Results 11,301-11,320 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: That is correct.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: No, but the rural development programme does.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: I will address the numbers first. We have published on our website much of what the Deputy is asking for. Perhaps we should have sent on some of the updated charts on this year's expenditure, but we cannot give next year's expenditure. That would in essence be giving the committee the budget now.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: It is not finalised. One of the differences between this year and last year is that last year we had two meetings while we only have one this year. It was in this meeting last year that the Deputy asked for more information and we got that for him and that was the basis of the second meeting. Perhaps that explains it, but I assure the committee there is no attempt to try to evade...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: I agree that the suckler cow sector has seen growth in recent years. We are killing a lot more beef animals this year than last year. However, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that a large number of suckler cows are not being put into calf and a large number are being slaughtered. There is a real concern that the decisions being made by farmers may reduce the size of the suckler cow...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: That is correct.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: For the record, we sent out the brief last Thursday.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: With all due respect, that type of claim is about making headlines. The amount of money we are asking farmers to repay is the amount they would have drawn down on land that was not eligible for payment. The Deputy can spin the figures all he wants, but that is the reality. Moreover, it is not charged for five years.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: No; that is not-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: I accept that there are farmers who feel hard done by; I have spoken to many of them myself. For the benefit of people in that situation, we are putting in place a fast-track appeals system. Under the existing appeals mechanism it sometimes takes a considerable amount of time to arrive at a decision, because these are complex cases. To remedy that, we are appointing an independent chair,...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: I will give the Deputy that figure when I reply.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: Minus the natural savings.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: May I comment on some of those matters?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: I will provide some figures with regard to what the Department of Finance regards as natural savings and which it factors into the budget. As a result of the numbers that will be leaving REPS next year, we are of the view that we will make natural savings of approximately €25 million.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: It is both. REPS is co-funded by ourselves and the EU. There will be €25 million less to spend as a result of the number of people who will be coming out of REPS next year.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform does not factor in EU clawbacks. The Deputy should be aware, from his time in government, that this is how the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform work. Schemes that are co-funded are part of our expenditure programme in terms of both current and capital spending. On the capital side we have TAMS, etc., while on the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: Correct. That is why I am saying that there is less pressure on us to cut schemes than was perhaps the case last year. On the other hand, we are trying to find new money to invest in a support scheme relating to suckler cows. I wish to nail a few matters in respect of which people appear to have totally unrealistic expectations. One of these is the idea that we could simply roll over...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: No. The fodder scheme was not part of our original Estimate so we were obliged to find extra money for it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: The amount was not €10 million. It was not even €2 million. The Deputy was the one who called for the provision of €10 million for the scheme. Nobody else made that call. We were focusing on getting fodder into the country as opposed to handing out money. If all the savings to which I refer are added up, the amount involved is approximately €45 million....
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: 2014 Pre-Budget Briefing: Discussion with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (2 Oct 2013)
Simon Coveney: For the sake of accuracy, what I am referring to may not be a suckler cow welfare scheme-----