Results 22,941-22,960 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Applications (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The above named herdowner was issued with a guide to the number and value of entitlements he may be allocated under the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 to 2019. The number of entitlements is based on the number of hectares declared by him in 2013 but if he declares less land in 2015, the lesser number will apply. As he did not own any Single Payment Scheme entitlements in 2014, he has no...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: My Department is currently undertaking a Strategic Review of its Laboratories as part of an Integrated Reform Delivery Plan agreed with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to consider the best means of delivering laboratory services to customers. This review is considering all of the Department’s laboratories, including the central laboratory complex at Backweston and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: There are no plans to close any of my Department’s Regional Veterinary Laboratories. A working group has been established to review the best way to provide laboratory diagnostic services to farmers and this continues to be our priority. As would be expected they are looking at a range of options on how best to do this and will make their recommendations in due course. However, as I...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: A working group was established in January 2015 to undertake a Strategic review of my Department’s Laboratories and to report back to me with a series of recommendations. A report from the working group is expected in due course when my senior officials and I will give it appropriate consideration. However, as I have publicly stated previously, I do not intend to close any regional...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: A working group was established in January 2015 to undertake a Strategic review of my Department’s Laboratories and to report back to me with a series of recommendations. A report from the working group will be finalised in due course when my senior officials and I will give it due consideration. However, as I have publicly stated previously, I do not intend to close any regional...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: My Department has no plans to change the current form of any of its Regional Veterinary Laboratories. All of these Regional Veterinary Laboratories will continue to operate as heretofore, providing a range of laboratory diagnostic support services to the farming community through private veterinary practitioners.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Regional Veterinary Laboratories (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The status of employment of the workers employed in my Department’s Regional Veterinary Laboratories in counties Sligo, Limerick, Cork and Kilkenny, remains unchanged. All of these workers are Civil Servants serving in various different roles.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering Standards (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: Under EU law, primary responsibility for compliance with food safety and species segregation requirements rests in the first instance with food business operators. Slaughter plants producing meat for human consumption must meet the requirements set out in detailed EU regulations generally referred to as the ‘Hygiene Package’. These regulations are implemented in Ireland under...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Slaughtering Standards (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application from the company concerned for approval to operate an equine slaughter plant is under active consideration by my Department. All slaughter plants producing meat for human consumption must meet the requirements set out in detailed EU food safety regulations, generally referred to as the ‘Hygiene Package’. These regulations are implemented in Ireland under the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Derogation Payments (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The provision known as the Scottish Derogation makes available entitlements to those persons who never held entitlements under the Single Payment Scheme and who actively produced an agricultural product in the beef, dairying, sheep or arable sectors. Such production must have been in place on the 15 May 2013. I can confirm that the person named never held entitlements under the Single...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Grassland Sheep Scheme Applications (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application under the 2014 Grassland Sheep Scheme was received from the person named on 15 May 2014. Payment has not issued to the person named as the holding concerned has not satisfied the Scheme minimum eligibility requirements namely, the submission of the annual sheep census form prior to the extended closing date of 14 February 2014. The person named unsuccessfully applied for the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Agencies Staff Recruitment (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: On 12 March 2015, I received a request from Bord Iascaigh Mhara for sanction to recruit 21 additional staff, including 3 positions with the National Fisheries College, of which 2 relate to Greencastle. This request by BIM for a very significant increase in staff resources must be considered by my Department in the context of the ongoing constrained budgetary situation and the staff resource...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Eligibility (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: Officials from my Department met with representatives of the Forgotten Farmers Group on 1 April 2015. This group represents farmers under the age of 40, who established their holdings prior to 2008 and who hold low value entitlements. At this meeting the main request of the group was to increase the value of entitlements for farmers who are under 40 years to the National Average value of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Labelling (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I have been a strong proponent of origin labelling as a means of providing consumers with clear and transparent information about the food they consume, including as regards the origin of that food. The rules on origin labelling are determined at EU level and I recently signed into law an SI to give effect to the new European Regulations for country of origin labelling of meat from sheep,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Herd Numbers (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: An application for a herdnumber from the person concerned is currently being processed by the Regional Veterinary Office of my Department. The case is at an advanced stage and it is anticipated that a herd number will issue at an early date. I should clarify that, where an applicant under the National Reserve priority categories of ‘young farmer’ and ‘new...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Data Protection (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: In accordance with EU legislation (Regulation EU No: 1306/13) the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is obliged to ensure annual ex-post publication of all of the beneficiaries of CAP funding - both legal and non-legal persons. In accordance with the regulation the Department must, by the 31 May 2015, publish: The name of the beneficiary (unless the amount of payment under CAP...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: In recognition of these issues, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) was established last year by the Government as a state development bank. The SBCI aims to deliver lower cost, long-term, innovative and accessible funding to Irish SMEs, by offering tailored flexible products through its lending partners. With regard to agriculture specifically, my Department and I have...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Organic Farming (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The EU Commission’s proposal on formulating new Organic Farming Regulations was first introduced in 2014. While there are many elements in this proposal that are welcomed, every Member State, without exception, had issues of concern. The main elements of the proposal are as follows: -Introduction of a risk-based control regime and the proposal to remove the requirement for the annual...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Data Programme (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Government has made a provision of €52m for the BDGP in 2015. It forms part of the country’s draft Rural Development Programme and will have a budget of approximately €300m over a period of 6 years. The BDGP will accelerate improvement in the crucial area of environmental sustainability in the national herd through the application of genomic technology and will...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sea Lice Controls (19 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The use of a teflubenzuron-based medicine (Calicide) as an in-feed medication for the treatment of sea-lice on farmed salmon is authorised by the Health Products Regulatory Authority. Under the National Residues Control Plan for Aquaculture (as part of the overall National Residues Control Plan), the Marine Institute tests for residues of veterinary medicines, including teflubenzuron, in...