Results 19,521-19,540 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Flood Relief Schemes (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Government approved the allocation of €5m for an emergency humanitarian support scheme to small businesses and community, sporting and voluntary bodies which through no fault of their own have been unable to secure flood insurance and have been flooded recently. The Irish Red Cross have agreed to administer the scheme. The Irish Red Cross Society is an independent charitable...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Reserve Strength (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 267 together. The strength of the Reserve Defence Force at the end of December, 2015 was 2,280 personnel. The 2015 White Paper on Defence sets out a developmental path for the RDF. It provides that the overarching establishment of the Army Reserve (AR) and Naval Service Reserve (NSR) is to be set at 4,169 personnel, consisting of 3,869 Army Reservists...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel Data (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The total number of women serving in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps was 552 as of 31 December, 2015. The number serving in all three branches of the Defence Forces is broken down by rank in Table 2 below:- Table 2: The number of women serving (whole time equivalent) in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, by rank (as on 31 December 2015). Rank Army Naval Service Air Corps ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Operations (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 262, 263 and 265 together. It is my priority as Minister for Defence to ensure that the operational capacity of the Defence Forces is maintained to the greatest extent possible. The Department of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána have primary responsibility for the internal security of the State and, in the event of a terrorist...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Overseas Missions (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: As of 1 January 2016, Ireland is contributing 423 Defence Forces personnel to 11 different missions throughout the world. Full details of all personnel currently serving overseas are listed in the tabular statement beneath. The main overseas missions in which Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed are the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with 197 personnel and the...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Equipment (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The acquisition of new equipment and equipment upgrades for the Defence Forces remains a focus for me as Minister for Defence, and I am satisfied that the Defence Forces have a modern and effective range of equipment as required to fulfil all roles that are assigned to them by Government. Going forward, the equipment priorities for the Army, Air Corps and the Naval Service will be...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel Data (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am advised by the Military Authorities that the strength of the Permanent Defence Force, at 31 December 2015, the latest date for which figures are available was 9,140, comprising 7,309 Army, 748 Air Corps and 1,083 Naval Service personnel. The following table outlines the establishment, strength and vacancies of the Permanent Defence Force, by Army, Air Corps and Naval Service as at 31...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Air Corps (26 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The involvement of the Defence Forces in responding to emergencies arises from requests for assistance from agencies of the State in an Aid to Civil Authority (ATCA) role. The Framework for Major Emergency Management sets out the structure for enabling the Principal Response Agencies (An Garda Síochána, the Health Service Executive and Local Authorities) to prepare for, and make a...

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I do not disagree with a lot of what Deputy Wallace said. Agriculture does not have a free pass when it comes to climate change responsibilities. If we look at the performance of agriculture, we can see than since 1990, emissions from the agriculture sector in Ireland are down 10% while emissions from the transport sector are up 120%, so agriculture is on the right trajectory. Our dairy...

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Is the Deputy suggesting that-----

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Is the Deputy suggesting that we do away with the beef industry?

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We are not ignoring it. We are putting Ireland in a position to ensure we are the most efficient food producers on the planet using the natural resources we have available to us and that when we look at climate change targets - unlike the person quoted by the Deputy - we also insist on calculating what the actual carbon sink value of permanent pasture, the afforestation of agricultural land...

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We have. We have a very strong commitment to afforestation of agricultural land unlike practically any other country in the EU. We are spending not European money but Irish taxpayers' money - €119 million per year - planting trees on farmland between 6,000 ha. and 7,000 ha. This is a climate change strategy as well as a timber and afforestation strategy. We have challenges and...

Other Questions: Fish Quotas (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We are probably at one on this issue, which is good to hear. I would be careful, however, with using anecdotal evidence concerning stocks. Scientists are trying to understand these stocks, as well as how and where the north and south stocks interact with each other. We are taking a robust line on this because we feel we have been treated unfairly in the past. We think the scientists got...

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Are the machines working here?

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I would like to put on the record what the position is because many people have raised concerns with me about this issue. The relevant Oireachtas committee has referred the matter to the Competition Authority for examination. Mergers and acquisitions of businesses within the State are subject to a process of examination to ensure consumers or other businesses do not suffer, or that the...

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We will work with the system. If the Competition Authority asks for our opinion on anything we will obviously give full details of our views from a policy viewpoint. However, there are dangers with Ministers getting involved in trying to impact on mergers. There is a State body that has a legal obligation to assess these things properly and make informed choices. We all call it the...

Other Questions: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department can provide statistics and details, but I do not think it is qualified to make judgment calls on competition issues. That is what the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is there for. If they ask us for information or a policy perspective, we will of course give it to them. I cannot be more open than that.

Other Questions: Food Harvest 2020 Strategy (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We do have, absolutely, and I think An Taisce is wrong on this issue. Food Wise 2025, the new ten-year strategy for the agri-food sector published in July 2015, builds on the successful vision of Food Harvest 2020. It identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more...

Other Questions: Beef Exports (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: We need both. Industry representatives places significant importance on two factors, both of which we are close to achieving. The first is the export of manufactured beef into the US and the second is the export of beef to China. A Chinese team of inspectors is in the country currently. When I predicted volumes and value for the US market, we thought we would get manufactured beef in...