Results 281-300 of 4,571 for speaker:Trevor Sargent

Fishing Industry Development. (24 Mar 2009)

Trevor Sargent: The question is slightly cryptic in that it asks whether I am aware of a study that was just two days long.

Fishing Industry Development. (24 Mar 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Will the Deputy furnish me with more detail? I wish to follow up this because we will need all the evidence and agreement we can possibly bring to the Commission as we will be asking it for exemptions, for flexibility and to take on board the real situation with which the Deputy and I are familiar.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht seans a thabhairt dom labhairt ar an rún atá os ár gcomhair. I welcome the opportunity provided by the debate on this motion to outline for Senators the extent and range of initiatives being taken by the Government to increase the flow of credit to the community sector, to small and medium sized enterprises and in the area of social finance....

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Trevor Sargent: May I finish? The registrar can also issue regulatory direction and prohibition orders to a credit union concerning a broad range of issues, including investments, raising of funds, loans, assets and liability ratios, and the composition of their assets and liabilities. The registrar has extensive powers of inspection and investigation of credit unions as well as broad supervisory powers,...

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Trevor Sargent: It should also be noted that the Irish League of Credit Unions maintains a savings protection fund in excess of €100 million which is available to help stabilise the position of any credit union that encounters problems. At the heart of social finance is the concept of repayable loan financing provided at affordable terms for community-based projects and enterprises and local development...

Seanad: Farm Waste Management (25 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na Seanadóirí as an cheist seo a ardú. I am pleased to have the opportunity to outline the current position regarding the farm waste management scheme. There is particular reference to Waterford but Senator John Paul Phelan will be glad to hear that the reply also refers to south Kilkenny. A revised and greatly improved farm waste management...

Seanad: Farm Waste Management (25 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: I agree with the Senator in that the scheme has been very successful. Even in the programme for Government when the projected growth rate in the country was of a totally different order to what we are now experiencing, at €2 million it was only a fraction of what we are now faced with. It is a reflection of the need for farmers to upgrade their facilities. My understanding of the term...

Seanad: Milk Prices (12 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Ar dtús báire, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na Seanadóirí Bradford agus John Paul Phelan as ucht seans a thabhairt dom freagra a thabhairt ar an gceist thábhachtach seo. While I did not grow up on a dairy farm like Senator Phelan, I spent much of my summer holidays with my dairy farming relations near Navan in County Meath and I have that level of experience. In this case,...

Alternative Farm Enterprises. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recognises the key role that farmers can play in providing feedstocks for biofuel and biomass production. Our role is to support the supply side of the market by assisting farmers to grow energy crops. In accordance with the national bioenergy action plan, we are providing a number of incentives to improve the profitability of growing energy...

Alternative Farm Enterprises. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Tá cúpla ceist ansin. Ar dtús, on the fuel versus food issue, as the Deputy mentioned, we are a long way from the conflict in this area that pertains in other parts of the world, given that we have only 6,000 hectares of such crops planted. The evaluation is that we could plant up to 70,000 hectares before we would have to make the difficult choices being made in other parts of the...

Alternative Farm Enterprises. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: Politics is part of bureaucracy, as the Deputy knows.

Alternative Farm Enterprises. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: That review is underway and I look forward to further questions in order that we can report on it. The Department is reviewing the scheme and intends to have that completed by mid-2009 in order to assess the need for a further scheme. The new scheme will require State aid approval and we must address this as well as additional Exchequer funding. It will have to take account also of all...

Food Industry. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: The total Exchequer allocation to Bord Bia for 2009 is €31.6 million, including specific allocations for quality assurance, that is, the quality assurance scheme, and healthy eating initiatives, such as the Food Dudes programme. This grant-in-aid, together with an industry contribution of the order of €7 million, will enable Bord Bia to implement a comprehensive set of promotional...

Food Industry. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: I appreciate what Deputy Sherlock said. He has taken a pragmatic approach. He put his finger on it in terms of the potential of the food market when it comes to the recession. On the pigmeat sector, consumption in Ireland has returned to relative normality quite quickly. That, in itself, has sent out a positive message demonstrating the confidence of the consumer in Irish pigmeat. That is...

Food Industry. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: I do not go to them all, by the way.

Food Industry. (11 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: I agree with the Deputy that it is a key issue. We have been asking the European Commission to accept our proposals. While we are working through that and insisting on a higher standard Europe-wide, we are succeeding in getting across that our overall health checks are exemplary and the fact that we had a total recall was evidence that we were not prepared to accept anything but the very...

Energy Prices: Motion (Resumed) (4 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: De bharr gur labhair an tAire Ó Riain agus an tAire Stáit, Seán de Paor aréir, ní féidir leo an freagra a thabhairt don díospóireacht anocht agus is onóir mhóir domsa mar sin freagairt ar son an Aire agus an Aire Stáit. I again thank Fine Gael for tabling the motion. We have had a useful and productive debate and I hope it has led to a better understanding of the mechanisms that...

Energy Prices: Motion (Resumed) (4 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: ——to EirGrid, and I hope there are further potential fields of agreement between the Government and the Opposition in the energy sphere. I would like to address a number of the claims made by Opposition Members in their contributions. Specifically, I would like to respond to the accusation that our electricity prices are maintained at an artificially high level. I assure the House that...

Energy Prices: Motion (Resumed) (4 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: The Deputy is correct.

Energy Prices: Motion (Resumed) (4 Feb 2009)

Trevor Sargent: We are doing that.