Results 10,381-10,400 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Sugar Beet Industry: Sugar Beet Industry (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 125, 134 and 146 together. Under the relevant EU regulations, the restructuring aid for the sugar industry has to be drawn down on the basis of an aid application submitted by the sugar processor. The applications must contain a restructuring plan, including a social plan detailing the actions planned in particular with respect to re-training, redeployment...

Written Answers — Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Statutory responsibility for legislation on the use of animals for experimental or other scientific purposes as regulated under EU and national legislation (respectively Council Directive 86/609/EEC and the European Communities (Amendment to Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876) Regulations, 1994) falls within the remit of my colleague the Minister for Health and Children. In the past, current and...

Written Answers — Genetically Modified Organisms: Genetically Modified Organisms (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I wish to inform the Deputy that I have no plans at present to commission any further evaluations on the economic implications of the use of genetically modified organisms. The Deputy will recall that Teagasc, at my request, carried out in 2006, a study on evaluation of the possible national economic implications for the Agri-Food industry from the use of GMOs in crop and livestock...

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 195 together. The revised Farm Waste Management Scheme, which was launched by my Department in March 2006, closed for applications at the end of December 2006. A total of 48,580 applications have been received by my Department under the Scheme and these applications are currently being processed. It is my intention to process these applications as...

Written Answers — Poultry Industry: Poultry Industry (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: There are adequate poultry processing facilities in this country having regard to such criteria as the overall volume of poultry being reared and produced here. Poultry processing plants must strive to compete efficiently with operators in other countries and volume throughput is essential to this efficiency. Our poultry slaughter plants are small by comparison with the main players in...

Written Answers — Alternative Farm Enterprises: Alternative Farm Enterprises (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 132 together. I am participating in a Ministerial Taskforce on Bioenergy, chaired by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, TD to develop a strategy on Ireland's bioenergy resources to 2020. The Government has already announced a number of initiatives both on the supply and demand side to develop the biofuels...

Written Answers — Water Meters: Water Meters (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I am aware of the concerns expressed by the farming organisations in regard to this issue and am conscious of the need to ensure that usage of metered water on farms for agricultural purposes is kept to a minimum. Thus, for example, the technical specifications for farm buildings operated by my Department for the purposes of the Farm Waste Management Scheme require the installation of...

Written Answers — Organic Farming: Organic Farming (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The main deficits in the supply of Irish-produced organic food are in fruit and vegetables and in cereals. Whether to convert to organic production, or to step up existing production, is ultimately a business decision for food producers themselves. However I am strongly committed to the development of the organic sector in Ireland and my Department supports it in several ways which, I am...

Written Answers — Forestry Industry: Forestry Industry (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I understand that the Deputy's question is concerned with sale or lease of land owned by Coillte. Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters such as the sale and lease of land are the responsibility of the company. The criteria governing the sale or lease of forestry land by Coillte is a matter for the company...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Under the 2006 Single Payment Scheme, payments worth €1.197 billion have been made to 123,300 applicants, who have declared eligible hectares and have Entitlements under the Scheme, representing over 97% of applicants. Full payment has issued to some 122,200 farmers, while a further 1,100 farmers have received the 50% Advance Payment. Delays in processing can be caused by many factors,...

Written Answers — Animal Welfare: Animal Welfare (6 Feb 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, (SI No 705 of 2006). The Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Health and Welfare was established in 2002. It is independently...

Written Answers — Farm Inspections: Farm Inspections (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The policy of my Department towards on-farm inspection has been to give advance notification of up to 48 hours in all cases. This policy of systematic pre-announcement of inspections was questioned by the European Commission in July 2006 and its unacceptability was conveyed to my Department in a formal communication in August. As a result, my Department was obliged to agree to a proportion...

Written Answers — Milk Quota: Milk Quota (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The current Milk Quota system was extended to 2014/15 as part of the Mid Term Reform of the CAP in 2003. The so called 'health check' to be carried out by the Commission in 2008 will consider the future of quotas as part of its overall examination of the CAP instruments. It is clear that detailed consideration is being given at Commission level on the future of the quota regime in the...

Written Answers — Animal Diseases: Animal Diseases (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Since the first case of equine infections anaemia, or 'swamp fever', was confirmed in June 2006, a total of twenty-eight cases have been confirmed, the most recent on 10 December 2006. The increasing intervals between cases, over eight weeks since the last case, and the amount of blood testing being done — over 14,000 samples tested in January — give increasing confidence that the...

Written Answers — Organic Farming: Organic Farming (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I am strongly committed to the development of the organic sector in Ireland. While the sector in Ireland is still small by European standards, it is growing. The total area in conversion or with full organic status rose by 15% in 2005 and by a further 14% in 2006. My Department already provides substantial financial supports for organic producers, through the Rural Environment Protection...

Written Answers — Alternative Farm Enterprises: Alternative Farm Enterprises (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: Wood biomass is one of the most versatile of renewable energy sources and has the potential to play a major role in Ireland's future energy strategy. Wood energy, in the form of logs, chip and pellet, is renewable, carbon neutral, sustainable and can be produced locally. Solid biomass, mainly in the form of solid wood, is already the largest source of renewable energy in Ireland, accounting...

Written Answers — Agrifood Industry: Agrifood Industry (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: The Irish food and drink industry has made significant strides over the past decade consolidating itself as the key indigenous industry. The value of exports during 2006 are estimated to have grown by 10% and exceeded €8 billion for the first time. The landscape in which the industry operates is changing rapidly. All elements of the landscape including policy, the regulatory environment,...

Written Answers — National Climate Change Strategy: National Climate Change Strategy (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is represented on the inter-Departmental team established to oversee implementation of the National Climate Change Strategy and is taking an active part in the current review of the Strategy. My Department has identified, for consideration by stakeholders, a range of potential greenhouse gas reduction measures in the agriculture area. These potential measures include the...

Written Answers — Bovine Disease Controls: Bovine Disease Controls (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: 41 cases of BSE were confirmed in 2006. The following table gives the location of each case by county. There has been a dramatic reduction in the incidence of BSE in Ireland. The number of cases peaked in 2002 at 333, following the introduction of mass surveillance at slaughter plants and knackeries in 2001. Almost 700,000 animals are tested per annum in Ireland under this surveillance...

Written Answers — Official Travel: Official Travel (6 Feb 2007)

Mary Coughlan: I travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as part of the recent trade delegation there led by An Taoiseach. Saudi Arabia imposed a ban on the importation of beef from Ireland and other EU countries in December 2000, due to concern about BSE. In the years preceding the ban, a substantial trade had developed in the export of Irish beef to Saudi Arabia which was...