Results 25,221-25,240 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta Staff (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: I believe that the Deputy is referring to the Forestry Act 1988, under which Coillte Teoranta was established, which contains inter aliaprovisions applicable to staff transferred to the company (Section 43)  and superannuation (Section 44). In the context of ‘the way pensions are treated and in particular in the way that D stamps are treated’, I do not currently have any...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the 2010 Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS 1) with effect from the 1stDecember 2010 and full entitlements have issued in respect of the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Scheme years. AEOS payments in respect of the 2014 scheme year will commence shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Administration (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Payment of the balancing payment under the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) commenced yesterday. To date, over €550 million has issued to farmers. The total payments made to date to farmers under the 2 014 Single Farm Payment and Disadvantaged Areas Schemes now exceeds €1.3 billion. Payments under both Schemes continue to be made when individual applications become clear for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Coillte Teoranta (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as responding to correspondence and the management of the forest estate, are the responsibility of the company. The correspondence was, however, drawn to the attention of the company in early October at which time Coillte advised that its operations team was...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Appointments to State Boards (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: Since May 2011, a notification has been placed on my Department’s website inviting expressions of interest from persons interested in being appointed to the boards of State Bodies under the aegis of my Department. Persons expressing an interest in being appointed to such positions are considered in the normal appointments process. Applicants may express interest in more than one...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Planning (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: I, along with my colleagues Deputy Paschal Donohoe, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Deputy Paudie Coffey, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, launched the Government's annual 'Be Winter Ready' 2014-2015 Information Campaign on 13 November, 2014. The campaign aims to inform and reassure people that the Government has made...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Emergency Planning (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The estimated cost of Winter Ready 2014/15 is approximately €40,000. The Winter Ready campaign was introduced by the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning in November 2011 to provide advice and information to help the public be better prepared to deal with a period of severe weather. A website is available to provide practical advice and contact details of the main services that...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Pension Provisions (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The original decision of March 1987, to take the total compensation into consideration in deciding the rate of disability pension applicable in this case, was quashed on foot of a High Court Order of 23 November 1987, and a review of the case was ordered to be undertaken. While the High Court Order quashed the original decision of March 1987 and ordered that a review of the case be...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: TheHealth Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), formerly The Irish Medicines Board (IMB), is the statutory authority with responsibility for the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines in Ireland. There are three anti-malarial medications licensed by the HPRA , in use in the Defence Forces, namely Lariam (mefloquine), Malarone and Doxycycline.The malaria chemoprophylactic agent of choice...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Visits (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: During each Presidency of the Council of the European Union, one formal and one informal meeting of Defence Ministers is held.Defence Ministers meet as the ‘Foreign Affairs Council in Defence Ministers’ format’. These Council meetings are held in Brussels or Luxembourg at the invitation of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Since I was...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Appointments to State Boards (2 Dec 2014)

Simon Coveney: The only body under the aegis of my Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act, 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Applications (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted a 2014 Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas’ scheme application on 27 March 2014. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases Remote Sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The EU Regulations also require that where...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agriculture Schemes Administration (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted a 2014 Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas’ scheme application on 8 April 2014. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases Remote Sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The EU Regulations also require that where it...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Appeals (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: A review of the land parcels declared by the person named under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme revealed that a number of the land parcels declared by the person named contained ineligible features. Following a request for a review from the person named, a visit by a Department official to verify the position was necessary to progress the matter. The person named will be advised of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Payments (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: My Department received a Transfer of Entitlements application on 7thMay 2014 to transfer 15.48 Standard National Reserve entitlements from another herd number to the above herd number by way of sale. This was one of the 16,000 Transfer of Entitlements applications received in my Department in 2014. This application has been fully processed and the Single Farm payment due will issue shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Farm Safety (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: The Farm Safety Scheme was opened for applications on 22 October 2014 and will remain open until 9thJanuary 2015. Interest in the scheme has been very high with some 2,000 applications received to date. Grant schemes have to operate above a certain threshold to ensure that they actually bring about change and incentivise a level of investment that would not otherwise take place. The...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: There are over 100,000 farms contributing to cattle output in Ireland and, last year, over 1.5 million head of cattle were sent for slaughter in processing facilities throughout the country. Meat processors make their own arrangements for the procurement of animals for slaughter. These are commercial decisions for individual processors and their supply base will include animals purchased...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Milk Quota (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: The named person was an applicant under my Department’s Hardship Scheme. Allocations of quota on the grounds of hardship are based on recommendations made by the Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal. This independent body operates in accordance with objective criteria outlined in the explanatory note that accompanied the application form, and the overall volume available for distribution is...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Appeals (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: In order to comply with EU requirements, the 2013 Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Area’s Scheme application of the person named was one of a number selected for a ground eligibility inspection. This inspection resulted in findings of an over-declaration in area of greater than 20%. Based on the terms and conditions of the scheme this resulted in no payment in respect of the 2013...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Single Payment Scheme Applications (27 Nov 2014)

Simon Coveney: A review of the land parcels declared by the person named under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme revealed that a number of the parcels declared by the person named contained ineligible features. Following the review of my Department’s decision, sought by the person named, a visit by a Department official to verify the position on the ground is now necessary. The person named will be...