments have to go through an exhaustive series of administrative checks before payment can be released. In a significant number of cases, those checks raised issues...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Subject to the need to carry out adequate administrative checks to meet regulatory and audit requirements, it is my intention to ensure that participants in the new Agri-Environment Options Scheme can start their contracts at the earliest possible date.

Written Answers — Commercial Semi-State Bodies: Commercial Semi-State Bodies (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Neither I nor officials of my Department have made any proposal to Coillte or Bord na Móna regarding a possible merger or strategic alliance between the two organizations. A full review of state forestry policy, including the role, functions and operations of Coillte, is currently being undertaken in line with the commitment in the renewed Programme for Government. The terms of reference...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The new Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) allows farmers to select specific actions relative to their own farm for which payment of up to €5,000 per annum can be achieved. I am satisfied that the Scheme will prove to be attractive in particular to REPS 3 farmers, who will have previous experience and expertise in relation to the agri-environment actions contained in the new scheme and...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Government has approved the heads of the Forestry Bill, and discussions are continuing between my Department and the Office of the Attorney General with a view to finalizing the text. There is no specified timetable for its enactment. It would be my intention to introduce the Bill in the Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Animal Diseases: Animal Diseases (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Veterinary Laboratory Service of my Department diagnosed the first cases of Bovine Neonatal Pancytopaenia (BNP) in Ireland on 13 April. The cases involved two, two week old calves from the same farm in Cork which were submitted to the Regional Laboratory in Cork. BNP is a disease of calves less than one month of age which is variously referred to as "Calf Haemorrhagic Disease",...

Written Answers — On-farm Investment Schemes: On-farm Investment Schemes (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: My Department recently received EU Commission approval for the various targeted on-farm investment schemes announced by my Department in 2009. Due to the relatively short time-frames for completion of the investment works concerned, my priority is to introduce the Sow Welfare and Poultry Welfare Schemes first. Arrangements will then be made to introduce the three remaining schemes,...

Written Answers — Departmental Committees: Departmental Committees (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Farmers Charter Action Plan 2009-2011 was agreed with the farm organisations in May 2009. Further consultations subsequently took place with the farm organisations in relation to changes to a number of the main Department schemes, including the establishment and recent launch of the new Agri-Environment Options Scheme, and a Chairman of the Monitoring Committee has not yet been appointed....

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: My Department is committed to promoting and supporting the development of a sustainable forestry sector for the benefit of farmers, the wider economy and the environment. To achieve this my Department promotes the planting of new forests through a range of attractive support measures - the Afforestation Grant Scheme, the Forest Environment Protection Scheme and the Native Woodland Scheme....

Written Answers — Dairy Industry: Dairy Industry (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The EU Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) provides a range of measures that can be used to manage the dairy market, and these were modified in the CAP reforms of 1999 and 2003. In the Health Check negotiations in 2008 there was pressure to remove or weaken the support measures significantly. At that time I fought hard to keep the key market instruments in place and the importance of the...

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The cancellation of flights following the volcanic eruptions in Iceland has had a low impact on the food industry. Up to 97% of food exports are moved by road and sea. Investment in the road infrastructure in Ireland and frequent sailings means that containers can switch quite easily between ports. Some specialist seafood products are exported by air to Japan, but as this is not the peak...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Out of 29, 376 farmers due payments in REPS 4, 100% payments have issued to over 21,000 as of 23rd April 2010, with a further 1,342 payments issuing this week. The processing of REPS 4 payments is governed by EU Regulations which require exhaustive administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections. In most parts of the country, the processing of payments is well advanced and the majority of...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The processing of REPS 4 payments is governed by EU Regulations which require exhaustive administrative checks and on-the-spot inspections. In most parts of the country, the processing of payments is well advanced and the majority of participants have received their full payments for 2009. In a significant number of cases, however, the administrative checks raised issues and queries which...

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The CSO publishes employment statistics each quarter in the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS). The QNHS estimates the number of persons employed in any given sector for that quarter rather than the inward and outward flows in terms of job creation and job losses in that sector for the quarter. In common with the overall economy, the effects of the global recession and downturn in the...

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: Bord Bia publishes annual data on the value of food and beverage exports. They estimate that in 2008 and 2009 over €15 billion worth of produce was exported by the sector. Their most recent estimates are that the value food and drink exports in 2009 declined by 12% to approximately €7.1 billion. This reduction was attributable to a number of factors including declines in the value of...

Written Answers — Dairy Sector: Dairy Sector (29 Apr 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Government is committed to ensuring that the Irish dairy sector reaches its full potential. One of the major challenges will be to ensure that Irish farming and the agri-food sector is at the heart of an evolving high-value food market, which is focused on quality and innovation. This is at the core of Government strategy under the AgriVision 2015 Plan which set out a series of actions...