Results 20,521-20,540 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

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

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is aware of the background to this case, which I outlined in the House in my reply to a parliamentary question on 7 October. In short, my Department conducted an investigation into allegations that milk collections from one supplier were credited to the account of another, and that this was being facilitated by the milk purchaser concerned. I have already indicated that...

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

Simon Coveney: No, there was no Garda investigation.

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

Simon Coveney: I agree with the Deputy on this. It should not have happened and it was not allowed to happen-----

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

Simon Coveney: -----because our systems picked it up and we responded to it very robustly. Anybody who has been involved with our special investigations unit, as it was at the time, knows that it is pretty robust in terms of how it gets to the bottom of things. It works with and takes advice from the Garda on a regular basis. People were interviewed under caution. We followed up on this as to the...

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

Simon Coveney: I will be able to reply one more time.

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

Simon Coveney: That is not true.

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

Simon Coveney: To be clear on this, I can talk about the advice that I got within my own Department, which states that the facts are not so clear as to provide a sufficient degree of probability that a prosecution would succeed, given the legal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. It further states that it is also relevant that the quota system is now abolished and therefore there is no merit in...

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

Simon Coveney: That was my Secretary General.

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

Simon Coveney: The 27,000 applications submitted in the first tranche of GLAS were very much in line with the projections I made when launching the scheme. This substantial response provides us with an important signal of the ongoing importance farmers place on the sustainable management of their resources. In October, some 24,500 approval letters began issuing to farmers confirming their acceptance into...

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

Simon Coveney: There has been much discussion and debate around the commonage issue to ensure that GLAS accommodates the complexity of putting in a collective commonage plan in place. We gave more time for that to be finalised. As long as farmers have signed up to the finalisation and preparation of that plan, then they will be paid. If the Deputy had asked about the average payment in the form of a...

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

Simon Coveney: We have not even finalised the exact number yet.

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

Simon Coveney: With respect, that was not the question the Deputy asked. I have given the answer to the question he asked.

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

Simon Coveney: As I said before, the expectation, and what we are budgeting for, is that the average payment will be quite close to the maximum payment of €5,000. Obviously, it will be less than that, but it is not going to be significantly less. As soon as we have that average figure, which is only a matter of weeks, I will make it available. There is no hidden agenda. It depends on how many...

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

Simon Coveney: I do not have the figures because we have not yet finalised them.

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

Simon Coveney: The Irish Farmers’ Journaldeduced its own figures. It cannot have an average figure because I have not signed off on every application.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Data (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: Bonamia ostreae, a parasitic organism that gives rise to Bonamiosis in oysters, has been present in native Irish oysters (Ostrea edulis) since the 1980s. It is widespread within Europe and also in the USA and Canada. The parasite was first diagnosed in Cork Harbour in 1987 following the detection of significant losses in native oysters. How or precisely when the parasite was introduced is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Commonage Land (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The decisions taken in this case were based on advice provided to my office by the Legal Services Division of my Department and therefore I cannot comment on this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Inspections (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: My Department, in the context of delivering the Basic Payment Scheme, the Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme and other area related schemes, is required to carry out an annual round of inspections. These cover both the eligibility of the land declared to draw down payments and also cross compliance aspects, to ensure adherence with EU regulatory requirements in the areas of public, animal...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: TAMS Data (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The new TAMS measure will make €395 million available to Irish farmers for investing in on-farm infrastructure, facilities and equipment. All TAMS schemes have been opened and the applications received under the first tranches of both the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme and the Dairy Equipment Scheme are now being processed. The first tranche for the Pig and Poultry Scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: EU Funding (25 Nov 2015)

Simon Coveney: The relevant EU legislative provisions providing for this direct aid payment came into force in mid-October and provide that Member States have the flexibility to distribute this aid through the most effective channels at their disposal. Any decision on distribution obviously had to await the adoption at EU level of the relevant legislative provisions. In order to effectively address the...