Results 10,001-10,020 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: It will be difficult to respond to all of the issues raised and also deal with the CFP in 15 minutes. I expect Deputy Thomas Pringle is in attendance specifically to discuss fishing.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: I have no problem coming back on another day to debate these issues. It is simply a question of finding the time to do so. I will proceed, however, with addressing the points raised as best I can. In regard to the trialogue, what happens there is that as we go through the process, the political issues are essentially parked. In other words, all the major issues, including capping,...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: I am representing the Council of Ministers.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: As the Deputy knows, a Council position was agreed in March. In Ireland’s role as chairman of the Council of Ministers, we are negotiating with the other institutions to achieve an agreed compromise. There are essentially two major political discussions remaining. One will be an informal meeting in Dublin and the other is the Council of Ministers meeting at the end of June in...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: Paper never refused ink. As a former Minister himself, the Deputy knows that I cannot make budgetary commitments three or four years in advance. All I can do is outline my intention and determination to ensure we draw down all available moneys from CAP funds. Regarding the definition of small farmers, the Council position is that a small farmer is one who is in receipt of a payment of...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: What is rubbish?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: Exactly. I cannot defend paying everybody the same amount of money regardless of what they do with land. One just cannot defend that.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: It is not what I am doing.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: With all due respect---
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: I will try not to rise to the bait here. Allow me to proceed.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: That is rubbish.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: Deputy Ó Cuív is playing to the gallery and probably does not know what he is talking about.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: There is an irony in, on the one hand, Deputy Ó Cuív regularly referring to the fact that his previous Government put in place the Food Harvest 2020 strategy and what he is now proposing, which would totally dismantle that. He does not know what he is talking about.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: If people ask me questions I would like to answer them. There are different definitions of "active farmers" and this is one of the most difficult things to get right. To have a common legal definition of an active farmer across 27 - soon to be 28 - countries is very difficult. The Commission has said it would categorise active farmers as those having more than 5% of their income coming...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: It is still in the range.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: The impression being given is that large farmers are getting by far the highest payments per hectare.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: That is not always the case.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: It is not.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: If I am going to attend here and answer questions-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Update on CAP and CFP: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (7 May 2013)
Simon Coveney: I appear before the committee on a regular basis and yet again we have Deputy Ó Cuív grandstanding and playing to the gallery to try to get a few headlines for himself.