Results 9,541-9,560 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Genetically Modified Organisms: Genetically Modified Organisms (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Government, conscious of the range of concerns being expressed about genetic modification in the fields of pharmaceuticals, medical diagnostics, agriculture and food production and aware that no coherent policy on the issue had been formulated, established an Inter-Departmental Group on Modern Biotechnology in March 1999. This Group published its Report in October 2000 and in the Report...

Written Answers — Farm Employment: Farm Employment (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The most recent figures available from the CSO show that there were 74,500 farmers whose sole occupation was farming in 2005, a drop of 23,800 since 1997. Over the same period the number of farmers with another either major or subsidiary occupation increased by 8,600 to 57,900. The on-going trend towards part-time farming reflects a combination of factors including the increased availability...

Written Answers — Common Agricultural Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: No proposals have yet emerged on the CAP Health Check. Formal legislative proposals are expected to be published in May 2008. In advance of that a Commission Communication on preparation for the Health Check is envisaged for towards the end of next month. Agreement on the proposals is anticipated for the latter half of 2008 during the French presidency of the EU. I will be participating...

Written Answers — Farm Improvement Scheme: Farm Improvement Scheme (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Farm Improvement Scheme was launched by my Department on 12 July 2007 and provides grant-aid for, inter alia, investments in relation to dairy hygiene. The Scheme replaces the Dairy Hygiene Scheme which closed for new applications at the end of 2006. Under the Farm Improvement Scheme, a separate investment ceiling of €120,000 is applicable to dairy hygiene investments and the standard...

Written Answers — Animal Diseases: Animal Diseases (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: My Department and I have been particularly proactive in taking measures designed to minimise the risk of the introduction to Ireland Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and I am satisfied that they are appropriate given the current level of risk of an outbreak of the disease in this country. Immediately following confirmation of the first case of FMD in Surrey on 3 August, I introduced a ban on the...

Written Answers — Animal Diseases: Animal Diseases (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 134 together. Following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Surrey on 3 August, the UK Government commissioned two reviews — one by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the other by Professor Brian Spratt, Imperial College, London — to look at the biosecurity arrangements at the Pirbright site at which the Institute for Animal...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Minister for Health and Children has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation. Responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) through its service contracts with my Department, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Health Services Executive, the Local Authorities and the...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Minister for Health and Children has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation. Responsibility for enforcement of labelling legislation rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) through its service contracts with my Department, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, the Health Services Executive, the Local Authorities and the...

Written Answers — Food Prices: Food Prices (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: According to data from the CSO, food prices increased by an average of just over 1% per annum in the 5 years since 2002. Over that period the increase in food prices was considerably lower than the overall rate of inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index, which averaged 3.4% per annum over the same time frame. Last year, food price inflation averaged 1.4% compared with a rate of 4%...

Written Answers — Beef Quality Assurance Scheme: Beef Quality Assurance Scheme (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: A Grant in Aid is provided to support Bord Bia in carrying out its statutory marketing and promotion functions. Decisions on the sectoral allocation of expenditure are taken by Bord Bia and have regard to EU state aid rules. The Grant in Aid is currently €26.505 million. In addition, some €2.3 million is being provided this year to Bord Bia by my Department towards certification costs...

Written Answers — Farm Incomes: Farm Incomes (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The NFS results for 2006 showed a 26% decline in average family farm income following an increase of 44% in 2005. Both these figures were due to exceptional circumstances as the overlap in direct payments paid in 2005, (with the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme and the payment of balance payments on 2004 premia scheme) was not repeated in 2006. As in previous years farm incomes...

Written Answers — Fishing Fleet: Fishing Fleet (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Scheme to Permanently Withdraw Capacity from the Whitefish Sector of the Irish Fishing Fleet will involve the decommissioning of 35% of the capacity of the whitefish fleet 18 metres in length and over. This scheme will see up to 11,000 gross tonnes removed from the fleet; the target recommended by the Seafood Industry Strategy Review Group (Recommendation 4.1). This will result in up to...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I am fully committed to ensuring that consumers can have full confidence in the organic food they buy. For that reason my Department has assigned additional resources to the Organic Unit and they are now systematically inspecting retail outlets, including supermarkets, shops and farmers markets, checking to ensure that all product identified as organic has been produced fully in accordance...

Written Answers — Farm Accidents: Farm Accidents (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I am, of course, very concerned about the level of safety on our farms. Last year 18 people died on Irish farms (8 of these people were aged over 70) and this year up to 1 August 8 people have died. It is estimated that there are some 3,000 injuries on farms each year. I strongly support the work of The Health and Safety Authority (HSA), which is charged with overall responsibility for...

Written Answers — Food Safety: Food Safety (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The placing of animal products on to the EU market may only take place where the conditions for their production and processing meet the EU's animal and public health requirements. Where risks to the safety of animal and public health arise from animal disease outbreaks, such as the foot and mouth disease, the EU Commission, which has responsibility in this area, immediately places...

Written Answers — World Trade Negotiations: World Trade Negotiations (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The negotiations on a new WTO agreement were launched at Doha in November 2001. While significant progress has been made towards concluding an agreement, most notably in the Framework Agreement which was reached in Geneva in August 2004 and at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December 2005, final agreement has not yet been reached. The negotiations resumed fully in January 2007...

Written Answers — Tree Felling: Tree Felling (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: As outlined in a previous reply, testing for fireblight was carried out by my Department in the Fingal area and following positive results for fireblight trees were removed and destroyed. Host trees in the same stand were also removed to prevent further spread of the diseaseThe following trees tested positive for Fireblight in Verbena and Bayside this year. Location Tree Species Date...

Written Answers — Ministerial Expenses: Ministerial Expenses (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The amount paid for travel, subsistence and miscellaneous expenses to each Minister of State in my Department for each of the past five years is set out as follows. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 â'¬ â'¬ â'¬ â'¬ â'¬ Noel Treacy 35,353 30,297 John Brown 8,033 40,547 10,824 Brendan Smith 6,109 30,959 39,791 22,252 Mary Wallace 26,193 36,431 Liam Aylward 38,582 44,064

Written Answers — Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: My Department has statutory responsibility for the welfare and protection of farmed animals under the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes Act 1984, and the European Communities (Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes) Regulations 2006. There is also specific legislation in place in relation to pigs, calves and laying hens. The legislation is enforced in each county by...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (3 Oct 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The grant application referred to was submitted under the Forestry Development Call for Proposals 2007. A large number of high quality applications were received under this year's Call. The applications have been examined and final decisions on the projects to be funded will issue this week. Each applicant will be notified in writing of the decision made.