Results 10,381-10,400 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Group 10 relates to operations and procedures. If Members are not happy with the provision of this level of detail I can shorten my contribution. My concern is to ensure that I do not skim over anything. Amendments Nos. 21 and 55 relate to sections 16 and 52. There was much discussion about section 16, mainly concerning tail docking and exceptions for so-called working dogs. I have opted...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: This is about the protection of animals from poison. Amendment No. 22 replaces the section as was presented in this House. That followed difficulty in overlap between the legislative area of my Department and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Therefore, the specific issues we discussed concerning wildlife remain within the remit of the wildlife Acts. While a one-stop-shop might...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: We had a long discussion about feral cats in the Dáil because they are an issue. Cats are an unusual animal in that they are semi-domesticated in many ways. They become a protected animal if they are owned by a person but, essentially, for the purposes of the Bill they are considered a wild animal if they are not owned. On many farmyards one has cats living in the yard who are...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: This was a particularly sensitive issue. It relates to the role of authorised officers in the humane destruction of an animal. Amendments Nos. 26, 27 and 56 are to sections 23 and 52. There was a lot of concern about ensuring a badly injured animal could be put down by a suitably qualified operative, and we now provide for this. We had said only a qualified vet could put an animal down...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: This relates to arrangements for consideration of representations. This series of identical amendments is intended to address concerns raised by limiting the power of the Minister to withhold moneys that are currently due to the Minister from an individual. There are three sections with similar powers so the amendment appears three times. The amendments introduce an additional safeguard by...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: These relate to codes of practice. These are a group of small drafting changes to the section which provides for codes of practice. These will be a central feature of this Bill in a series of different areas. While there has been some disquiet about codes, it is difficult for me to understand it. It is clear that a code cannot create a new offence, it can only illustrate an existing...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: This group relates to animal health levies and affects sections 26 to 29, inclusive. The amendments are designed to provide for maximum flexibility in order that the arrangements for the collection of animal levies can be amended in the future via regulations to reflect best practice in terms of efficiency and public accounting requirements. Accordingly, the requirement for advance payment,...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: This is a particularly sensitive area for farmers and farming organisations related to valuation and compensation. There were concerns about compensation where animals are destroyed for disease purposes. These were based on a misreading of the current legal situation. The provisions in the Animal Health and Welfare Bill do not make any change to the meaning of the 1966 Act but make the...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendment No. 44 clarifies that the Minister need not personally authorise every officer and may delegate this power. This is a practical change which has been made at the suggestion of Deputy Ó Cuív in recalling his experience as a Minister, of which I am sure he has fond recollections. It is sensible to provide that Ministers should not be required to sign off on all such...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendments Nos. 45 and 46 deal with local authority officers. Amendment No. 45 is intended to clarify the language around the appointment of an authorised officer to make clear that officers appointed by a local authority may only act within the jurisdiction of their local authority or that of another local authority where arrangements to do so have been made. These are uncontroversial...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendment No. 47 makes clear that an authorised officer appointed by a body with which the Minister has a service agreement may not act in relation to farm animals on a farm. Senators may recall our previous discussion of the legislation when concerns were expressed that I would delegate officers from animal welfare organisations who may not have an understanding of farming to audit farmers....

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: These amendments address a technical issue. Amendment No. 49 to section 39 clarifies the powers of a garda to arrest a person. It is based on legal advice received from the Department of Justice and Equality and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and ensures the section is in line with the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Amendments Nos. 52 and 57 provide for minor drafting changes to...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendments Nos. 50 and 72 are technical in nature and relate to section 42, which deals with the animal health and welfare notice. Amendment No. 50 corrects a typographical error by replacing the word "as" with the word "or", while amendment No. 72 corrects a cross-reference arising from an earlier amendment.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendment No. 53 has been introduced to address the issue of fixed penalty notices or on-the-spot fines, as they have been described by some. The amendment is intended to make clear that the authorisation to issue the fixed penalty notice is separate from the general authorised officer provisions of the legislation. The Bill provides adequate checks and balances and I am satisfied it will...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: I hope not.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: That is exactly what is happening. On the amount, it will be €250 or a higher amount, if deemed appropriate, but it cannot be higher than €1,000. In the vast majority of cases, the fine will be €250. This is a warning, essentially. The notice will also indicate what needs to be done to solve the problem, which is what is required. It is a warning, an instruction and...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendment No.61 deals with regulations relating to the census of animals. As previously drafted, if a person does not comply with an animal census, he or she is guilty of a lower, class B offence. The amendment makes it clear that persons have a period of 14 days within which to make the return before an offence can come into existence. This eliminates the possibility that persons can be...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendment No.62 amends section 73. There was concern that, while I indicated that there would not be new fees or charges imposed on farmers arising from the Animal Health and Welfare Bill, some future Minister might use the Bill as a vehicle to impose charges on farmers. Therefore, there is now a safeguard in place that states that such a charge cannot be bigger than the cost of the service...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendments Nos. 63 to 65, inclusive, amend section 74 of the Bill. They are minor technical amendments designed to clarify that organisations with which the Minister enters into a service agreement are not permitted to make regulations but may operate or enforce regulations made by the Minister.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (22 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Amendments Nos. 69 and 70 amend Schedule 2. They are drafting amendments to correct the spellings of certain diseases. I assume nobody has any objections to that.