Results 18,241-18,260 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Other Questions: Sheep Imports (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: My first job as co-op manager in Cornamona was to build a large sheep shed and put 2,000 sheep in it. We proved that the economics of feeding grass meal to sheep is not hugely profitable with the pure breed of mountain sheep. It would work much better with cross-bred sheep from the lower hills. I agree with the Minister of State on the work being done by my successors in respect of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Harvest 2020: Discussion with Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I thank the Secretary General for a comprehensive overview. There are some issues on which I can agree with him. I asked the Minister about pillar 2 today. In view of the huge uncertainty with pillar 2 a farmer will add up his payments and compare them with what he used to get. We have seen how vulnerable pillar 2 is to national changes as well as European Union changes. It is vital that...

Other Questions: Sheep Imports (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of sheep that were imported through the port of Larne in Northern Ireland in 2011 and to date in 2012 and transferred directly to meat plants here for slaughter on a weekly basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48247/12]

Other Questions: Transport Costs (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I did not ask the Minister about on-farm diesel costs, which is a subject for another day. My question focussed explicitly on the agricultural industry - in other words, the cost of moving milk from the farm to the processor and on to the market. In addition, timber is a major cost issue because it is bulky and obviously it is provided to the food sector by the agricultural industry. When...

Other Questions: Transport Costs (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: As Ministers said when in opposition, it is about choices. The Government could choose to try to stimulate the food and forestry sectors where transport is an enormous part of the input costs, and particularly so in forestry. I wish to ask the Minister two simple questions. First, has he suggested a rebate scheme to the Minister for Finance for auto-diesel for hauliers? This would have a...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes Expenditure (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I assume the Department is aware of the number of approvals it has issued under the TAM scheme. How many of these will now carry over for payment into next year? In other words, in cases where the work has not yet been done and the farmer has not yet made the claim, what is the amount of approvals in value terms that will have to be paid out in 2013?

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes Expenditure (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Will the Minister get back to me with an answer on the amount of approvals on hand for which claims have not yet been received? He is quite right regarding the two-year timeframe. He forgot, however, to mention a third aspect, namely, that under every grant scheme ever created, there will be people who get approval but who, for one reason or another, never do the work and thus never claim...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes Expenditure (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Minister's civil servants seem very focused on answering all sorts of questions I did not ask, thereby wasting time. I did not ask for a description of the TAM scheme or when it was introduced. What I asked was very simple, namely, the amount of money provided in 2012, the amount paid out to date, which the Minister told me eventually, and the expected expenditure under the scheme,...

Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes Expenditure (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I did, but the Minister wasted a lot of time telling me what I already knew, namely, the background to the scheme. It is not the first time today that I got a long answer in which the Minister could not get to the meat of the question I tabled. The first answer was a case in point. Why, according to the Minister's figures, will only 75% of the money be spent? Why is the demand so low and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Minister used the phrase "to try to ensure" in his reply, which gives enough wriggle room to turn a jumbo jet. Perhaps he will clarify whether it is the intention of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure he will succeed in his attempts to get the level of funding necessary to match the European funding?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am speaking about Irish Exchequer funding to match European funding.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Taoiseach also leads those discussions. As such, he can ensure the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine gets the money. Rather than telling us he intends to try and all the rest of it, perhaps the Minister will say whether it is the position of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that he will match the European funding provided, regardless of the amount involved. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Is there not Cabinet policy on the matter?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Will that occur at the same time?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Was a minimum amount sought for non-farm pillar 2?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: What is the percentage?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am sure the Minister would agree that the so-called objective criteria can be somewhat less than objective depending on how they are written. I am sure he does not accept that and will be trying to get these so-called objective criteria written in such a way that they will favour Ireland. Does the Minister accept that pillar 2 payments are of greater importance proportionately to areas of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Common Agricultural Policy (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm that all decisions on Pillar 1 and 2 of the common agricultural policy will be made at the same time; when the details of the proposed Pillar 2 proposals are due to be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48450/12]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Applications (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Would the Minister agree from the figures he has given that this has, as one would have expected, impacted disproportionately on hill areas where a stocking density of 1.5, or 0.3 as required last year, is in many cases not achievable or not even allowed by the Department? Would he agree, therefore, that this retrospective decision was fundamentally unfair?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Applications (6 Nov 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Minister said he was generous in granting derogations.