Results 6,581-6,600 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: Where is the Deputy's evidence for that?
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: The Deputy cannot back that claim up with facts.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: No.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: What is the Deputy's point?
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: To be honest, the Deputy is trying to find fault where there is none.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: Regarding the timing of this, it is a bit ridiculous to ask when will the appeals be finished when they actually have not come in yet. We must wait and see how many appeals come in before we decide.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: One cannot decide how long it will take to hear appeals until one knows with how many appeals one has to deal. Will the Deputy ask a rational question?
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: I understand that more than half of the cases of derogations have been successful but I can get the exact figure for the Deputy later. It is imminently sensible that if one is going to write to 10,000 farmers to outline the rules for qualification for the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS, then one would use that opportunity also to check where they are farming, under what schemes, and so on.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: I do not believe farmers have a significant problem with ticking a box as to whether they are farming in a commonage area if they are successfully getting a derogation. The Deputy is trying to create an issue where there is none.
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: The whole point of doing this is so we are not hitting the poorest and the weakest. While the Deputy gets up on his soapbox, trying to create an impression that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is only interested in commercial farming, the facts do not bear it out. When one looks at the prioritisation measures under the AEOS, farmers in NHA areas, less-favoured areas, those...
- Other Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Eligibility (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not want to hear the facts. We have focused our payments on small farmers in genuinely disadvantaged areas. It does not suit the Deputy's argument to look at the facts on what we have actually done and the choices we have had to make with the limited amount of money we have to spend. We have prioritised protecting the income of farmers in disadvantaged areas and, where...
- Other Questions: Forestry Sector (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53, 55 and 60 together. The Deputy will get my official answer, so I will deal with what I suspect will be-----
- Other Questions: Forestry Sector (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: I would like to give the Deputy added value if I could.
- Other Questions: Forestry Sector (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: Maybe the Deputy might try and put me under pressure with his questions rather than heckling. The Government has made a decision to look at the possibility of selling harvesting rights for Coillte forests. This autumn we are in a process of working with NewERA and the company to see how we might best do that in a way that would not damage the broader timber and forestry industry. This has...
- Other Questions: Forestry Sector (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: That is a series of valid questions. The Deputy is correct in respect of the mills in that most commercial mills are at full production. Many of them obtain 80% or more of their timber from Coillte forests and many have long-term supply contracts in place with Coillte. We will need to protect these supply contracts to ensure that if the forest, not land, ownership structure changes, one...
- Other Questions: Forestry Sector (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: The valuations have differed. In truth, we will not know what the amount of money is until we go to the market, but the most recent valuation through NewERA is between €400 million and €600 million.
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Meetings (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: Inshore fisheries form an important part of our overall fishing sector and I am well aware of the wide range of issues which people who are making their living from this type of fishing face on a regular basis. Most of our inshore fisheries are operated by local people who are an integral part of our rural and coastal communities. This type of fishing is an important source of income for...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tax Code (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: Exemption from income tax on the net rental profits arising from the lease of farmland has been available since January 1996 in certain circumstances and with defined limits. The eligibility and reliefs associated with it have been adjusted in a number of budgets since. At present, farmers must be a minimum of 40 years of age or over to be eligible for the relief. The following income...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Expenditure (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: I would like, first of all, to acknowledge the importance of the agri-environment schemes in environmental terms and also from the point of view of the contribution which they make to farm incomes. These schemes support farmers who choose to deliver environmental goods for the benefit of society as a whole. The fact that I made provision of €243m in the 2012 Vote for my Department for...
- Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Fisheries Policy Reform (25 Sep 2012)
Simon Coveney: The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is the fisheries policy of the European Union which was first put in place in 1983 and has been subject to reviews every 10 years. The Commission proposals involve a basic policy regulation, a proposal on the Common organisation of the market (CMO) and a proposal on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). All the proposals are subject to...