Results 10,181-10,200 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Food Safety Standards. (8 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Yes.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The persons named were paid for their first year in REPS in June 2005 and were due to submit an amended plan and soil samples before their second-year payment could be made. Their application for second year payment should have been received in the Department before the end of August 2006 to avoid a late application penalty. However it was not received until 7 September 2006, and when it...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The person named did not establish Single Farm Payment entitlements during the reference period 2000-2002. An application for the Transfer of Entitlements by gift without land under the 2006 Single Payment Scheme to the person named was submitted on the 24th April 2006. The Regulations governing the transfer of entitlements provide that Single Payment entitlements may be transferred without...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture published its report on the Early Retirement Schemes in February 2005. One of the Committee`s recommendations was that all joint management cases should be re-classified retrospectively as joint ownership, and appropriate refunds made to the participants affected. I responded in detail to the report in September 2005 and explained that,...

Written Answers — Animal Identification Scheme: Animal Identification Scheme (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Six equine breeding organisations have been approved for the purpose of maintaining a stud book under Regulation 3 of the European Communities (Equine Stud-Book and Competition) Regulations, SI 399 of 2004. Their obligations include the issuing of equine passports for equines included in their respective studbooks. In addition two organisations have been approved under Regulation 7 of the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The person named has received his full Single Payment for 2006. His payment was based on his standard entitlements. My Department has no record of having received an application to lease in entitlements under the 2006 Single Payment Scheme.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The person named made application under the Consolidation measure of the Single Payment Scheme. The application is currently being processed and payment will issue in the coming week.

Written Answers — Animal By-Products Regulations: Animal By-Products Regulations (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The legislative basis for the control and disposal of animal by-products not intended for human consumption is Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002, the Animal By-Products Regulation. Offal, belly grass and slurry are regarded as animal by-products under this Regulation. Digestive tract content (belly grass) and manure (slurry) may be spread on land in accordance with Regulation (EC) 1774/2002 if...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: An application under the 2006 Single Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 6 October 2006, the closing date for receipt of applications under the Scheme having been 24 April 2006. There was provision under the Terms and Conditions of the 2006 Scheme for receipt of late applications up to 18 May 2006, subject to a cumulative 1% penalty per working day that the application was...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: An application under the 2005 Single Payment Scheme was received from the named person on May 16th 2005. Full payment in respect of this application was issued on December 1st 2005, and the cheque was cashed on January 9th 2006.

Written Answers — Turbary Rights: Turbary Rights (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: This case involves the use of and access to a turbary right over a bog plot. The position is that the person named in the details supplied, has applied to my Department, as successor to the Land Commission for a formal right of turbary over a plot owned by a third party. The person named is in dispute with the fee simple owner of the land, over which the right will be exercised. My...

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: My Department's Agri Vision 2015 Plan of Action and the National "Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2006-2013" identify the necessary actions to build a knowledge-based, competitive, innovative and consumer focused agri-food sector. Investment in Research and Development is at the forefront of these strategy documents and funding in this area has been a priority for my...

Written Answers — Healthy Eating Guidelines: Healthy Eating Guidelines (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I recently launched a national healthy eating initiative known as the Food Dude Programme to encourage fruit and vegetable consumption among school children. Managed by An Bord Bia, it will, on completion, have been introduced to 600 schools over 3 years. The programme which was developed by the University of Wales, Bangor is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated...

Written Answers — Horticulture Sector: Horticulture Sector (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: My Department has contributed to the development of the horticulture industry particularly through its grant aid schemes under the National Development Plan. These schemes have been a catalyst for investment and growth and have assisted producers to upgrade or develop new production facilities and have also enabled commercial enterprises to improve marketing and processing facilities. The...

Written Answers — Social Partnership Agreements: Social Partnership Agreements (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: One of the key features of the agriculture chapter of Towards 2016 has been the Government's willingness to provide a major increase in funding for agriculture from Exchequer resources. This has not only made up for the inevitable decline in EU funding, due to our economic success as a country, but has also provided the finance for the very significant enhancement of some major schemes which...

Written Answers — EU Regulations: EU Regulations (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The position is that both I and my Department officials have been in regular contact with the European Commission with a view to simplification of the Single Payment Scheme with particular reference to the issue of the arrangements for cross-compliance inspections. I have also raised my concerns with Commissioner Fischer Boel and also with Minister Seehofer, the German President of the...

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Some 48,580 applications were received by my Department under the Farm Waste Management Scheme by the closing date of end-December 2006. To date, approx. 10,600 approvals have been issued to farmers to commence work and I am currently examining various proposals to speed up the approvals process under the Scheme. The Standard Costings used to calculate grants payable under the Scheme will...

Written Answers — Live Exports: Live Exports (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The following table sets out details of the number of live cattle exported over the five-year period 2002 to 2006: 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 148,094 221,093 130,347 185,267 249,414 The live export trade is an important competitive element in the livestock and meat industry and, as such, has my full support as an integral part of that sector. As can be seen from the above, the live trade is...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I am reasonably optimistic about the prospects for the forestry sector in 2007. Afforestation grants continue to cover 100% of planting costs and farmers opting for forestry enjoy a 20-year premium of up to €574 per hectare. Furthermore, farmers can plant up to 50% of their land without affecting their Single Farm Payment. The Forest Service of my Department has put together a new package...

Written Answers — Live Exports: Live Exports (7 Mar 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 257 and 259 together. Live cattle exports reached 250,000 head in 2006, up by 65,000 head on the previous year. The value of this trade is estimated at just over €145m. The principal drivers of this increase were a strong rise in calf and weanling shipments. A strong veal market combined with tight supplies from other exporters boosted Irish calf exports,...