Results 10,601-10,620 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Responsibilities (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: As Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine I retain overall responsibility for all the functions of my Department. Statutory powers and duties in relation to Forestry, Horticulture, the Greyhound Industry and Food Safety will be delegated to the Minister Hayes. A Delegation of Ministerial Functions Order is being prepared.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Public Relations Contracts Expenditure (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: My Department does not employ external public relations communications consultants and organisation. Public relations advice, where required is provided by my Department’s Press Office. It is not possible to provide costs for this service, as the work is carried out as part of the standard duties of the staff involved.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from the 1st November 2010 and full payments totalling €833.33 and €4,999.99 issued in respect of 2010 and 2011 respectively. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from the 1st November 2010 and full payments totalling €833.33 and €5,000.00 issued in respect of 2010 and 2011 respectively. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Rural Environment Protection Scheme Payments (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named commenced REPS 4 in April 2009 and received payments for the first three years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU Regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all application to be completed before any payments can issue. Administrative checks in respect of 2012 payments have been...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Payments (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: My Department is involved in the payment of a wide range of grants and subventions including, for example, payments under the Single Payment Scheme to some 123,000 beneficiaries and area based compensation allowances to some 93,000 farmers. The total value of the payments to farmers in the Dublin area in 2011 and 2012 under four of the main schemes are as follows: Dublin area Single Farm...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards Regulation (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The detailed report on the ‘Equine DNA and Mislabelling of Processed Beef Investigation’, which I published on 14th March, includes details of the companies that came to my Department’s attention during this investigation and the actions taken by the Department. Operations in a total of four plants were suspended (in some cases on a voluntary basis) for varying periods...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sheep Census (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: In order to comply with EU requirements, the applicant was selected for a Cross Compliance inspection in 2012, which took place on the 20th of December 2012. The inspection recorded breaches in relation to sheep identification and registration requirements (sheep census details not submitted to the database in respect of 2010, at a time when there was evidence that the applicant had sheep)....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: From a mitigation point of view there are a number of particular challenges for the Irish agriculture sector: Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in the agriculture sector arise mainly due to natural processes which have developed over a long period of time. To date, mitigation technologies that would significantly abate the impact of these processes, without impacting productivity, have not...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Appointments to State Boards (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: Since May 2011, a notification has been placed on my Department’s website inviting expressions of interest from persons interested in being appointed to the boards of State Bodies under the aegis of my Department. On 7 September 2012 last, I placed an advertisement in the National Newspapers inviting expressions of interest. All expressions of interest lapse at the end of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Payments (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: There has been no delay in this case; advance payment of the 2012 Single Payment issued on 16 October 2012, while the balancing payment issued on 3 December 2012; in both cases to the nominated bank account.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Meetings (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The FAO is one of the largest technical bodies in the UN and is of great importance to Ireland in terms of its work on standardization in relation to agriculture, agreements on global plant and livestock health matters and cooperation in development work. Every two years the FAO organises a conference to agree its multi-year Programme of work, strategy, and budget. This conference also...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: My Department has no record of an application having being received under AEOS 1, 2 or 3 for the person named.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fish Quotas (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: I am aware that the whitefish fishing fleet has been under pressure this year. In terms of available quota, the whitefish quotas for 2013 were down 1% from the 2012 quotas. However, the 2012 quotas represented a 3 % increase on the 2011 quotas. Accordingly, whitefish quota levels have remained relatively stable over the recent past with some 36,538 tonnes of whitefish available to the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Fisheries Policy Review (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: I have had many discussions with industry representatives over the course of the reform which as you will be aware was first proposed by the EU Commission back in mid 2011. Due to the particular time pressures during the specific period of the EU Presidency, it was simply not possible to schedule as many meetings with industry representatives as I would have liked. I met the Federation of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fish Discards (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Irish Presidency has recently concluded extremely complex negotiations in relation to securing agreement on a reformed Common Fisheries Policy. This agreement represents a considerable achievement for the Irish Presidency and for Irish fisheries interests generally as it places long term sustainability at the core of policy. I have recently been in touch with all recognised industry...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: EU Directives (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: Commission Directive 2012/24/EU amending the technical provisions of Council Directive 86/297/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the power take-offs (PTO’s) of tractors and their protection was published on the 8 October 2012. Member States have until 31 October 2013 to adopt the obligations of this Directive and my Department is currently preparing...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: EU Directives (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: Council Directive 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products lays down rules on the production, composition and labelling of these products. These rules have been amended by Directive 2012/12/EU to take into account technical progress in fruit juice processing and the codex standard for fruit juices and nectars, which was adopted in 2005. Directive 2012/12/EU will...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: North-South Ministerial Council (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The details and background surrounding this issue were outlined in my correspondence with the Deputy on 22nd May. This matter relates to one incident where deficiencies were identified on the labelling of a consignment of seed potatoes originating in Northern Ireland. The issue is of a technical nature and was brought to the attention of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Administration (18 Jun 2013)

Simon Coveney: The three EU institutions, Council, Parliament and Commission are in agreement that Direct Payments should be targeted to farmers actively engaged in production. However the definition of an active farmer is still the subject of substantial discussion in the CAP reform negotiations and there is no clear outcome as yet. The current final stage of the negotiations involves reaching agreement...