Results 81-100 of 527 for speaker:Mary Wallace
- Food Safety. (18 May 2006)
Mary Wallace: With regard to departmental staff at Dublin Airport, the Minister of State, Deputy Smith, is whispering in my ear to complain that a person from his office was recently transferred to the airport. The airport staff has been enhanced recently.
- Food Safety. (18 May 2006)
Mary Wallace: The Minister of State is complaining he has lost a good member of staff, so the best of staff are being transferred to Dublin Airport. Deputy Upton asked about identifying food. One area currently under consideration is the deployment of sniffer dogs specially trained to detect food. Anything else that can be done with regard to this issue will be done, but our current experience indicates...
- Animal Diseases. (31 May 2006)
Mary Wallace: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The Department of Agriculture and Food is responsible for implementing arrangements for the approval and registration of persons engaged in dealing in cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry under the Diseases of Animals (Amendment) Act 2001. As the Deputy said, that Act was introduced in the context of concerns that arose during the foot and mouth disease...
- Proposed Legislation. (27 Jun 2006)
Mary Wallace: The Animal Remedies Regulations 2005, which are designed to transpose EU Directive 2004/28 as well as to amend certain provisions in our national legislation, came into effect on 17 November last. The EU directive provided, among other elements, that veterinary medicines for food-producing animals may only be supplied on the basis of a veterinary prescription unless exempted from this...
- Proposed Legislation. (27 Jun 2006)
Mary Wallace: All the issues are being considered. One area of concern was the expectation that the Commission would adopt the draft criteria proposals after the meeting at the end of March, but no formal decision was taken and we still await one. At the end of this year we can go in one of two directions, depending on the result of the Commission's deliberations. We will have to consider the Deputy's...
- Proposed Legislation. (27 Jun 2006)
Mary Wallace: We have succeeded to the extent that, if we had not taken the stance we took, we would have had to designate the range of medicines as POMs 14 months earlier than at present. At least the status quo remains for the moment and will do so until the end of this year. If we had changed the regulations last year, we could have been accused of undermining our negotiating position with the...
- Afforestation Programme. (17 Oct 2006)
Mary Wallace: Since 1991 some 228,159 hectares of new forestry have been planted, representing an average planting rate of 15,000 hectares a year. The current planting target of 20,000 hectares per annum, including public planting of 5,000 hectares per annum, was set in 1996. Public planting ceased almost completely in the late 1990s, because of a Court of Justice ruling which found that Coillte...
- Afforestation Programme. (17 Oct 2006)
Mary Wallace: We would like to see increases in grants and premiums. We have already announced an increase in the plantation grant which increased by 9% in 2005 and we received approval from the Department of Finance this year to increase the plantation grant by a further 14.7%. We submitted that proposal to the EU Commission for approval and are awaiting a final decision on it. A proposed increase in...
- Afforestation Programme. (17 Oct 2006)
Mary Wallace: Discussions with the European Commission on that matter are ongoing.
- Afforestation Programme. (17 Oct 2006)
Mary Wallace: In terms of incentives, the current forestry grant and premium package is without doubt the most attractive that has ever been available. Farmers and landowners can avail of an establishment grant of 100% of costs, a tax free premium of up to â¬500 per hectare per annum for 20 years at present, and under the single farm payment scheme, farmers can plant up to 50% of their eligible claimed...
- Afforestation Programme. (17 Oct 2006)
Mary Wallace: The premium increase is connected to the partnership talks. I was involved in its proposal and was very supportive of it. As with the Deputy, we would like to see it come through as soon as possible. With regard to practical considerations, we set a closing date of 30 September because we were coming to the end of this programme at the end of 2006. We received a surge of applications,...
- Single Payment Scheme. (14 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: I thank the Deputy and if he had given the Department of Agriculture and Food the names of those involved we would have made inquiries about them. However, his question is of a general nature and does relate specifically to those cases. One of the main objectives of the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, since assuming office as Minister for Agriculture and Food, has been to ensure the efficient...
- Estimates for Public Services 2007: Motion (Resumed) (22 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the 2007 Estimates recently published by the Minister for Finance. The 2007 Estimate for the Department of Agriculture and Food demonstrates the Government's continuing commitment to the development of the Irish agrifood sector. Over the past ten years, the gross provision for the Department has grown from approximately â¬990...
- Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: The Department already conducts regular checks on the results of butter fat testing carried out by milk processors. It also checks the calibration of instruments used in milk processing establishments for measuring fat and protein levels in milk collected from producers. The Department also monitors the instruments used in measuring somatic cell levels in milk delivered to processors. In...
- Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: As part of the partnership agreement, it has been agreed we will engage with stakeholders with a view to having the appropriate arrangements in place. It will only be a matter of months before they are in place. As regards proper and accurate analysis, most processors now have automated equipment for testing the fat and protein content of milk, as well as the somatic cell levels. Twice...
- Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: Much of the testing is done by automated equipment but, in addition, standard Gerber procedures apply to butter fat testing. The SOPs provide that checks are also made on the accuracy of results from samples already tested by the automated equipment. At least twice a year, therefore, a minimum of ten samples are selected and tested. Some smaller establishments do not have automated...
- Milk Testing. (29 Nov 2006)
Mary Wallace: I do not have the comparative information to hand but I will be happy to obtain the data for the Deputy is she wishes me to provide her with some statistics in that respect.
- Grant Payments. (6 Feb 2007)
Mary Wallace: The position in so far as payment under the 2005 single payment scheme is concerned is that some â¬1.199 billion has been paid to over 128,200 applicants, 99.9% of total eligible applicants, including â¬14.3 million in refunding the modulation reduction on the first â¬5,000 paid to each applicant. There are a small number of cases which have not yet been paid. In some instances, the...
- Grant Payments. (6 Feb 2007)
Mary Wallace: Some things are useful.
- Grant Payments. (6 Feb 2007)
Mary Wallace: The figure for 2005 is approximately 100.