Results 8,721-8,740 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Bord na gCon Expenditure (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: Bord na gCon is a commercial state body, established on 28 May 1958 under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. The Board has wide powers to regulate all aspects of greyhound racing in the Republic of Ireland. The Board of Bord na gCon, comprising of seven members - a Chairman and six ordinary members, is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Control of Horses (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Control of Horses Act, 1996 provides extensive powers to local authorities, including powers for the enactment of bye-laws for the control and welfare of horses in the local authorities’ functional area. My Department provides financial support to local authorities to assist their work in implementing the Act. Louth County Council has made bye-laws declaring the Cooley commonage a...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta Lands (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988, in accordance with which the bulk of the State’s forestry estate was vested in the company upon its establishment in 1989. Day-to-day operational matters, such as the maintenance of the forest estate including its internal forest road network, are the responsibility of the company. It should...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Bovine Disease Controls (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The herd in question was restricted under Article 12 of the Bovine Tuberculosis (Attestation of the State and General Provision) Order, 1989 Notice declaring a holding a restricted holding (ER22) on 21 August 2012 following the disclosure of a suspect TB lesion in animal IE221308860137 presented by the above herdowner for slaughter on 15 August. A TB tissue test for this animal was created in...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards Regulation (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: All slaughterhouses whose meat is destined for human consumption require approval under EU food safety regulations, generally referred to as the 'Hygiene Package'. These are implemented in Ireland under the European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2009, S.I. No 432 of 2009. Approval to operate may be granted either by the relevant local authority or by my Department. The onus...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Authority Inspections (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: Under EU law primary responsibility for the safety of food placed on the market place lies with food business operators. The role of my Department is to verify compliance by the food business operators with this requirement. This is done by a combination of inspection of establishments and by audit on the food safety management systems which operators are required to have in place. These...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards Inspections (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: My Department maintains a permanent supervisory presence in approved slaughter plants. Regular visits are made to other Department approved meat plants. The frequency of these inspections in plants other than slaughter plants, which focus primarily on food safety requirements, is determined by an annual risk assessment which is conducted for each plant. Details of the number of inspections at...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: An AEOS 3 application was received in the Johnstown Castle Office of my Department from the person named on 14 November 2012. The initial processing of the applications has been completed and acknowledgement letters will shortly issue to all applicants. Following that the detailed actions listed in each application will be recorded and all applications will be ranked and selected according...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Appeals (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: With regard to the Single Payment Scheme, I can confirm that the person named currently has two appeals ongoing with the Agriculture Appeals Office and has taken the option of an oral hearing. It will be appreciated that, as that Office as a body is statutorily independent of my Department, the outcome of their deliberations must be awaited. As regards the 2010 Suckler Welfare Scheme, the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from the 1 September 2011. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. During these checks...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 September 2011 and has received full payment totalling €1,333.32 in respect of 2011. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Capital Expenditure (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The total capital expenditure by my Department in December 2012 amounted to €27.515million which is equivalent to 14% of the total capital budget for the year. A breakdown of the capital expenditure in December 2012 is as follows: Administrative Budget, incl laboratories  €0.975m Forestry  €4.158m. On farm investment €4.593m. Food processing sector...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Suckler Welfare Scheme Applications (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named registered 12 animals for the 2011 Suckler Welfare Scheme and 13 animals for the 2012 Scheme. Following the validation process, it appeared that the animals were not weaned in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme for either year. This issue has since been resolved for some of the animals and payment has been approved for 8 animals in each year. The remaining...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named registered 10 animals for the 2012 Suckler Welfare Scheme. Payments for the 2012 Scheme commenced in December 2012 but all of the required information had not been received from the applicant at that time. Further information has now been received and, subject to confirmation that all of the requirements of the Scheme have been complied with, payment will issue in the near...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta Lands (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: I am aware of the importance of Donadea Forest Park as a recreational amenity in North Kildare. With reference to the Government decision, in the context of the asset disposal programme, that a concession for the harvesting rights to Coillte’s forests be put forward for sale, substantial work has been undertaken to date on the identification of the forestry assets involved, the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Applications (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named is one of a number whose Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application were impacted by a requirement of a minimum stocking density of 0.3 livestock units per forage hectare in 2011 and who applied for and were granted derogation in this regard in December 2012. However, payment has not yet issued as an overclaim has been identified on one of the land parcels declared. The applicant...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Applications (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted an application for consideration of an allocation of entitlements under the New Entrant category of the 2012 National Reserve. This category caters for farmers who commenced farming after 17 May 2010. Successful applicants under this category are required to meet certain criteria in relation to income limits and educational qualifications. This application can...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Labelling (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: Rules on the labelling of meat and meat products are laid down in EU legislation. For beef, the current rules require compulsory origin labelling, with place of birth, rearing and slaughter specified. In 2011 a new Food Information for the Consumer Regulation (1169/2011/ EC) provided a framework for extending explicit compulsory origin labelling requirements to meats other than beef,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Capital Expenditure Programme (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: A substantial proportion of the Department’s capital budget relates covers the payment of capital grants under various demand led schemes on projects which include construction work undertaken by individuals or corporate entities in the agriculture, forestry, fishery and food processing sectors. Detailed plans for capital spending under the fishery harbours development programme as...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Exports to Iran (5 Feb 2013)

Simon Coveney: While most of our beef exports go to EU markets, it is always beneficial to have a wide range of outlets available for our high quality food products and I am committed to ensuring that Irish operators have access to as many markets as possible worldwide. The Iranian government lifted its ban on Irish beef last July. However before exports of beef from Ireland can take place, a bilateral...