Results 31,361-31,380 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Ministerial Transport (27 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The amount spent by my Department on transport for the Minister of State and myself for the year 2012 is set out in the table below. Salary related costs of Civilian Drivers Travel & Subsistence costs of Civilian Drivers Mileage Costs of the Minister Mileage Costs of the Minister of State Other travel costs, including airfares for the Minister Other travel costs, including airfares...

Other Questions: Coillte Lands (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: I will deal with Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan's questions first. It is not appropriate to answer the question he posed until we make a decision on the sale. It is important to say that Coillte, like every semi-State company in Ireland, is going through a reform process to reduce its cost base which it needs to go through; it has been doing that to become more commercially viable, and that...

Other Questions: Coillte Lands (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: -----and such management will need to be funded by any potential new owner. Forests have been sold previously; this is not rocket science. They will need to be managed, harvested in time and in the meantime the thinings need to be managed. That will involve a service contract that will be in place if there is a new owner, which obviously Coillte is likely to be involved in. Let us deal...

Other Questions: Coillte Lands (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: -----or he takes me, to try to forget about the madness of my job sometimes. I am more than aware of the value to the communities of these extraordinary natural resources and we are not going to compromise those.

Other Questions: Coillte Lands (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: Coillte appears to be the flavour of the day. On the Deputy's question of whether Coillte will continue to manage all of the State's 11 forest parks and 150 recreational sites, the short answer is "Yes." I cannot make a long-term prediction in terms of the business model under which Coillte operates, but there is no intention on the part of the Government or my Department to move...

Other Questions: Coillte Lands (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: I have consistently said throughout the debate on the harvesting rights issue that we want to do two things. First, we need to protect the asset, in terms of woodland, parkland, public access, trails, cycle ways and other amenities, that is the national forest estate that is of real public interest. Second, we need to ensure the industry that has been built up in accessing timber from...

Other Questions: Geological Surveys (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: I assure the Deputy that I do take interest in the detail of what is occurring in Coillte. If we find valuable natural resources underground, we must obviously examine how best we can use them. I hope the Deputy and others will support us in this regard. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in that the Deputy opposed vehemently the bringing ashore of natural resources just off the...

Other Questions: Geological Surveys (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: On Deputy Boyd Barrett's point, I was not referring to fracking. Much consideration is required before making a decision on fracking. On Coillte, we are not proposing to sell anything except harvesting rights, which essentially means timber. There is a valuation of Coillte's commercial forests in terms of the standing timber and its future value. The valuation is the combination of a...

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is trying to drag me into a detailed debate on issues to which I will have to give consideration in regard to a licence application which is active. I will not get dragged into that debate.

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: I heard the Deputy's question.

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy does not have to repeat the question.

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: No.

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: There is no moratorium in palce.

Other Questions: Geological Surveys (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: This query about a geological survey has been asked in the House on a number of occasions. The background is that Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988 and day-to-day operational matters such as the conduct of surveys are the responsibility of the company. My Department has contacted Coillte which has advised that it has not conducted a...

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The question concerns when I will make a decision on the application in respect of a deepwater salmon farm in Galway Bay and an aquaculture licence. We will make the decision when I have all the information. We do not have the information and I have not read the application which is going through the system, as it needs to do. The queries, concerns and objections raised during the public...

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: At least. I do not know the time involved, but it will not be within weeks.

Other Questions: Aquaculture Licences (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: We are talking about something that has not happened and I presume the answer to the question lies in the contractual relationship involving an owner or a company that leases infrastructure. This is a question I cannot answer without looking at the leasing contractual relationship. I am not even sure why it is relevant to an application at this stage. We are only looking at whether it is...

Other Questions: TB Eradication Scheme (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The honest answer is "I do not know," but I will find out. We have been using the same testing system for decades and it is based on a skin test. I know how it works because when I got this job I was being asked about TB and wanted to know exactly how testing worked. I am not familiar with the alternative testing systems but I will revert to the Deputy. If there is a genuine concern about...

Other Questions: TB Eradication Scheme (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: The badger programme is a targeted one. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about how we catch and put down badgers. We try to do it as humanely as possible. The view that we use wire snares is incorrect. We had a long discussion on the programme during the debates on the Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012 on Second and Committee Stages. I reassure people that we are trying to do...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Coillte Harvesting Rights Sale (26 Mar 2013)

Simon Coveney: I do not have the Government counter-motion to hand. I recall my own contribution to the debate on that motion and in which I made direct reference to the sawmilling sector. I refer the industry to my contribution. Regardless of what was said then, I wish to clarify for the record that we are not in the business of putting a viable and progressive sawmilling industry in Ireland out of...