Results 12,601-12,620 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: The intention is to pay them as soon as we are able.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: The installation aid and early retirement schemes are being wound down.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: If the question is whether we will have a REPS budget to make final payments next year, we will of course have such a budget.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: The amount for installation aid is only €10,000, whereas the figure for early retirement is approximately €10 million. In regard to Deputy Penrose's question on whether we will introduce a new installation aid scheme, we investigated how we can spend money to the maximum effect. When installation aid was introduced, there was no requirement on young farmers to spend it in any...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: There are different durations but the average is approximately ten years.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: I am not sure that solves the immediate problem. Within the next five to ten years we will hopefully have a streamlined and much more efficient system of assessing licence applications and in terms of re-assessing applications. I am slow to give someone a licence for the next 25 or 30 years. We need the checks and balances of a re-application. We will examine that. I am not opposed to it.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: Other EU countries do not have the pressure we have from the Commission regarding putting a gold-plated aquaculture licensing system in place.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: Because in the past this was not done well and the Commission took us to court and won. It now requires us to put in place a much more robust and environmentally sound licensing system. I agree with it on that, but it involves resources and a lot of time for the assessment of bays. We will do that and will try to increase the resources to do it. I have spoken to the Marine Institute about...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: They are, very much so.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: It is because we have been under the Commission's microscope while some other countries have not been. That is the honest truth.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: Had we not been as loose about this licensing system in the past, we would not be under the microscope now, but I have to deal with what I have to deal with as a Minister. Seafood processing has been a good news story. In the last two years we have spent a lot of money helping seafood processing by giving companies grant-aid assistance to upgrade their equipment and so on. That is part of...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: Yes, but it is not demand-led without a backstop. We have only so much money to spend. We are looking to increase horticulture grant aid. We are importing a lot of horticulture in Ireland. We provide for only approximately 60% of our domestic needs here. We can increase that. That is why we are examining grant aiding the development of more horticultural facilities such as polytunnels...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: No. It is included in the Estimate, but the money is coming from central funds. We are responsible for spending the money and have sanction to spend up to €40 million. If we do not deal with the environmental issue - it is essentially a toxic landfill site in the middle of Cork Harbour without a licence - we will be fined by the Commission. We are, therefore, required to deal with...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: That is a good approach. Local authorities have a great deal of information on the harbours for which they are responsible. We have an estimate of the damage caused to that infrastructure in the past six weeks and are continuing to work on it. The Deputy and I share an interest in marine, coastal and island communities and the infrastructure they need. We are preparing a detailed...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: Yes.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: I understand the point the Deputy is making but, with respect, he is missing the point. We do not have discretion on this issue.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: We do not.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: I do not know if any other country is doing what Ireland is doing, but I suspect very few countries have the capacity to do what we are doing, which is to assess every land parcel in the country accurately and to see if there is an overclaim. Some 7% of farmers are affected above the 3% figure. We then need to work out with the farmers why that is. If there is reason to do so we need to go...
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: I have not had much of a chance.
- Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Estimates for Public Services 2014
Vote 30 - Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Revised) (21 Jan 2014) Simon Coveney: I am looking at it.