Results 35,021-35,040 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: My Department uses outsourcing to provide certain services when such proves to be more cost effective and Department staff are not available. The information requested can be found in the attached table. OUTSOURCING CONTRACT NATURE OF WORK EXPENDITURE IN 2008€ Accenture Single Payment System (SPS) Development and Maintenance 385,604 Cara Data Processing Ltd. IT Helpdesk Facility...

Written Answers — Tuberculosis Incidence: Tuberculosis Incidence (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: As I have explained in reply to recent Parliamentary Questions, the changes to the TB eradication programme which were introduced by my Department earlier this year are designed to improve the effectiveness of the programme by tightening up on overdue testing and preventing the spread of disease from infected herds to clear herds. Thus, greater stress is being laid on ensuring all herds test...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I have no plans at present to change the rules in relation to the priority pool component, which has been part of the of the milk quota trading scheme since its inception in 2007. However, all aspects of the milk quota regime are subject to ongoing review in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. As is standard practice, the outcome of the last Milk Quota Trading Scheme will be on the...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: It is not an unreasonable suggestion, particularly in regard to section 8, but if I accept an amendment I want to make sure it is legally sound. I want to explain the difference between these two amendments. Section 8 is about preventing animals straying by putting up fencing and developing an environment that ensures animals do not stray. The Senator is suggesting that all reasonable...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: That is a separate amendment. We will come to that shortly.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: Ironically, we are asking farmers to do a little bit more here, but it is not necessarily a bad thing to do. Disease is often spread by wind borne spores or else by wild animals. For example, the badger culling programme, which nobody likes but is very necessary in my view, has produced significant results in reducing the incidence of TB in Irish herds. They have not taken a similar...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I hope Senators do not get the wrong impression. I will not be able to accept every amendment. I will try to accept the spirit of a number of them. I know what the Senator is saying here. However, the section is not, in fact, about right of way. It, essentially, says a person shall not damage or interfere with a building, gate, fence, hedge, boundary wall or other structure used to...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I will examine the matter again to see whether the amendment adds to the Bill. If that is the case, I do not have a problem with it, but I suspect it is probably not necessary.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I will provide the reasoning behind the wording as is. We are trying to ensure that the owner of an animal does not hide behind an employee working in the yard, on the farm or in the livery if that animal is being abused, subjected to cruelty or whatever. For this reason, the Bill's wording is, "unless the owner shows that he or she took all reasonable steps to ensure that all necessary...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: This is a genuine issue. What we do not want is prosecutions being taken against owners in circumstances where they may be paying for and have reason to believe, as the Senator said, that everything should be right and proper with a housing facility, livery or whatever. I will examine the issue and will try to arrive at a wording that is fair without absolving people of the responsibility...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The reality is that such a permit would be issued by a qualified person on the ground who may be an employee of a local authority and, therefore, the term "Minister" is inappropriate. In the past this terminology has been used as a basis for litigation by those who have worked on the assumption that all permits must be issued by the Minister personally and not by one of his or her officers....

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: The vagueness of the reference is its strength because it gives authorised officers the flexibility they need in responding to any situation. The requirement is that authorised officers be of a high standard, but I would like to provide them with the flexibility they need to respond according to need. The Senator is correct that some officers may well be gardaí or Customs officials because...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: This is a technical amendment to include section 12 in the exemption contained in this section in respect of activities authorised in accordance with the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876, the Animal Remedies Act 1993 and the Irish Medicines Board Act 1995. The exemption relates to experiments conducted in laboratories, predominantly for the purpose of testing for human health reasons.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I am not satisfied with the Deputy's wording in this amendment. The difficulty is that the phrase "appropriate to the animal species" does not deal with suffering or welfare issues. One certainly might make the assumption that it does do so, but we are striving for the utmost clarity in terms of the requirements on farmers and other animal owners. Specifically, we must ensure they have...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: If the Senator comes back with something that adds to it, I will look at it.

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: I will give the legalistic answer and then my view on it. The proposed amendment weakens the welfare thrust of this Bill. We have worked hard to achieve a fine balance between the rights of the individual and the need for the State to have the power to intervene where offences have occurred. The Attorney General and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel have been closely involved in the...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: We went to great lengths to ensure we were not doing anything that would prevent people from continuing to participate in field sports as they would have in the past, as long as that is in a way that is consistent with the codes of conduct enshrined in those sports, including coursing, hunting and fishing. The measure applies only if there is undue cruelty such as the digging out of animals...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (22 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: We are trying to cover all animals, including farm animals, in the legislation. However, we make a distinction in respect of farm animals in the context of farming practices and so forth. We also make a distinction in respect of the treatment of some animals which are hunted in the course of normal hunting or fishing practices - this is covered later in the Bill - although some requirements...

Written Answers — Harbour Charges: Harbour Charges (17 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: Charges for the use of facilities at each of the six Fishery Harbour Centres are currently levied by virtue of the Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates & Charges) Order 2003. Under the current Rates & Charges Order a monthly charge is paid by all fishing vessels where no water metering system is available, and €2.50 per m3 is charged for metered water. My Department is evaluating the...

Written Answers — Harbour Charges: Harbour Charges (17 May 2012)

Simon Coveney: Charges for the use of facilities at each of the six Fishery Harbour Centres are currently levied by virtue of the Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates & Charges) Order 2003. Each Fishery Harbour Centre is regarded as the Local Competent Authority and is required to have a fee structure in place so that all ships calling to port are required to contribute significantly to the provision of port...