Results 37,621-37,640 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Food Safety Standards: Food Safety Standards (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) under the aegis of the Minister for Health has overall responsibility for the enforcement of food safety in Ireland. It carries out this remit through service contracts with my Department and other agencies including the HSE, Local Authority Veterinary Service and Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. The work to ensure compliance with the...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: It is my intention to publish an Animal Health & Welfare Bill this year. However, as the Deputy will be aware the Bill is a complex one and will require extensive work in conjunction with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to complete the required legal drafting. Once a complete draft is available I intend to publish the Bill. The issue of fur farming is being examined in the context of...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: It is my intention to publish an Animal Health & Welfare Bill this year. However, as the Deputy will be aware the Bill is a complex one and will require extensive work in conjunction with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to complete the required legal drafting. Once a complete draft is available I intend to publish the Bill. The issue of fur farming is being examined in the context of...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: My understanding is one CEO of a commercial State Body under the aegis of my Department has a salary in excess of the new pay ceiling of €250,000. As the Deputy will be aware, voluntary waivers of salary will be sought from incumbent CEOs of State Bodies whose salaries are in excess of this ceiling.

Animal Welfare (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: My Department's responsibility, which is set down in legislation, extends to the welfare and protection of farm animals only, that is animals normally bred or kept for the production of food or for use in another farming practice. The relevant legislation in this area is the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes Act 1984 and the European Communities (Welfare of Farmed Animals)...

Animal Welfare (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I expect animal welfare legislation to be introduced before the end of the year, hopefully in the autumn. The Department is working on the Bill and I intend to have it published by the end of the year, although it will require considerable consultation. I understand it is intended to consolidate all animal welfare legislation in one Act. The Deputy is correct that it is not satisfactory to...

Common Agricultural Policy (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to have an opportunity to comment on the state of play regarding the Common Agricultural Policy review. Given the general nature of the question, I could respond for a long time, although the Leas-Cheann Comhairle would not allow me to do so. It is noteworthy that we will know by this evening what is the opening position vis-À-vis the Common Agricultural Policy budget. The...

Common Agricultural Policy (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: Six months ago, people inside and outside the House were talking about a reduction in the Common Agricultural Policy budget of between 15% and 30% in actual terms. We are now talking about maintaining the position as is and trying to build on it. We have, therefore, come a long way and this progress should be recognised. We have not yet achieved this outcome and it is possible we will be...

Food Safety Standards (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The recent E. coli outbreak resulted in significant loses for horticultural producers and traders across the European Union. Thankfully Ireland was not affected to the same extent as the main exporting countries such as Spain and the Netherlands. The sharp fall in consumer demand in light of the crisis resulted in a significant surplus of produce on the EU market. I attended a specially...

Food Safety Standards (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy is correct. The implications for Spain were that tens of thousands of seasonal workers lost their jobs and the industry has been decimated this summer. All that happened on the basis of a false accusation that the source of this problem was cucumbers from Spain. The food safety implications of the crisis were also discussed at yesterday's meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers in...

National Apiculture Programme (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The Deputy has been raising this issue for some time and I hope I can now finally give him an answer that is satisfactory. I will send him a more comprehensive briefing note as well, as I will not have time to provide all the information. Bees play an essential role worldwide by pollinating many of our commercial food crops. They also maintain biodiversity in the wild by pollinating wild...

National Apiculture Programme (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I am not sure about the acid but I will forward all the information I have on the matter to the Deputy. I have asked for extensive information because the Deputy has raised the issue twice and has not received satisfactory answers to date. The special import licence can issue quite quickly once approval is granted in a member state. Obviously, I am anxious for Ireland to get the most...

National Apiculture Programme (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The two products that are currently authorised for the control of varroa in Ireland are Apiguard and Bayvarol. There are two alternative products which are oxalic acid based. One is Api-Bioxal, which is at its final stages of the authorisation process in Italy and is expected to be authorised shortly. That is the one we think is most suitable for Ireland and which we are anxious to get...

Milk Quota (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: We return to the issue of the EU-wide milk quota system replacing the national quota. I have answered this question, to a certain extent, but I must reinforce the message. We are seeking a resolution that will allow flexibility for countries like Ireland exceeding their milk quota without having to pay superlevies. However, we are a long way from resolving the matter and we are unlikely to...

Milk Quota (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: This question deals with a similar issue. Deputy Stanton wants detailed figures, which is his style. I should explain that the quota year runs from March to March rather than from January to December. For the quota years 2005-06 to 2009-10, the breakdown of the amount of milk produced by Irish dairy farmers, and the subsequent quota position, was as follows: Year Available Quota (Litres)...

Milk Quota (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: That is a very good question. There is no point in producing milk unless it has somewhere to go. The processing sector in Ireland is at full capacity during the high season when cows are out on grass and producing milk at their highest levels. At those times we do not have any excess capacity. The processing sector is looking at investing substantial sums of money in increased processing...

Milk Quota (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: I do. For the current milk quota year, which is 2011-12, returns to the Department by milk purchasers for the period from 1 April to 31 May indicate that the country is currently an estimated 4.92% over quota, when account is taken of butter fat content and milk deliveries. We are already practically 5% over quota for this year. That is a huge problem. I do not know how to get this...

Direct Payment Schemes (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The single farm payment forms a significant part of the annual income of the farming community in Ireland. It is clear that the timing of this payment is extremely important to farmers, particularly those farmers with low farm incomes. It is also important in the current difficult financial circumstances where farmers, like other sectors in the economy, are finding it difficult to access...

Direct Payment Schemes (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: The single farm payment is in a different category. The money for this does not come under my expenditure ceiling. The scheme is 100% funded by the Union and it is paid every year. Normally we make a case for an early payment of a portion of the money. Sometimes we are successful and other times we are not. We were successful this year in securing early payment of 50% of the money, which...

Direct Payment Schemes (29 Jun 2011)

Simon Coveney: We need to look after both. The big guy will deliver the targets we are setting for ourselves in providing the volumes of milk we need for infant formula, cheese, yoghurts, liquid milk and other products and that is just in the dairy sector. Small farmers are also important. They are the backbone of rural Ireland and, in many cases, they provide quality beef to factories because they deal...