Results 7,701-7,720 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Appeals (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: A 2011 Single Farm Payment Application was received from the person named on 09 May 2011. This case was selected for inspection following which penalties were applied to the payment made. That decision was subject to an internal appeals procedure and the penalty was upheld. The applicant has exercised the right of appeal to the Agricultural Appeals Office and that Office will now...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: The payment which issued to the person named on 26 September was calculated on the basis that the applicant’s main holding/residence, as known to my Department at that time, was not located in a Disadvantaged Area. However, following further contact with the applicant and a review of the maps of the holding concerned, the ‘farm hub’ has now been confirmed as being located...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: The information requested is being complied at present and will be forwarded to the Deputy directly.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: State Agencies (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Further to the Government decision that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte’s forests be put forward for sale, Coillte Board and management have been actively engaged in recent months with NewERA, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and my Department to examine the financial and other implications of developing the potential of Coillte’s forest assets....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Agencies (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: My Department has not established any State agencies, forums or task forces since the start of 2012.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, subsection (1), to delete lines 9 to 14.These all are in my name. I do not anticipate this will be a contentious issue. During an earlier debate it became apparent that placing the definition of "intensive unit" so far from the two sections to which it applies made the text less user friendly. It is best to move the definition of "intensive unit" from the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 6: In page 9, line 22, to delete “of a kind commonly”.This is a proposal to remove the words "of a kind commonly" before the phrase "kept for farming recreation, domestic or sporting purposes on the island of Ireland". Concerns were expressed that the phrase "a kind commonly kept for farming" would exclude unusual or exotic species such a snake kept as a...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 7: In page 11, subsection (1), lines 10 and 11, to delete “necessary” and substitute “reasonable”.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I am happy to accommodate the replacing of the word "necessary" with "reasonable" in this section, but I am not prepared to do the same in the general animal welfare section because that would undermine the Bill's new approach towards animal welfare. Section 8 deals with the prohibition on farm animals from straying. I accept that some flexibility is needed in this regard. That is why the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Given the conversation on fur farming we had last week, it is no harm to spell out in law the onus on farmers to ensure their mink do not escape.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I move amendment No. 8: In page 11, subsection (1)(b)(ii), line 19, to delete "is kept." and substitute the following:"is kept, having regard to shared boundaries and commonage.".

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: The amendment would make no material change to the meaning; rather, it would merely change the tense of the verbs and, therefore, would not improve the Bill which has been drafted effectively by members of staff in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. The amendment would not improve on the work they have done. The claim my team is making is that there is no material difference between...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Section 9(b) states, "disease is present there". If we say "disease has to be present", the Minister has to find an instance of the disease in the area. If he or she knows it is likely to have spread into the area, he or she will want to close it down. That is the flexibility a Minister should want. If, for example, there is an outbreak of disease in west Cork and I know it is likely to...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Exactly, it would be "at risk of, or suspected of being affected with disease".

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: No. If someone has reason to believe a neighbouring farm is likely to be infected, it makes sense to put a ring around it. For example, a disease may be dormant for a period. We are trying to cover areas in which disease is present, but the Minister should also have the flexibility to create a disease eradication area where he or she considers it is at risk, or suspected of being affected...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: It is the same thing. If the Deputy wants to table an amendment with that wording on Report Stage, I will accept it as he is only substituting the word "by" for "with".

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: I think so. That is my reading of it.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Yes.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: Does the Deputy want me to respond to this amendment first?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (27 Nov 2012)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy may have let the cat out of the bag. I feel strongly about this and we had a long debate on this issue in the Seanad. This and the valuation of animals, which we will deal with later, were the two areas on which we had the longest discussions. If we were to introduce "reasonable" in Part 3, which is the most important part of the legislation in dealing with animal welfare and...