Results 5,921-5,940 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I am looking at the Northern Ireland legislation, which was cited earlier. Section 6 of the Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 states that a person commits an offence if that person removes the whole or any part of a dog's tail or causes the whole or any part of a dog's tail to be removed by another person. A person commits an offence if that person is responsible for a dog and...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: No, I do not think so. I am not a qualified vet. First, I would like to think vets are professional enough to be able to make decisions on the welfare of animals without being clouded in their judgment by whether they support hunting. The issue at stake is the welfare of the animal, be it a hound or a horse, just as in the case of farming. Vets should be able to carry out their work on...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: First, for the record, I have received a submission from the Countryside Alliance. We have had submissions from many different organisations. As Members are aware, the Countryside Alliance is a strong supporter of hunting and other such pursuits. The first paragraph of section 16 states: "A person shall not, except in accordance with animal health and welfare regulations, carry out an...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: -----although I know a lot about dogs. My dog is certainly not a show dog. My understanding is one cannot dock a dog's tail for display purposes. I am pretty confident about that. Perhaps I am wrong but if it is taking place, my view is that I do not think we should allow it. We should not dock a dog's tail to make it look pretty. If there is a reason to dock a dog's tail in terms of...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: If someone wants to make representations to me on the issue, I will consider it in the context of regulations, but I would need to be convinced that we should be docking dogs' tails to make them look like nicer show animals. I am being patronising. There are many show breeders and I have no difficulty with that activity. I am supportive of it. However, many of the people concerned are...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I will reassure Members. We will not introduce a statutory instrument with a series of regulations without having engaged in broad consultations. It is important that we not do anything that would inconvenience people or animals unnecessarily. The legislation will not have a negative impact on commercial farming where there is good reason to use normal, sensible farming practices in...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: If the Senator reads the section, he will see that it reads, a "person shall not, except in accordance with animal health and welfare regulations, [this is where the statutory instrument comes in] perform an operation or procedure (with or without the use of instruments) involving interference with the sensitive tissue". It is a question of ensuring people do not cut costs and corners by...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I have been told that the 1876 Act applies. In fairness, that is not a credible answer for me to give. The issue raised by the Senator is predominantly the responsibility of the Department of Health, as it is not an agricultural animal issue as such, rather it is a scientific and animal testing issue. Some are uncomfortable with the activity, but others regard it as a necessary evil. This...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: We had a discussion about this whole section in the Department before coming into the Seanad today. There is a problem with this because several Departments and several Acts deal with poison. They could be the wildlife Acts which come under the responsibility of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, or Department of Health rules and regulations in place around the use of poisons....

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: For what it is worth, my understanding is that the National Parks and Wildlife Service wanted us to ban the laying of all poisons except for rats and mice. We were trying to put limits on how poison can be used and where it can be used to protect the birds Senators have mentioned. We all have an obligation to protect wildlife. There is no reason commercial farming cannot take place at the...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I will clarify a number of things. The legislation is about all animals and that is the point. It is about bringing all animals, whether they are domestic pets, companions or used on farms or for sports, under a common standard and set of rules that are required to outline how they should be protected and the responsibility that goes with ownership of an animal. The five freedoms referred...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: Farm animals are protected animals.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (23 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: A protected animal is defined as "...an animal of a kind commonly kept for farming, recreational, domestic or sporting purposes on the island of Ireland ... when it is in the possession or under the control of a human being, whether permanently or on a temporary basis or not living in a wild state...". In other words, the animal must be in captivity. An intensive housing unit is defined as...

Written Answers — Animal Breeding Regulations: Animal Breeding Regulations (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The importation of dogs into the EU from the USA is governed by a common set of rules laid down in EU Regulation 998/2003 and transposed by S.I. No. 7 of 2012. All dogs brought into Ireland from the USA must be: · Identified by either micro-chip or a clearly readable tattoo (tattoo applied prior to July 2011), · Subsequently vaccinated against rabies, with the first vaccination...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The Dairy Equipment Scheme sets out a number of criteria for the ranking of applications which are received under the Scheme during the course of a particular tranche. Priority is given in the ranking process to successful applicants for milk quota under the New Entrants Scheme and the Milk Quota Trading Scheme, with new entrants being awarded the highest points. This is in accordance with...

Written Answers — Tree Felling: Tree Felling (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: While the owner of the land on which a tree stands may apply for a felling licence under the Forestry Act 1946, no provision exists to allow persons to fell trees on another person's land without the permission of the landowner and without a felling licence, as required under the Act. Section 51 of the Forestry Act 1946 states that a person may "..remove or cause or permit to be removed...

Written Answers — Wildlife Protection: Wildlife Protection (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The legislative responsibility of my Department covers farmed animals only. However, while foxes do not come under the remit of my Department, I am nevertheless aware of the increased number of foxes living in urban areas in recent times. As the mating season takes place in January/February, foxes are particularly noticeable at this time of year as the young foxes begin to emerge from the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The person named joined REPS 4 in June 2008 and received payments for the first three years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and accordingly is subject to EU regulation which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. These checks have now been completed and the 75% REPS...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (24 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as mentioned by the Deputy, are the responsibility of the company.

Order of Business (6 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Deputy Boyd Barrett should stop scaremongering.