Results 30,421-30,440 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: On 24 April I established a €1 million transport fodder scheme to help alleviate the difficulties being encountered by farmers. Following consultation with Met Eireann, Co Ops, the farming organisations, Teagasc and the advice of officials working on the ground, the decision was taken to allow a further two weeks for fodder to be imported into the country with a doubling of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: On 24 April I established a €1 million transport fodder scheme to help alleviate the difficulties being encountered by farmers. Following consultation with Met Eireann, Co Ops, the farming organisations, Teagasc and the advice of officials working on the ground, the decision was taken to allow a further two weeks for fodder to be imported into the country with a doubling of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: As processing of the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme is not yet finalised, it is not possible at this stage to give precise figures as to the overall level of savings that will be achieved on foot of the various changes introduced to the Terms and Conditions of the 2012 Scheme. However, to date, payments worth in excess of €208 million have issued to 95,302 beneficiaries; a total of...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, as already announced, is focussed on the protection of the smaller and most disadvantaged. It must also be borne in mind that the minimum stocking density requirement is equivalent to one ewe per eligible forage hectare and can not in any way be regarded as onerous. It will be recalled that, in response to budgetary realities, it was decided to re-focus...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Fodder Transport Subsidy Scheme had played an important role in contributing to the efforts of recent weeks, with the transport costs of sizeable quantities of fodder being significantly offset by my Department's contribution. While the Scheme itself ended on Friday, 24 May, as an exceptional measure, I announced that any definite purchases that had been placed by that date, but which...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy Negotiations (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Following what I think were extremely useful and productive informal discussions between the Council, European Parliament and Commission in Dublin earlier this week, my attention is already firmly focused on what I hope will be the final phase of the CAP reform negotiations over the coming weeks, culminating in an overall political agreement between the three institutions at the end of June....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sugar Industry (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: I would like to give the Deputy the background to this issue. The EU Sugar Regime underwent a radical reform in 2005 following major EU decisions to restructure the industry. A temporary restructuring scheme was introduced with the aim of reducing EU sugar production. Greencore, the holder of the entire Irish sugar quota, availed of this voluntary scheme, dismantled its facilities and...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fodder Crisis (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: On 24 April I established a €1 million transport fodder scheme to help alleviate the difficulties being encountered by farmers. Following consultation with Met Eireann, Co Ops, the farming organisations, Teagasc and the advice of officials working on the ground, the decision was taken to allow a further two weeks for fodder to be imported into the country with a doubling of the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Departmental Budgets (30 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has asked my Department to identify options for savings which will ensure that there is a sufficient range of proposals to assist the Government in making informed choices about spending priorities and allocations in the preparation of the 2014 Estimates. The scale of the adjustments for 2014 were set out in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Grant Payments (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Under the 2012 Single Payment Scheme (SPS), a total of 6,891 applications were submitted by Tipperary applicants and, to date, 6,872 of these have been paid, while under the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (DAS), the corresponding figures are a total of 4,537 applications were submitted by Tipperary applicants with, to date, 4,263 of these having been paid. The unpaid SPS cases involve...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Bovine Disease Controls (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: BVD is a viral disease of cattle that is estimated to cost Irish farmers around €102m each year. The non-provision of funding for compensation during the compulsory phase of the BVD programme must be placed in the context of the economic benefits accruing solely to farmers arising from the eradication of this disease as well as the scarce budgetary resources available to my Department....

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: A total of 9,703 AEOS III applications were received by the closing date and have now been fully processed. Letters informing applicants of the status of their individual applications are now being issued. Based on the annual budget of €20 million and following the ranking and selection process a total of 6,000 applicants are being approved for participation in the scheme. Applicants...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Common Agricultural Policy Negotiations (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: EU Regulations provide for financial support for animals in danger of being lost to farming, more commonly referred to as rare breeds and support is currently available through the Rural Environment Protection Scheme and the Agri-Environment Options Scheme. Future policy will be determined in the context of the introduction of the EU regulatory framework governing the next programming period...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Welfare Issues (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Control of Horses Act, 1996 provides extensive powers to local authorities, including powers of seizure and detention of stray or abandoned animals. My Department funds local authorities in their work in implementing the Act. Officials from my Department are liaising with local authority officials in Galway to underline how implementation of the Control of Horses Act, together with...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Agri-Environment Options Scheme Payments (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 September 2011. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be completed before any payment can issue. The person named was selected...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fallen Animal Statistics (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: The number of on-farm cattle fatalities for the period Jan – April 2008-2013 is as follows: 2008 152,648 2009 136,441 2010 124,325 2011 103,035 2012 115,724 2013 157,172 Information on deaths of other species is not recorded. As will be seen from the data provided, mortality figures fluctuate from year to year. The reasons for annual variation include disease challenges,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Official Engagements (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: I had very useful and very fruitful discussions with my Member State colleagues and with the European Parliament in the course of what I think was a very successful informal meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Dublin over the last few days. I would acknowledge in particular the positive and very helpful engagement of the European Parliament, which I believe made an important contribution to...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Live Exports (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: Ship approval is a complex process and normally involves a significant number of oral and written queries before a formal application can take place. On foot of the application, detailed documentation must be submitted in relation to the ship and this is reviewed by an independent marine surveyor. An inspection cannot take place until the documentation submitted is complete. My Department...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry Irregularities (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: I published a detailed report on the ‘Equine DNA and Mislabelling of Processed Beef Investigation’ on 14 March. This report includes details of the companies that came to my Department’s attention during this investigation and the actions taken by the Department. Operations in a total of four plants were suspended (in some cases on a voluntary basis) for varying periods...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: European Council Meetings (29 May 2013)

Simon Coveney: In my capacity as President of the Council of Agriculture Ministers, I have been chairing the monthly meetings of the Council since January 2013, including the informal meeting that took place in Dublin this week. Ireland has been represented at each of these meetings by either the Secretary General of my Department or by another senior official of the Department.