Results 1,001-1,020 of 18,449 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The person named applied for grant-aid under the Farm Waste Management Scheme but was deemed ineligible as the application was not signed by an Agricultural Advisor/Consultant. The applicant was notified of this outcome and advised of his right of appeal to the Agriculture Appeals Office.

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The end-2008 deadline for completion of work under the Farm Waste Management Scheme is the period determined in the EU Commission's state aid approval for the Scheme and, as no amendment has been made to that approval, I am required by the terms of the relevant Decision to ensure that grants are only paid to those farmers who respect the deadline concerned.

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The end-2008 deadline for completion of work by farmers under the revised Farm Waste Management Scheme introduced by my Department in March 2006 is a condition of the EU state aid approval for the Scheme. I have no plans to approach the EU Commission to alter the terms of the state aid approval.

Written Answers — On-farm Investment Schemes: On-farm Investment Schemes (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Applications received under the Farm Improvement Scheme prior to its suspension on 31 October 2007 are being processed by my Department up to the level of funding provided for the Scheme in the 2006 Partnership agreement, Towards 2016. An application submitted on 24 October 2007 will be processed subject to funding still being available at that time.

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters are the responsibility of the company. Coillte Teoranta is licensed under a 5-year General Felling Licence issued by the Forest Service to harvest small blocks of trees in Moyode Woods, Co Galway. The total area of these blocks for harvesting is 9.8 hectares and...

Seanad: WTO Negotiations: Statements (21 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: A Leas-Chathaoirligh, I thank you and your colleagues in this House for your good wishes on my appointment as Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I welcome this opportunity to address the House on the ongoing WTO negotiations. The current round of negotiations, known as the Doha development round, has been underway since 2001. Since then, many deadlines have been set for its...

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (22 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Ministerial cars are driven by members of an Garda Síochána. Such vehicles are exempt from tolls under section 62 of the Roads Act 1993. Accordingly, no cost arises to the Exchequer.

Written Answers — Departmental Correspondence: Departmental Correspondence (22 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The company named applied for aid under the Compensation Scheme for Sugar Beet Machinery Contractors which is one element of the EU restructuring aid package for the sugar industry. Under the EU Regulations governing payment of the EU restructuring aid, eligibility for aid is confined to sugar processors, beet growers and machinery contractors who worked with their specialised agricultural...

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The disposal of waste materials in all sectors, including agricultural, is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the first instance. Under the Waste Management (Farm Plastics) Regulations 2001, manufacturers and importers of farm plastics — that is, silage bale wrap and sheeting — must take steps to recover farm plastics waste which they have...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Farmers can continue to have their payments made by cheque or electronic funds transfer directly into their bank account for the remainder of the 2008 EU financial year which ends on 15 October. As and from the 2009 EU financial year which commences on 16th October 2008, my Department is obliged, as the designated paying agency for EU funds, to make all payments under EU funded or co-funded...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Of the 10 Assistant Secretaries, 40 Principal Officers and 158 Assistant Principal Officers in my Department, one has been recruited from outside the Civil Service. These figures do not include general service equivalent grades in the professional and technical streams within my Department.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The person concerned was paid grant-aid under the Farm Waste Management Scheme on 20 May 2008.

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The Minister for Health & Children has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation. Responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) through its service contracts with my Department, the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, the Health Services Executive, the Local Authorities and the National Consumer Agency....

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The position is that an application under the Single Payment Scheme/Disadvantaged Area Compensatory Allowance Scheme was received from the person named on the 15th May 2007. As part of the control procedures under EU legislation governing these Schemes, the application was selected for and was the subject of a ground eligibility and cross compliance inspection. During the course of the ground...

Written Answers — Rural Environment Protection Scheme: Rural Environment Protection Scheme (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The person named has been requested to provide amended documentation on a number of occasions, the most recent being last Friday. The required documentation has still not been received and processing of the application cannot be carried out until it is received.

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: Farmers operate in a competitive environment where efficiency of production is of paramount importance to the viability of their business. In this context, energy constitutes a significant and rising input cost and it is in the interest of all farmers, and indeed other competitive sectors, to manage such costs efficiently and to limit use where possible. My Department has baseline data on...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The person named is an applicant under the Farm Improvement Scheme. Applications under this Scheme are being processed by my Department up to the level of funding provided for the Scheme in the 2006 Partnership agreement, Towards 2016. The application concerned will therefore be processed subject to funding still being available at that time.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (27 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The application for payment by the person named will be processed in my Department's local office within the next ten working days, and if it is in order payment will issue shortly thereafter.

Written Answers — Consumer Protection: Consumer Protection (28 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The Consumer Liaison Panel was established in 2002. Its purpose is to liaise on an ongoing basis on general consumer and client base issues in relation to the activities of my Department and to comment on the flow of information both to and from the public. The Consumer Liaison Panel does not have a statutory basis and operates as a consumer focus group for the Department. The Budget...

Order of Business (29 May 2008)

Brendan Smith: The Deputy should leave the list open.