Results 20,501-20,520 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: Afforestation Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Minister of State, Deputy Hayes, has just told me that producer groups and co-operatives are being set up to try to create economies of scale for forestry. I will allow Coillte management to outline its new plans and business model as well as the public value delivery model that Coillte has in place and will have in place for the next five to ten years. Coillte needs to manage a...

Other Questions: Afforestation Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: That is not an acceptable approach and Coillte is ensuring that will not be the case in future. I have had long discussions with Coillte representatives, as has the Minister of State, Deputy Hayes. They are under no illusions in terms of the broader public good value it has and the responsibilities it has towards recreation-----

Other Questions: Afforestation Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: -----and managing-----

Other Questions: Afforestation Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: -----native species as well as commercial timber.

Other Questions: Departmental Investigations (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I have a problem here that I signalled earlier. My advice is that these inspections are the subject of legal proceedings and I cannot comment any further on the matter. I am not happy that this has gone down the legal route. We have repeatedly tried to find solutions in this case, but once an issue like this is the subject of legal proceedings, I am precluded from saying anything further....

Other Questions: Departmental Investigations (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I will check that for the Deputy. My understanding is that our investigation and the appeal of that have concluded. I may need to verify that. Once something goes down the legal route, anything I say here may impact on that, so I need to be careful what I say.

Other Questions: Beef Data Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I think there was disquiet at the start, but it is wrong to say there is considerable disquiet now. The disquiet I have now is that more people want to get into the scheme. They want to know if it is fully subscribed and if we will reopen it. That is the pressure I have been getting. I accept there was considerable concern at the start, especially in understanding the star rating system...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Horse Racing Industry Funding (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy's proposal is not unreasonable and it has been discussed. To be clear, small breeders in general operate at the lower end of the market in terms of the foal levy. In fact, last year, in the case of more than 30% of foals, or 2,346, the levy was paid at either €35 or €50, whereas 27% of the income for 2014 came from just 616 foals. The last time the levy was...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Horse Racing Industry Funding (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: Whether or not foal levies are applied in other countries is not really the point. One might well ask whether other countries give €60 million per year towards the horse and greyhound racing industries. Ireland has its own structure in terms of supporting the racing industry. Indeed, I am not sure any other country in the world prioritises horse racing as much as we do. There are...

Other Questions: Afforestation Programme (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I am glad the Deputy and I are in agreement on the importance of forestry. Ireland is well below the European average in terms of forest cover and we are responding to that in several ways. We have a very active State-owned company, Coillte, that is looking to expand and invest in its forestry interests and to that end is taking a new approach to its work. We are one of the very few...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Grocery Industry Competition (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy might remember it was his Government that got rid of below-cost selling.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Horse Racing Industry Funding (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Ferris for raising this issue. We had a brief discussion on it in the committee a number of days ago. Horse Racing Ireland is a commercial State body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 and it is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry. The current foal levy scheme, which was introduced in 2000...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Milk Quota (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: That is on the basis of the legal recommendations that came to him and me, based on the report we received from the Office of the Chief State Solicitor.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commonage Land (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: In relation to what is referred to as the Keelderry commonage, a number of commonages, including the Keelderry commonage, were selected for ground inspection in 2010 as part of a review of commonage parcels declared by applicants under the 2010 single payment scheme, SPS, and less favoured areas, LFA, schemes. A number of inspections of this parcel of land were carried out in 2010 and 2011...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commonage Land (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy should be careful about what he seeking here in terms of clear definitions of what is in and what is out in commonage areas along the west of Ireland. We are trying to get more farming activity into commonage areas. We are trying to be as flexible and generous as possible within the rules to try to include as much land as possible to support farmers in those areas. The Deputy...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commonage Land (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: Do not exaggerate for effect. That does not happen.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Commonage Land (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: There are independent ecologists all over the country. We have inspectors and we have a job to do. Our inspectors are very experienced. They understand commonage and how it works and marginal land and how it works. In this case there was an inspection. There was another inspection to verify that, which happens all of the time. There was another inspection after that to verify the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Administration (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: I answered some of those questions in the reply I gave. First, I said that so far 10,000 applications have been registered.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Administration (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: No. They have already been registered on the online application process for tranche 2.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Administration (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: No. The way in the which the system works is that people register online, and then they put up further details on the system as they get them, which turns a registration into a formal application. That is how it works. We expect to get 10,000 or so applications; in fact, we will get more than that number under GLAS tranche 2, which is great. There were some concerns when GLAS was...