Results 14,241-14,260 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted 12 applications under the 2004 special beef premium scheme, in respect of 174 animals, of which 163 are payable. The 60% advance payments in the amount of €11,424.60 issued on dates between 19 October 2004 and 28 January 2005. Following computer validation, it was found that four animals had previously been paid or claimed the premium, three animals were...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named submitted an application for an allocation of entitlements from the single payment scheme national reserve under category B which caters for farmers who, between 1 January 2000 and 19 October 2003, made an investment in production capacity in a farming sector for which a direct payment under livestock premia and-or arable aid schemes would have been payable during the...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The person named, having been notified that the circumstances outlined by him did not satisfy the criteria for force majeure exceptional circumstances under Article 40 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003, submitted an appeal to the independent single payment appeals committee. The findings of the appeals committee were that the original decision taken by my Department should be upheld....

Written Answers — Land Reclassification: Land Reclassification (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A certified copy of the purchase agreement is held at the records branch of my Department and will be issued on receipt of the relevant fee, which has been requested from the applicant's solicitor.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: It is expected that the replacement cheque will issue within the next week.

Written Answers — Land Purchases: Land Purchases (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: Since 1997 numbers of agricultural land transactions have been as shown in the table. Year No. of transactions 1997 918 1998 593 1999 793 2000 1,058 2001 673 2002 648 2003 857 The Central Statistics Office, however, does not collect details on farmers' reasons for selling land, that is, whether it was for the purpose of purchasing other land or any other reason. I am...

Written Answers — Afforestation Programme: Afforestation Programme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A planting target of 20,000 hectares per annum was established in the 1996 strategy document, Growing for the Future. The review of that strategy, produced by Peter Bacon and Associates and published in September 2004, reaffirmed the need for an approved planting target of 20,000 hectares per annum but commented that a lesser planting target could be a viable basis for support, providing the...

Written Answers — Farmed Deer: Farmed Deer (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The farmed deer population in Ireland stands at nearly 50,000 animals on some 300 units, producing almost 800 tonnes of venison annually. Deer numbers have increased by 10% since 1994. About 70% of production is exported to markets in Denmark, the UK and the US. Fallow deer are exported to Denmark, while red deer are supplied to the supermarket chains in Ireland and the UK and also to...

Written Answers — Farm Retirement Scheme: Farm Retirement Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: A total of 2,641 applications have been received under the current early retirement scheme since its introduction in November 2000. Of those, 64 are currently being processed. In the period from 1 May 2004 to 20 May 2005, a total of 327 applications were approved and nine rejected.

Written Answers — Purchase for Destruction Scheme: Purchase for Destruction Scheme (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The combined total of animals destroyed under both the purchase for destruction and special purchase schemes is 492,860. The carcasses of all animals slaughtered under those schemes have been rendered and incinerated in line with the terms of the scheme.

Written Answers — Farm Household Incomes: Farm Household Incomes (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: According to the CSO, the number of full-time farmers, that is, farmers whose sole occupation is farming, declined from 106,000 in 1993 to 76,200 in 2003. In the same period, the number of part-time farmers or farmers who have another either major or subsidiary occupation increased from 52,900 to 58,900. The agri-vision 2015 committee indicated in its report that it believed the trend to...

Written Answers — Common Agricultural Policy: Common Agricultural Policy (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The framework agreement for the next WTO round, which was concluded in Geneva in August 2004, commits member countries to agree detailed rules, including an end date, for the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsides and for the introduction of disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect. That agreement covers export refunds, export credits, the trade distorting...

Written Answers — Meat Exports: Meat Exports (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: In recent years, the focus of the Irish beef industry has been to broaden and expand its market reach at EU retail level, shifting its orientation away from international commodity markets and into the higher priced internal EU marketplace. Effective promotion and marketing of beef by Bord Bia and the industry has ensured a presence for top quality Irish beef in all the key European markets....

Written Answers — Meat Imports: Meat Imports (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The Central Statistics Office is responsible for the collection of statistics on imports of meat and meat products. The following tables, which were compiled from data supplied by that office, set out the details requested by the Deputy. In certain cases the record of import may include the re-import of Irish products that were originally the subject of an export from this country. The...

Written Answers — Meat Imports: Meat Imports (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 171 together. Detailed EU legislation lays down the conditions that member states must apply to the production of and trade in products of animal origin, including fish, as well as to imports of these products from third countries. Under harmonised legislation a series of health and supervisory requirements are applied in the member states to ensure...

Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: All food produced under the control of my Department is subject to checks to ensure that it complies with relevant EU food labelling and traceability legislation. The requirements are as follows. In the case of fresh meat, carcasses, half carcasses or half carcasses cut into no more than three wholesale cuts and quarters intended to be placed on the market for human consumption must bear the...

Disability Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The Government's amendment No. 51a refers to procedures for interviews. Deputy Lynch has withdrawn her amendment, which reflects the language issue to which she adverted. The change in the language of the subsections is so the assessment officer will meet the applicant rather than ask the applicant to attend for interview. People would be happy with that. Amendment No. 53 proposes a further...

Disability Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: Having nearly 20 years of experience and having been involved in advocacy when this discussion was taking place, I am as competent as anybody else to deal with legislation in this House. I was very much involved in the Cabinet sub-committee review of disabilities. As a person, no more than Deputy Finian McGrath, who has a child with disability I have both a personal and political view in...

Disability Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: The Deputy would not be there, either.

Disability Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (25 May 2005)

Mary Coughlan: That is it. We are going to take over the place.