Results 22,981-23,000 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Other Questions: Beef Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: While we must look at every opportunity to add value to our beef production, I am not convinced that targeting large-scale veal production would be the best use of our resources. Irish steer and heifer beef is recognised all over the world for its excellent quality and green credentials and we need to concentrate on leveraging this position even further and increasing the efficiency of our...

Other Questions: Beef Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: In case I am being misunderstood, live cattle exports are really important and calf exports are part of that story, too. Work has been ongoing at an industry level to ensure we have the connections and the routes to markets that we need through France to access the market for calves. That work is active and will continue to be so. However, our strategic thinking as a country, where...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Poultry Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I agree with the Deputy. We will make money available but I cannot give a figure today as to how much that will be. A scheme for pigs and poultry will be launched towards the end of July. The only question is how much will we have available to spend. The items outlined by the Deputy will be covered. Whether there will be a more extensive scheme for the pig sector in particular, where...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Poultry Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I have a lot of time for the pigs and poultry sector, a sector which does not get the benefit of single farm payment nor the benefits of most of the rural development programmes although we are trying to change that, in particular with regard to slurry management. We want to be helpful to the sector and the only question is how much we can afford to spend. There are competing demands. If I...

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this very important issue. As our sector grows and expands this issue will become even more significant. We need to respond to the questions regarding the sustainability of the growth of Irish agriculture. I contend that we will have a very impressive growth period in agriculture but this will be managed in a sustainable way. It is vital that in terms...

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I am satisfied that Ireland is on course to comply with the annual mitigation targets under the 2009 EU effort-sharing decision in the first half of the 2013 to 2020 compliance period. However, there will be significant compliance challenges in the years 2017 to 2020, if the economy continues to grow as it is. The first iteration of the national mitigation plan, which is being prepared...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: First, that was not the question Deputy Ó Cuív asked in writing and I do not have all those numbers, but I can certainly share some of them with him.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I thank farming organisations and the Opposition spokesperson for being reasonable on this issue. This is an issue we cannot ignore. If one gets a €181 million proposed fine from the Commission, one cannot simply put one's head in the sand and say that we refuse to pay. We have gone through a tortuous process of assessing 900,000 land parcels across Ireland to ascertain what the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The superlevy is not hundreds of millions of euro.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I wish Deputy Ó Cuív would not try to paint a difficult issue into something that it is not. This is not connected with the superlevy. The superlevy is not hundreds of millions of euro either-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: -----and farmers have the option to repay the superlevy over a three-year period in interest-free instalments. By and large, farmers understand that. This is a separate issue. It is an issue we cannot avoid. It is an issue of public money being spent on land, some of which was not eligible. It is a relatively small amount. In percentage terms, it is a small percentage of farmers who...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Poultry Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I thank Deputy Ferris. I met representatives from the poultry sector recently and they make a strong case. The rural development programme, RDP, for the period 2014-20 was submitted to the EU Commission for approval in July 2014. The programme includes provision for a new targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS II.  Under TAMS II, there will be a dedicated scheme for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: It is great to see a fishing question among Priority Questions. The Irish fishing fleet is divided into five segments in accordance with Ministerial Policy Directive 2 of 2003, as amended. The segments are the refrigerated seawater, RSW, pelagic segment which people from Donegal know very well, the polyvalent segment; the beam trawler segment, the specific segment and the aquaculture...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: We try to have ongoing consultation between the Department, the Minister and the industry. It would be very difficult to do this with individual vessel owners because there are so many competing interests in the fishing industry. This is why it is always very difficult to manage politically. If something is given to one boat another boat will lose because this is a finite resource. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: It would impact on the gross tonnage and engine power kilowatt issue. I am happy to listen to new ideas and new approaches if it can be done within the confines of the Common Fisheries Policy. I tell farming organisations if we can do things better within the rules they should speak to me about it and we will happily look at it. We are also trying to do this with the inshore fleet at...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Land Parcel Identification System (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy was a Minister and knows well it will not be reduced to nothing because there is an issue. We are in negotiations on it. The EU has not imposed the fine, it has made a claim this is what should be paid. To be clear, we have not paid anything yet. The Deputy will be aware that the EU Commission, in its letter dated 14 May 2014, proposed a 2% flat rate financial correction for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Data (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: I think the Deputy said it would be €10,000.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Data (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: Okay. I am happy to be corrected.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Data (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: It is important that we stick to the facts here. I never said the average payment for people in GLAS would be €5,000 and the average payment for people in GLAS plus would be €7,000. They are the maximum payments, as the Deputy knows. Many farmers will be on the maximum. Of course there will be some farmers who will be on less than the maximum. Therefore, the average will be...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: GLAS Data (14 May 2015)

Simon Coveney: We should not try to create something that is based on misleading people. Everybody knows the maximum payment in GLAS is €5,000 and-----