Results 34,801-34,820 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Fish Farming: Fish Farming (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Applications for aquaculture licences are assessed under the provisions of the 1997 Fisheries (Amendment) Act which provide for extensive consultation with stakeholders, including Inland Fisheries Ireland, and also a period of general public consultation. Licence decisions in each case are made following detailed advice from my Department's scientific and technical advisers. My scientific...

Written Answers — Agri-Environment Options Scheme: Agri-Environment Options Scheme (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: The person named has been informed in writing that he was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS) with effect from 1st September 2011. Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check of all applications, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must be...

Written Answers — Single Payment Scheme: Single Payment Scheme (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Applicants under the Single Payment Scheme are required, inter alia, to declare one eligible hectare for each SPS payment entitlement held; in declaring such land, applicants are required to indicate whether the land is Owned, Rented or Leased. Where the same land parcel is claimed by more than one applicant, on the basis that the land is being leased/rented or a similar type transaction, the...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Areas Scheme: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Being particularly mindful of the importance of the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, from an economic perspective, contributing as it does to the support of in excess of 100,000 Irish farm families, whose ability to farm is restricted by the physical environment and, in particular, the impact of the prevailing wet cold climatic, I chose to adopt a focused approach when faced with implementing the...

Written Answers — Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme: Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: The person named submitted an application for grant-aid under the Sheep Fencing/Mobile Equipment Scheme during the course of the tranche under that Scheme which closed on 29 February 2012. The application has been selected to proceed to the approval stage and the required pre-approval checks should be completed shortly to allow the approval to issue. Under the terms and condition of the...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: In February 2012 my Department announced details of the 2012 Scheme for the Allocation of Milk Quota to New Entrants to Dairying, with a closing date of 4th May 2012. About 270 applications have been received and examined in my Department for eligibility. All valid applications are currently being distributed to the members of the Assessment Panel for consideration and the Panel hope to be...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: In February 2012 my Department announced details of the 2012 Scheme for the Allocation of Milk Quota to New Entrants to Dairying with a closing date of 4th May 2012. About 270 applications have been received and examined in my Department for eligibility. All valid applications are currently being distributed to the members of the Assessment Panel for consideration and the Panel hope to be...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (19 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: In February 2012 my Department announced details of the 2012 Scheme for the Allocation of Milk Quota to New Entrants to Dairying with a closing date of 4th May 2012. About 270 applications have been received and examined in my Department for eligibility. All valid applications are currently being distributed to the members of the Assessment Panel for consideration and the Panel hope to be...

Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Since their publication, the proposals by the European Commission for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy have undergone detailed examination at Council working groups, the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Council of Agriculture Ministers. At next Monday's Agriculture Council, the Danish Presidency will present a progress report outlining the current status of the negotiations....

Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: As I see it, we cannot finalise the Common Agricultural Policy reform and spending money on new schemes until the multi-annual financial framework negotiations are finalised. This is the multi-year budget which Europe must agree. The Commission hopes the MFF will be finalised in December. I would like to see this happen but I think it is unlikely politically. I think it will also be an...

Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: 2014.

Common Agricultural Policy (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: I do not think the timetable is impossible but it is very tight. If it is not possible to deliver it on time we will have to look at a contingency plan, on which the Commission will have to put proposals together, which will involve extending the implementation of a new CAP by a year and some type of continuation measure for 2014. However, this may not be possible because if it is decided...

Departmental Expenditure (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: All Departments have been allocated fixed expenditure ceilings for the period 2012 to 2014 under medium-term expenditure framework which was introduced by the Government in the comprehensive expenditure report. The report outlines the Government's plan for a return to sustainable growth in the economy and sets out in some detail the measures that will be taken to put the national finances in...

Departmental Expenditure (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: That is a fair question. My Department is different from many other Departments in that many of the schemes we finance are heavily co-funded by the EU. These include AEOS, which is 70% co-funded, DAS and TAM scheme in terms of rural development funding. A very significant element of our budget comes through schemes co-financed by the EU. There is also the €1.2 billion to €1.3 billion...

Departmental Expenditure (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: Single farm payment is not affected by ceilings. I can assure the Deputy that we will do everything we can to ensure we draw down all the available funding under the rural development programme. However, it is a management exercise to do that when we are dealing with ceilings as well as Exchequer targets. This is more difficult for my Department because setting expenditure ceilings as we...

Agriculture Scheme Penalties (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: My Department, in the context of delivering the single payment scheme, disadvantaged area scheme and other area-based schemes, is required to carry out annual inspections covering the eligibility of the land declared to draw down payments and cross compliance to ensure compliance with EU regulatory requirements in the areas of public, animal and plant health, environment and animal welfare....

Agriculture Scheme Penalties (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has it now.

Agriculture Scheme Penalties (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: If I had had a chance to finish my reply, the last sentence is that I regret the delay in responding to the Deputy's detailed query. However, the Deputy sought a great deal of information and it took time to put it together. It involved gathering information from every county. The written reply contains a very detailed and comprehensive set of data in response to all the questions the...

Agriculture Scheme Penalties (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is right. There are genuine cases where genuine mistakes are made. There is an appeals mechanism for people who feel they have been treated harshly. However, we must also ensure that people play by the rules. If there is no consequence for people who do not play by the rules, there will be breaches everywhere. It is important to make the distinction between people who make a...

Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (14 Jun 2012)

Simon Coveney: This question is about the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS, about which there has been some confusion. It is important to point out that the changes relating to eligibility that we are applying to the disadvantaged areas scheme in order to make savings have not changed since budget day. We have debated some of these matters in the House previously. There appears to be a view that we have...