Results 14,721-14,740 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Tax Reliefs Availability (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 and 274 together. Taxation policy is primarily a matter for the Minister for Finance. I have on-going contact with the Minister for Finance to ensure that tax policy reflects the Government’s commitment to agriculture and, in particular, to the objectives of smart, green, growth outlined in the Food Harvest 2020 strategy. A Review of tax...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Rural Environment Protection Scheme Payments (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The person named commenced REPS 2 in May 2002 and received payments for two years. Following an on-farm inspection a compliance issue was identified and the REPS contract was suspended in February 2005. However, this matter has since been resolved and no debt remains in respect of the REPS contract.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Bodies Board Remuneration (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The details of the salaries of the Chief Executive Officers of the Twelve State Bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are outlined in the table below. Body/Agency CEO Salary Sept 2014 CEO Salary Sept 2013 CEO Salary Sept 2012 Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board No CEO No CEO No CEO An Bord Bia €149,175 €149,175 €160,082 ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Bodies Board Remuneration (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The only body under the aegis of my Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board does not have a Chief Executive Officer. A member of staff of my Department is assigned to carry out the functions of Secretary to the Board. The holder of this position is an established civil servant.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I am sorry, but I do not have two hours. If it were helpful, I could skip my opening statement in order that we might go straight to examining the expenditure programmes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I could make the statement. I am in the Chairman's hands, but as I will also be making a statement to the Dáil at 6.45 p.m., I must be out of here by 6.30 p.m. at the latest. I would rather it to be 6.15 p.m., if possible. I could make a statement at this meeting that would take seven or eight minutes, but I am happy to skip it, if the committee wants.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: Yes. We would have started earlier, but one of the committee's members tabled a private notice question that I had to take.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I will make a quick statement, if the committee wants, to give some context to the discussion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to accept the invitation to attend the committee's hearing. This is a valuable opportunity to review how we are progressing through the various challenges and opportunities presenting across the agriculture, food development, marine and forestry sectors and discuss market prospects and new investment opportunities in same. As we head into the final quarter of 2014, we have many...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: We spend it better.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: To reply to Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, we are trying not only to talk about numbers, but to set policy targets also. To be fair, the process probably began before we came into office. The targets are pretty general but the mid-year outputs are specific. An example relates to securing beneficial outcomes for the agrifood, forestry and fisheries sectors in EU and international...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: That is a fair point. I have met all the banks in Ireland on multiple occasions to discuss this issue. Many farmers in New Zealand are effectively working for the bank rather than themselves. We cannot allow that to happen to a new generation of Irish farmers with the excitement around quota expansion. Ironically, in some ways the weakening of dairy prices forces dairy farmers to ensure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The one financial question that you asked me, Chairman, concerned the training and research budget. This looks to be way under-spent. The research programmes and the call for new expenditure always happen in the autumn, so there will be a dramatic increase in expenditure between now and the end of the year. Some of the schemes and funded research programmes are very much autumn-focused.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: I suspect they do. If we are going to have about 300,000 more cows in our herd between now and 2020, which is an increase of approximately 25% to 30%, we will get the other 25% growth from increased yield in cows. As a rule of thumb, it takes about one person to milk 100 cows. That is a conservative figure so it may take more in many family farm situations. That means that we are going to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is covering a lot of schemes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: My apologies.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The target was to carry out 85,000 TSE tests on prescribed animals, and to date 48,000 have been tested. On animal health, we have learned some valuable lessons from the horsemeat issue. Safety and hygiene inspections and supervision in factories protect the reputation of our industry. If our reputation is damaged, our capacity to enter the new markets we have discussed is affected....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The only issue is that many of these schemes are voluntary, but they have effectively become non-voluntary. Let us consider the beef quality assurance scheme, setting aside what the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association has been saying recently. There is an increasing take-up of the quality assurance scheme because farmers get better prices for their beef. Several factories will not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: Which section is €5 million above?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Vote 30 - Update on Pre-Budget and Policy Issues: Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (23 Sep 2014)

Simon Coveney: The current expenditure outturn for 2014 is currently €128 million. The estimate was €203 million. The expenditure does not always happen in an even manner throughout the year.