Results 15,441-15,460 of 18,347 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Written Answers — Beef Industry: Beef Industry (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: My plans for the development of the beef sector can be summarised as follows: advanced processing methods and product development; sophisticated and targeted marketing; efficient farm production with quality assurance; and better scientifically based animal breeding. Ireland produces over 0.5 million tonnes of beef annually, over 90% of which is exported. More than 50% of these exports go to...

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: REPS 4 is a measure under the current Rural Development Programme 2007-13 and is subject to different EU regulations from the preceding versions of REPS. Under REPS 4, all payments are to be made in just two instalments. The first payment of 75% can be made only when all administrative checks on all 2008 applications for REPS 4 and the single payment scheme are completed. These include...

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I am also concerned with the delay in getting out a REPS payment for which the funding has been provided and is in place. Almost 11,000 applications were submitted until 15 May 2008, which were related to 2007. Of the 12,292 REPS 4 applications in 2008, only 11% passed all the administrative checks. We went to Europe towards the end of the year and we sought permission from the European...

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: This influences the technology. These are minor errors, but there also errors in which plans are omitted and where there are inadequate biodiversity provisions. The Department officials have gone back to many individual farmers and their planners and have been in a position to rectify the errors made by the people who submitted the plans in the first place. We want to eliminate the...

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I said that there was a range of errors from omission of plans to wrongly designated areas. Surely the official examining that particular application in the Department is not responsible for sending in the wrong information——

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: During the course of 2008, REPS 4 was not the only REPS programme analysed and funded by the Department. The Department paid out €330 million in 2008 under the REPS 3 programme. Those applications were processed and paid out. The European Commission has made it known to us in no uncertain terms that it wants all applications checked and all errors rectified before payments can be issued....

Rural Environment Protection Scheme. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Very substantial funds have been issued and are being issued.

EU Directives. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: In adopting the sixth environmental action plan in 2002, the European Parliament and the Council agreed an approach involving implementation and revision of the relevant legal framework for pesticides, through the development of a thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides. The thematic strategy is designed to revise and enhance the existing legislative framework and to target...

EU Directives. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Sherlock's questions relate to the regulation rather than the directive. Ireland, like other European countries, will have to draw up an action plan. With regard to the regulation, we oppose the proposal to introduce hazard-based cut-off criteria for the approval of substances. The Deputy asked about training. People will be trained to apply and use pesticides properly, in line...

EU Directives. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: If these proposals are approved by the Council, an action plan will be put in place by the middle of 2011. We received support at official and political level from our counterparts in Britain and Hungary for our position, which we argued consistently. If I recall correctly, no other country supported the position. We expressed particular concerns about the proposal to base decisions on...

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Under the agreement that was concluded with pig processors in December 2008, €180 million is being made available from the public finances to help processors to fund the recall and destruction of certain pork products that were in the market or in storage at the time of the recall. The details of the agreement, which allowed processing plants to resume operations within a week, are...

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I reject the Deputy's final comments. I fully appreciate the serious difficulties arising from the contamination incident caused to individual pig producers, the processing industry and everybody involved in the pork trade. From day one the Department and Government worked extremely hard to bring a conclusion to that incident as rapidly as possible. This House agreed a Supplementary...

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Unfortunately, those proposals were not accepted by the European Union. I mentioned at a recent committee meeting, and the Deputy questioned me on this recently, that I had observed a different attitude to labelling among other member states, country of origin labelling and European Union labelling. The Minister, Mr. Benn, in our nearest neighbour Britain, spoke recently about the need for...

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Under the specific pork recall scheme, €37.1 million has been paid to date.

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Some €37.1 million and the possibility of making second interim payments is currently being examined. Naturally every claim from a processor must be validated. As the Deputy rightly said, we have to protect the taxpayer. Whether the product is abroad or here, it must be rendered and validated by a competent authority. We will not pay out money until the relevant checks have been done....

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: There was no delay on our part in issuing payments. The funding is in place. We work under a system where a claimant must prove his or her eligibility for payment. We must have our checks and balances in place. We have to ensure that every claim is properly validated.

Pigmeat Sector. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: Deputy Creed spoke about the need to protect the taxpayer. We will do that and we will issue the payments as rapidly as we can, as we have done. We dealt with this scheme very effectively and efficiently.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: The farm waste management scheme was introduced by my Department in March 2006 in order to assist farmers meet the additional requirements of the nitrates directive. The farm improvement scheme was introduced in July 2007 under the aegis of the 2007-13 rural development programme. The deadline for completion of work and the submission of claims for grant payment under the farm waste...

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: I said earlier that the payments would be made on a phased basis. The Government is not in a position to make full payment this year. What has been decided is to have payments made on a phased and proportionate basis.

Farm Waste Management. (11 Feb 2009)

Brendan Smith: To date, €548.7 million has been paid out from the Exchequer on this scheme.