Results 1,861-1,880 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Flood Relief: Flood Relief (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is not aware of any general disruption to farming caused by the weather in recent months, nor has it been made aware of any particular localised weather related difficulties.

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: I received the report of the Oireachtas joint committee formally on 7 April. I have asked my officials to consider the recommendations contained in the report, having due regard to the terms and conditions both of the early retirement scheme itself and of the European Commission regulations under which both the current and previous schemes were introduced.

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: It is a requirement of the EU regulations under which both the current and previous early retirement schemes are implemented that the early retirement pension can only be paid as a supplement to any national retirement pension that the participant and their spouse or partner in a joint management arrangement receive. This means that the value of any such national retirement pension, which...

Written Answers — Organic Sector: Organic Sector (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The organic sector is already well represented in social partnership. Many of the organisations represented on the national steering group for the organic sector are full participants in the partnership process. I do not propose, therefore, to seek the inclusion of the organic farming bodies in the process at this juncture.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted 12 applications under the 2004 special beef premium scheme, in respect of 174 animals, of which 163 are payable. The 60% advance payments in the amount of €11,424.60 issued on dates between 19 October 2004 and 28 January 2005. Following computer validation, it was found that four animals had previously been paid or claimed the premium, three animals were...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Areas Scheme: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: In reply to a similar question on 4 May I indicated that the proposed redefinition of disadvantaged areas is one element of an EU Commission proposal on support for rural development in the 2007 to 2013 period. The proposed redefinition responds to the European Court of Auditors' criticism, endorsed by the European Parliament, about the current system. The suggested new methodology would be...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: I received the committee's report formally on 7 April and my officials are currently examining it. This report arises from an investigation by the committee of a complaint by a group representing retired farmers. My Department provided the committee with a comprehensive formal written response to the complaint and also attended a meeting of the committee in July 2003 to answer questions from...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted three applications under the 2004 special beef premium scheme, in respect of a total of 179 animals. The first application in respect of ten animals was received on 30 April 2004; the second application in respect of 74 animals was received on 16 December 2004; and the third application in respect of 95 animals was received on 31 December 2004. The 60% advance...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is currently engaged in drafting legislation to transpose EU Directive 2004/28 which is the new framework legislation governing the veterinary medicines regime across Europe. The deadline for transposition is 30 October 2005. The EU legislation includes a general provision that all veterinary medicines for food producing animals should be brought under veterinary prescription...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted 12 applications under the 2004 special beef premium scheme, in respect of 174 animals, of which 163 are payable. The 60% advance payments in the amount of €11,424.60 issued on dates between 19 October 2004 and 28 January 2005. Following computer validation, it was found that four animals had previously been paid or claimed the premium, three animals were...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted an application for an allocation of entitlements from the single payment scheme national reserve under category B which caters for farmers who, between 1 January 2000 and 19 October 2003, made an investment in production capacity in a farming sector for which a direct payment under livestock premia and-or arable aid schemes would have been payable during the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named, having been notified that the circumstances outlined by him did not satisfy the criteria for force majeure exceptional circumstances under Article 40 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003, submitted an appeal to the independent single payment appeals committee. The findings of the appeals committee were that the original decision taken by my Department should be upheld....

Written Answers — Land Reclassification: Land Reclassification (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A certified copy of the purchase agreement is held at the records branch of my Department and will be issued on receipt of the relevant fee, which has been requested from the applicant's solicitor.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: It is expected that the replacement cheque will issue within the next week.

Written Answers — Land Purchases: Land Purchases (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: Since 1997 numbers of agricultural land transactions have been as shown in the table. Year No. of transactions 1997 918 1998 593 1999 793 2000 1,058 2001 673 2002 648 2003 857 The Central Statistics Office, however, does not collect details on farmers' reasons for selling land, that is, whether it was for the purpose of purchasing other land or any other reason. I am...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A planting target of 20,000 hectares per annum was established in the 1996 strategy document, Growing for the Future. The review of that strategy, produced by Peter Bacon and Associates and published in September 2004, reaffirmed the need for an approved planting target of 20,000 hectares per annum but commented that a lesser planting target could be a viable basis for support, providing the...

Written Answers — Farmed Deer: Farmed Deer (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The farmed deer population in Ireland stands at nearly 50,000 animals on some 300 units, producing almost 800 tonnes of venison annually. Deer numbers have increased by 10% since 1994. About 70% of production is exported to markets in Denmark, the UK and the US. Fallow deer are exported to Denmark, while red deer are supplied to the supermarket chains in Ireland and the UK and also to...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A total of 2,641 applications have been received under the current early retirement scheme since its introduction in November 2000. Of those, 64 are currently being processed. In the period from 1 May 2004 to 20 May 2005, a total of 327 applications were approved and nine rejected.

Written Answers — Purchase for Destruction Scheme: Purchase for Destruction Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The combined total of animals destroyed under both the purchase for destruction and special purchase schemes is 492,860. The carcasses of all animals slaughtered under those schemes have been rendered and incinerated in line with the terms of the scheme.

Written Answers — Farm Household Incomes: Farm Household Incomes (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: According to the CSO, the number of full-time farmers, that is, farmers whose sole occupation is farming, declined from 106,000 in 1993 to 76,200 in 2003. In the same period, the number of part-time farmers or farmers who have another either major or subsidiary occupation increased from 52,900 to 58,900. The agri-vision 2015 committee indicated in its report that it believed the trend to...