Results 61-80 of 354 for speaker:Joe Walsh

Written Answers — Common Agricultural Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: I propose to take Questions Nos. 219, 224 and 228 together. The recent reform of the CAP will be of benefit to developing countries. Decoupled payments will replace production-related supports, thereby reducing the potential distortion impact of these measures. The Council of Agriculture Ministers and the European Union generally are acutely aware of the needs of developing countries and of...

Written Answers — Potato Disease: Potato Disease (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: I presume the Deputy is referring to an outbreak of ring rot on a farm in Wales, which occurred in November 2003. Ring rot is a bacterial disease that only affects potatoes. It is not airborne and does not survive in soil without a host crop, but it can survive for some time on machinery, handling equipment and stores. Ring rot is primarily introduced by the planting of infected seed...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Areas Scheme: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: The position is that on one occasion in 2002 and on three occasions in 2003 of my Department raised the issues of extension and reclassification of Ireland's disadvantaged areas at meetings with the EU Commission. On all four occasions the Commission services strongly made the point that a review request for reclassification of any area could lead to a demand for justification of the current...

Written Answers — Control of Horses Legislation: Control of Horses Legislation (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: Under section 17(1) of the Act a local authority may by-laws declare all or any part of its functional area to be a control area where it is satisfied that horses in that area should be licensed having regard to the need to control the keeping of horses, the need to prevent nuisance, annoyance or injury to persons or damage to property by horses and such other matters as it considers...

Written Answers — Common Agricultural Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: The Council of Agriculture Ministers is acutely aware of the needs of developing countries and of the implications for them of policy decisions taken at EU level. I am satisfied that the recent reform of the CAP will be of benefit to developing countries, including ACP countries. Decoupled payments will replace production-related supports, thereby reducing the potential distortion impact of...

Written Answers — Common Agricultural Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: The reform of the Common Agriculture Policy as agreed last year in Luxembourg has resulted in a continuation of the move from product support to producer support. The key for Ireland, due to my decision to go for full decoupling at the earliest date, is that the single farm payment will no longer be linked to the production of individual agricultural commodities. This complies with the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: I am not aware of any application for grant aid under the native woodland scheme from the person in question.

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Areas Scheme: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: The position is that on one occasion in 2002 and on three occasions in 2003 of my Department raised the issues of extension and reclassification of Ireland's disadvantaged areas at meetings with the EU Commission. On all four occasions the Commission services strongly made the point that a review request for reclassification of any area could lead to a demand for justification of the current...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: Following my decision that all direct payments under the livestock premia and arable aid schemes will be decoupled from production with effect from 1 January 2005 and replaced by the single payment scheme, I decided that farmers who feel that their farming enterprise was adversely affected by force majeure/exceptional circumstances could apply to my Department to have their case considered....

Written Answers — GATT Licences: GATT Licences (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: My Department is not conducting an investigation into any aspect of GATT licences. The Deputy may be referring to correspondence between the European Commission dated 7 July 2003 and some member states concerning the number of approved operators under Regulation (EC) No 780/2003 (GATT frozen beef). The Commission asked member states to proceed to a further examination of the applications and...

Written Answers — Badger Numbers: Badger Numbers (17 Feb 2004)

Joe Walsh: The following table sets out the information requested for the years 1995-2002. The figures for 2003 are not yet available. County 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Carlow 0 108 72 116 157 114 41 142 Cavan 176 146 63 87 81 240 98 186 Clare 239 219 159 151 338 286 134 183 Cork 92 138 209 500 423 323 379 525 Donegal 36 65 171 134...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: My Department has received in excess of 14,000 applications from farmers, requesting consideration of force majeure or exceptional circumstances in the calculation of their entitlements under the single payment scheme. The processing of their applications has commenced and individual applicants are currently being informed of the outcome of their applications. Farmers, who may be dissatisfied...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: The single payment will be based on the average number of animals or the average number of hectares in the case of arable aid on which payments were made under the livestock premia and arable aid schemes in respect of the three reference years 2000, 2001 and 2002. The single payment is calculated by taking the three-yearly average number of animals-arable hectares which attracted payment and...

Written Answers — Foot and Mouth Disease: Foot and Mouth Disease (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: In April 2003 I announced the publication of a new contingency plan and operations manual for dealing with any future outbreaks of foot and mouth disease. This manual drew heavily on the experience of the 2001 outbreak in Ireland, and included an input from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, DARDNI. The Deputy will also be aware that in the context of...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: It is a requirement of the EU regulations governing the schemes of early retirement from farming that any national retirement pension to which a scheme participant — and his or her spouse or partner in a joint management situation — becomes entitled must be deducted from the early retirement pension. The value of national retirement pensions offset against the early retirement pension...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: This application was received on 8 January 2004. A decision on this application will be made in the near future.

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: Having considered an appeal from the person named, the agriculture appeals office has now finalised its position. The case is being processed for payment.

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: The schemes of early retirement from farming introduced in 1994 and 2000 in implementation of EU regulations were explicitly designed to encourage older farmers to bring forward their retirement and to transfer their holdings to younger farmers at an earlier date than might otherwise have been the case. Consequently farmers became eligible for both schemes on reaching the age of 55. These...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: My Department is in the final stages of discussions with the European Commission on the detailed rules for implementing the mid-term review agreement which will apply to all EU member states. I have already raised a number of issues relating to both farmers who have retired under the early retirement schemes and the young farmers who replaced them, and the implications for them of decoupling...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (30 Mar 2004)

Joe Walsh: The EU regulations governing the two schemes of early retirement from farming provide that where a transferor is paid a national retirement pension, it must be offset against the pension under the early retirement scheme and the transferor may be paid only the balance of the latter, if any. The pensions defined as national retirement pensions for the purposes of the scheme of early retirement...