Results 7,201-7,220 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: I welcome the opportunity to appear before the committee and hope we can have a constructive dialogue. It is not possible for me to outline the budget for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine today, which will be presented in six weeks time. That would be an unreasonable ask. What we are trying to do is to have more active discussion in the build up to the budget in order...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: I can give the committee the figures again. Let us be clear that these are savings that would be made, if we decided to leave things as they are. However, obviously there is pressure on me to do more.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Basically, if we decided to continue as we are with no policy change, these are the potential savings that would be made next year as a result of the decisions taken this year, last year or the year before and as a result of schemes being phased out over time.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Those figures help explain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: The suckler welfare scheme is a five year scheme and this is the fifth year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: This is the point I am making. If I do nothing, there will be no scheme next year. In order for there to be a suckler cow welfare scheme next year I need to put in place a new scheme. In the context of doing nothing, the savings next year are as I have outlined.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: The detail was not contained in the document. I am trying to provide these details to be helpful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Let us have the conversation. This is a new process. It has never happened before. We are trying to be as open as we can and to get input from people who have experience and knowledge but who are not necessarily in government and therefore not directly inputting through the Department. To be fair, my record is one of being as open as I can, whether in debates in the Dáil or Seanad or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Some things are difficult to predict. I was unaware of it before my appointment to the Department but one such area is called EU disallowances. Every year each country gets assessed by the Commission in terms of how they are implementing schemes and single farm payments and so on. The Commission then makes a decision on the amount of receipts they will not return to member states and we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: With the Chairman's permission, I wish to explain why there is a specific structural problem on the capital side. It is important that members understand why the expenditure ceiling is so rigid. We started last year with a ceiling for capital expenditure of €150 million. Forestry alone accounts for €110 million, which includes all forestry premia, at as cost of between...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Members should be aware that I am obliged to leave at noon. I am happy to answer Deputy Ó Cuív's question, but I am anxious to emphasise that I am under a time constraint. I have no intention of departing under questioning but I must leave at noon.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: No. The various Departments are required to implement different percentage cuts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: I do not have the figures for other Departments. If one takes out single farm payment allocation-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Will the Deputy let me answer the question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Allow me to nail down that point. The single farm payment does not come directly from Europe to farmers. In fact, it must be administered by my Department, which involves a cost. More than 400 staff are employed in administering the scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: I appeal to the Chair that I be allowed to answer the questions that are put to me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: Excluding the single farm payment allocation, the reduction in our expenditure ceiling is 8.5%. That assumes there is no change in our allocation and the figures we have outlined today are delivered. Some Departments will have a higher percentage cut and others a lower one.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: It is.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Expenditure Allocation 2013: Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (25 Oct 2012)

Simon Coveney: If I may, Chairman, I will briefly answer Deputy Ó Cuív's question. It is a fair question in the context of the article in The Irish Times today which suggests there has been a 40% cut in schemes in the past five years. It is important to answer articles like this so that people understand the reality. If one takes the farm waste management scheme, which was for a specific...