Results 21,501-21,520 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Recruitment (8 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Government is committed to maintaining the stabilised strength of the Permanent Defence Force at 9,500 personnel, comprising of 7,520 Army, 886 Air Corps and 1,094 Naval Service as stated in the 2015 White Paper on Defence. I am advised by the Military Authorities that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force, at 31 August 2015, the latest date for which details are available, was...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel Data (8 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The following table sets out the strength of females in the Permanent Defence Force, broken down into Army, Air Corps and Naval Service for the years 2011 to 2015 (31st August, 2015). - 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Army 467 482 450 464 459 Naval Service 68 70 65 64 60 Air Corps 30 30 31 35 31 Total 565 582 546 563 550 The Deputy should note that the strength...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Remuneration (8 Oct 2015)

Simon Coveney: The UN reimburses some personnel and Contingent Owned Equipment costs in respect of contributions of personnel to UN led operations. Rates of reimbursement, fixed in accordance with UN categories of equipment and personnel, are agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding between Ireland and the UN for each mission. The missions for which Ireland is currently entitled to reimbursement of some...

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...

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: 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...

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.