Results 19,321-19,340 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: That is why we are looking at farmers taking up other options instead of planting new hedgerows.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: Low input permanent pasture has nothing to do with the commonage issue.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is assuming that the low input permanent pasture is the only option available to them, which, of course, it is not. They have many options available to them and they need to look at the list in terms of what suits their farming structures and apply them. The Deputy said that many commonage farmers were confused and therefore waited for the second tranche. Low input permanent...

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: They will be coming under a commonage GLAS plan if they are commonage farmers. As we are spending EU money - a lot of it - as well as Exchequer money, we have an obligation to ensure that we set targets at the start of the scheme outlining what we want done for the money. If in the first tranche we are getting a significant amount of one measure done and not much in the other areas, we...

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We have had to change it accordingly. The provisions within the scheme were always there for that and people knew it.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: That is not true. The Deputy does not understand how the Commission works.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: There is notice. The scheme is not open yet.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: This is about every county. I know the Deputy is only interested in one county. It is about a scheme that makes sense across farming in Ireland. First, there is notice; it is not open yet for tranche two. It will be opening next week. We are talking about it because there is notice. The Deputy should stop this nonsense about saying there is no notice.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I am the one who has to stand over an examination of where we spend money, where we are getting value for money, how we spend money and justifying that through audit systems to the Commission. That is the way this works. This is a rural environmental scheme that is worth over €1 billion to farmers, and most of the money comes from the European Exchequer. I am the one who has to make...

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: This is about supporting farm incomes, but it is also about getting environmental outcomes. I do not accept that farmers do not have alternatives. I think, quite frankly, that the Deputy is taking the lazy option, in terms of what he is saying.

Other Questions: GLAS Administration (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: We are trying to offer every farmer options in terms of GLAS, but we are also trying to ensure that we get appropriate value for money in terms of environmental outcomes. The tranches will change slightly to make sure that we continue to deliver the correct outcomes. That is all that is happening. There is still an option for low-income permanent pasture. The average application for that...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: My Department has been exploring new and more competitive sources of funding for Irish agriculture and will continue to do so in the context of evolving market requirements. For example, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, which includes the European Investment Bank, EIB, as one of its funding partners, has recently announced a new agriculture investment loans product. This...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I gave the Deputy fairly specific answers, but the problem is that a lot of the time he does not like the answers.

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The truth is that the solutions we are putting in place are not those the Deputy would put in place, which would, by and large, be to the detriment of agriculture. The kind of innovative thinking we are now talking about with the EIB is not the kind of thing on which the Deputy would have focused. My understanding is that primary food producers and SMEs, including farmers, can access the...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I can certainly provide the Deputy with what he needs. Many farmers do consider themselves SMEs.

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: What I said in my answer is that of the almost €45 million in loans approved and drawn down by SMEs between March and the end of June from the SBCI, a third have been accessed by the agricultural sector.

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I think so, but I can confirm that for the Deputy. As usual, he sees a conspiracy around every corner. On the second issue, the wording of the rural development programme being submitted to the Commission includes a provision to draw down EIB money, but we will need to follow through with a more exact commitment to do this. This is the type of ex anteevaluation that the Deputy is speaking about.

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: I agree with the Deputy on one thing, which I made clear last night: the interest rates charged to farmers in Ireland - and agriculture represents a very large percentage of the loan book in all three of our pillar banks that lend to agriculture - are not as competitive as they should be. If we could get EIB funding into Ireland, we may be able to force this down through competition, which...

Other Questions: Rural Development Programme Projects (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: This is an issue. At present, the rule is that a farmer can be in only one discussion group, because otherwise he or she will receive a double payment. A discussion group involves peer discussions and strategic talk, with advisers and farmers speaking to each other about how to improve their businesses. It also involves visits to farms to develop plans to improve practice. If a farmer is...

Other Questions: Rural Development Programme Projects (7 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: It is an ongoing conversation in the Department. Many farmers have said to me that they only want to be paid once but they would like to go into two discussion groups if possible because they want to make sure they are plugged into the latest knowledge on sheep as well as beef. This is not an unreasonable request. At present we are figuring out how to accommodate this with regard to paying...