Results 12,781-12,800 of 18,338 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Farmer Numbers. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The main focus of the report in question is on the impact of the economic downturn on off-farm employment patterns among farmers. It also reports briefly on employment trends in the agriculture sector between 2004 and 2009 as reported in the quarterly national household survey. Using this source, the report found the number employed in the sector declined in 2004 to 2005, then remained...

Farmer Numbers. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The strong and vibrant economy of several years ago took people off the land and away from farming. All Members will know of young men with good well-established farms who went to work in the construction and other sectors and were not inclined to remain in farming. Substantial investment has been made in the Teagasc agricultural colleges in Clonakilty, Kildalton and Ballyhaise. Courses are...

Farmer Numbers. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I am aware of the resource issues as I meet Professor Gerry Boyle regularly. There are particular pressures on every State organisation in the current financial climate. We have a good agricultural college infrastructure across the country. For example, a person starting in Ballyhaise can continue with a food degree at Dundalk Institute of Technology. While we want to robustly resource...

Farmer Numbers. (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: We must remember it is the agriculture and food sector and not confine it to the primary producer. There is the Tourism College, Killybegs, the College of Catering at Cathal Brugha Street and other institutes that have strong departments in food and agricultural science. All of this is important. We should see education for our sector as agriculture and food, not just the person involved...

Written Answers — Beef Quality Assurance Scheme: Beef Quality Assurance Scheme (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Beef carcases are classified or graded in accordance with EU Regulations using the EUROP scale for conformation and a scale of 1 to 5 to indicate fat cover. Mechanical grading, which was introduced by the meat industry in 2004, facilitated the use of sub-classes within each main class for both conformation and fat cover in order to give a more precise grade for a beef carcase. Studies at...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: My Department promotes the planting of new forests through a range of attractive support measures - the Afforestation Grant Scheme, the Forest Environment Protection Scheme and the Native Woodland Scheme. These schemes provide 100% establishment grants and annual premiums for up to 20 years. In addition, my Department undertakes promotional activities to encourage farmer participation in...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I have regular contact with my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, Michelle Gildernew. In 2009, I met with Minister Gildernew at the North South Ministerial Council Agriculture sectoral meetings on the 20th March, 21st July and 18th November. I also met with her in a bi-lateral meeting on the 21st January 2009 and have often met the Minister...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: To meet the requirements of EU regulations, applications for REPS payments have to go through an exhaustive series of administrative checks before payment can be released. In a significant number of cases, these checks raised issues and queries which required further detailed examination. My officials are working to resolve these as quickly as possible. Many of these cases will, however,...

Written Answers — Restructuring of Sugar Industry: Restructuring of Sugar Industry (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The temporary scheme for the restructuring of the sugar industry, introduced as part of the reform of the EU sugar regime in 2006, provided for payment of EU restructuring aid to three groups of stakeholders: sugar processors, beet growers and specialized beet machinery contractors. The overall amount of aid available was calculated at the rate of €730 per tonne of sugar quota renounced,...

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The report refers to the need for equity for farmers in the food supply chain and as I have pointed out repeatedly, I believe that there is a need for considerable improvement so that all players, including producers and consumers, receive fair treatment. The concentration of retail power in the hands of a few large supermarket chains is an international phenomenon, which has fundamentally...

Written Answers — Farm Waste Management: Farm Waste Management (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Total expenditure under the Farm Waste Management Scheme, to date since January 2007, has been €1.015 billion. 12,847 payments totalling €413.7 million were made under the Farm Waste Management Scheme in 2008 compared to 4,748 payments totalling €113.9 million in 2007. In 2009, the Government agreed to make the remaining payments under the Scheme on a phased basis and 17,361 farmers...

Written Answers — Alternative Farm Enterprises: Alternative Farm Enterprises (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The cultivation of miscanthus is a relatively new activity on Irish farms. Interest can be attributed to the decoupling of farm subsidies and Government targets and policies in the bioenergy sector. The Department has been grant-aiding farmers to plant miscanthus and willow since 2007 under the pilot Bioenergy Scheme. The key objectives of the Scheme were: To increase the production of...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Areas Scheme: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The Court of Auditors has criticised the procedures for the designation of intermediate Disadvantaged Areas in the European Union. These criticisms are based on the number and variety of criteria used to designate such areas - Member States have used more than one hundred criteria - and the lack of transparency. The Commission has made a number of attempts to address these criticisms: During...

Written Answers — Sheep Production: Sheep Production (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: While the major farming enterprises in Ireland – dairying, beef, and cereals have been under pressure over the last two years, the sheep sector has been in decline over a longer period that those other sectors. With the introduction of the Single Farm Payment and full decoupling, the sheep sector has seen a significant decline in recent years by way of reduced sheep numbers and flocks....

Written Answers — Food Industry: Food Industry (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The increasing concentration of retail power in the hands of a few large supermarket chains is an international phenomenon, which has fundamentally changed the balance of market negotiating power in the food chain. I have emphasised at EU and national level the necessity for a reasonable balance between granting price reductions to consumers and giving a fair return to suppliers and...

Written Answers — Porcine Salmonella: Porcine Salmonella (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: A revised National Pig Salmonella Control Programme came into effect from 1 January 2010. The programme is the result of a collaborative effort involving the main industry stakeholders, the relevant State agencies and my Department. The programme includes the following measures aimed at reducing pig salmonella levels in pigs being slaughtered for human consumption - Pig herds supplying more...

Written Answers — Cereal Sector: Cereal Sector (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: Since Ireland is a deficit market for cereals, prices here are greatly influenced by world market conditions. In 2007, for example, when world grain market prices were driven up by increased demand from the biofuels sector and from the new emerging markets like China and India, prices in Ireland also increased to record levels. Growers here reacted to the high prices by increasing the acreage...

Written Answers — Alternative Farm Enterprises: Alternative Farm Enterprises (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: The cultivation of miscanthus and willow is a relatively new activity on Irish farms. In 2007, the Department launched a Bioenergy Scheme on a pilot basis to encourage farmers to grow willow and miscanthus as a renewable source of energy. Under the Scheme, farmers were paid a once off capital grant to cover 50% of establishment costs. The pilot Scheme generated considerable interest from...

Written Answers — Departmental Committees: Departmental Committees (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 58 and 62 together. Work on the development of a strategy to further the growth of the agri-food, fisheries and forestry sectors to 2020 is well advanced. The initial analysis has already been completed by my Department in collaboration with five State Bodies, Teagasc, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, BIM, Marine Institute. On 16 February last, I announced...

Written Answers — Dairy Sector: Dairy Sector (11 Mar 2010)

Brendan Smith: I have continually pressed the Commission to take all appropriate measures to deal with the dairy market situation, and in 2009 Market Intervention, Aids to Private Storage and Export Refunds helped to stabilise the market for dairy products. With regard to intervention for butter and skimmed milk powder, last October Commissioner Fischer Boel gave a commitment to manage the release of...