Results 19,301-19,320 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inshore Fisheries (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Department does take it seriously. It takes equally seriously the relationship it has developed with the inshore sector. There have been four meetings to date, all of which I have attended. We now have an opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues. Many of the recommendations in the Oireachtas committee's report have been acted upon and more will be acted upon. In regard to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Inshore Fisheries (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Two years down the road, it is being actively examined. That is what the Department is doing in terms of recreational fisheries, for example. We are changing that structure. We are introducing limits that will be imposed on recreational fishermen so that we can create more space for commercial fishermen. We are also expanding our V-notching programme and we have increased the compensation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy's questions are fair. A package worth €500 million has been secured, which is a really good delivery by Commissioner Hogan, because the expectation was that the package would be a lot less. Approximately €420 million of the funding will be spent on what are called national envelopes to enable a positive impact within countries on the income of dairy and pig farmers....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: It is true that farmers want to be paid as soon as possible from a cashflow point of view. On 16 October, a 75% advance payment on single farm payments will be made, which will amount to €750 million in payments to farmers, €250 million more than would normally be given out at that time of year. This is one of a number of measures to help farmers in terms of cashflow. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: This is populist stuff that the Deputy knows is not possible. There is no additional package for sheep farmers. What we are talking about is a fund provided by Europe of €500 million to support the dairy and pigmeat sectors because they have particular pricing problems this year. The price of lamb has not collapsed this year. I know sheep farmers are under pressure, which is why we...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: That is not true. Deputy Ó Cuív was one of the people looking for redistribution. To argue against redistribution for a sheep farmer because he has the sheep grassland scheme factored in to his single farm payment----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Deputy Ó Cuív is wanting it both ways.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: He is uncomfortable with that, which is why he is questioning me now.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We have taken every opportunity we can to support the sheep sector. We will do that through targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, TAMS and single farm payments in terms of redistribution, where sheep farmers are the big winners. We also did it when we decoupled and added to a sheep farmer's single farm payment what he would previously have been getting under the sheep grassland...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Exactly. Farming would be a lot worse off.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Agriculture Scheme Payments (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We have introduced the maximum CAP.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Beef accounts for 35% of the gross output of the agriculture sector. Beef exports in 2014 amounted to 524,000 tonnes, worth €2.27 billion. The suckler herd is a critical component of this industry. The beef data and genomics programme, BDGP, is a response to these challenges and opportunities, and particularly to the challenges associated with improved breeding performance,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: It is in my reply.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Let me just be clear. When we launched the scheme we probably should have had more information meetings earlier. I accept that. I attended a number of the meetings myself. While there were a lot of people who were concerned about elements of the scheme, I do not think those concerns were well founded in many cases. We have managed to clarify a lot of those things. I have written to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: There is no mass exodus here. I would like to reassure farmers that this is a really good scheme. In ten or 15 years it will prove to be one of the most innovative schemes that has ever been introduced in any European country in terms of upgrading the genetics of a herd and providing farmers with more and more accurate scientific information about better breeding programmes. It is a huge...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Ultimately, that is what a €300 million scheme over the next six years is all about. I think most farmers would now agree that the qualification criteria and benchmarks they have to meet on that journey are very achievable in the timescale that has been outlined. In fact, the vast majority of farmers are already where they would need to be by about 2018.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Beef Data Programme (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We will take a look at that. I obviously want to spend the full amount of money that we have allocated for the scheme over the six years. We now need to consider whether we can afford to take more farmers in, how we could do that, who the farmers are and whether we should prioritise younger farmers or new entrants. That is a decision we will make next year when we see how much money we are...

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I thank the Deputy for asking the question because it gives me the opportunity to clarify a number of matters. I know Deputy Ó Cuív asked the question earlier. For the second tranche of GLAS, which I intend to launch next week, I have revisited the various actions that will be available to farmers in the light of the substantial progress made to date. GLAS differs from...

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Under the first tranche, so far 8 million plants have been ordered. Our contacts with the forestry service and relevant nurseries indicate they will have serious difficulty supplying even the quantity of planting stock in the timeframe required for the tranche one applicants.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We are changing the hedgerow option for practical reasons. First, we have already met the target for that item for the whole of GLAS in tranche one. Second, our industry has real problems even with our current commitments as opposed to opening an entire new tranche on it. In other words, to solve this problem we would need to import huge volumes of trees, which is a disease risk and a...