Results 19,561-19,580 of 40,897 for speaker:Simon Coveney

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Farm Household Incomes (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: While I will check the number of applications, there was significant interest in the dairy TAMS. Therefore, there is still interest in further investment and expansion but we need to get through a temporary pricing period. We will watch very closely and help dairy farmers as that progresses.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: It is important that the fishing industry take every precaution to avoid risk of injury or worse during periods of stormy weather and have full regard to local weather warnings before going to sea. Fishermen who may be experiencing financial difficulties while ashore during periods of adverse weather should contact the Department of Social Protection which offers income support payments,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I agree with much of what the Deputy has said. Many people in the inshore fishing fleet are on very low incomes and have had difficulty in accessing supports through the Department of Social Protection, not because it is anybody's fault but because fishermen are in a different position from people who are working in a more structured workplace. Often fishermen work on the basis of a share...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fishing Industry (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Let us see how that works. I would like to encourage the industry to make the mutual fund work. The idea is that everybody would put a small amount of money into a fund and that the State would match it, so that there would be a pool of money in place from which, during difficult periods, they could take that money out. That would be a sensible approach to hedge against income...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Farm Household Incomes (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: First, I will clarify the statistics regarding farm income. The Deputy is correct. The average farm income last year, as estimated, is directly related to the fact that in the dairy sector the average income has fallen from nearly €68,000 in 2014, which is a very good income for an average farm income, to €47,000. However, there has been better news in all of the other...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Farm Household Incomes (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I have spent a great deal of time with the dairy sector, and the dairy forum is discussing these issues. I speak to representatives of co-operatives and to dairy farmers on a regular basis. To put this in context, in 2013 and 2014 there were exceptionally high global prices for dairy products, and dairy farming was a profitable business with average incomes of nearly €70,000. In...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Sheepmeat Sector (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The sheep sector is an important component of our agriculture sector and the third largest farming sector in Ireland with over 34,000 producers. 2015 proved to be another good year for the sheep sector. A combination of higher carcase weight (up 1.9%) and higher factory prices (up 1.5%) meant that output value of the sector increased by over 3%. Total sheepmeat exports increased by an...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Food Safety Standards (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Primary responsibility under EU law for the safety and traceability of food placed on the market lies with food business operators (FBOs). The role of National Competent Agencies is to verify compliance with this requirement. This is done through a combination of inspecting establishments and auditing the food safety management systems which operators are required to have in place. These...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fish Quotas (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The fishing opportunities available to vessels, including within the Irish Exclusive Fishery Zone (EFZ) for 2015 are set out on a stock by stock basis in Council Regulation (EU) 104/2015 dated 19 January 2015 as amended by Council Regulation 2015/523 of 25 March 2015, Council Regulation 2015/960 of 19th June and Council Regulation 2015/1961 of 26 October. The TAC and Quota Regulation for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: GLAS Administration (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: I am pleased to say that 2015 has proved to be the most successful year ever in the development and implementation of any agri-environment scheme. The level of interest in the GLAS scheme has seen some 26,000 applications approved in first tranche of the GLAS scheme and the submission of more than 14,000 further applications under Tranche 2 of the Scheme which closed in mid-December 2015. ...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Direct Payment Scheme Applications (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Teagasc Annual Review and Outlook for 2016 indicates that in 2015, the direct costs of production per kilo of lamb carcass produced on the least profitable sheep farms are almost 45 percent higher than the costs per kilo on the most profitable mid season lamb enterprises. Supports for the sector include direct payments, but also necessarily include a range of measures under the Rural...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Suckler Welfare Scheme Payments (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Irish suckler cow herd is a vital element of the Irish beef sector and supports for the sector include direct payments, in addition to a range of measures under the Rural Development Programme to improve efficiency and profitability on farm and to support environmentally sustainable production to help to address the challenge of profitability . These include the Basic Payments Scheme as...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Competition Law (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The State, through the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, has an existing and well established infrastructure for oversight of competition matters and for dealing with allegations of anti-competitive practices or abuse of a dominant position. I understand that acquisitions or mergers of organisations with turnover exceeding certain statutory thresholds are required to be...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Exports (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department’s role in relation to market access for beef is to ensure that Ireland’s control systems meet the veterinary and animal health requirements of the importing country. In that context Ireland was the first EU Member State to gain access to the US market in January 2015 , and remains the only Member state to have such access. Six plants are approved to export,...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Genomics Scheme (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Beef Data and Genomics Programme was launched on the 5th of May 2015 and forms a part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme that runs from 2014 to 2020. The programme has funding of €300 million euro over its lifespan. The programme builds on previous investment in suckler farming through schemes such as the nationally funded Beef Data Programme and the Beef Genomics...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Beef Industry (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: In my role of Minister I am and always have been conscious of the value of communication with all stakeholders in the beef sector. Improving communications between stakeholders is the reason I established the Beef Roundtable which continues to meet and discuss relevant strategic issues affecting the sector. However I have also been very clear that the Roundtable cannot act as a substitute for...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Work such as the Pontbren Project in Wales and the Forest Research/Confor report entitled The Role of Productive Woodlands in Water Managementdemonstrate the role appropriately sited and well-designed and managed forests and woodlands play in reducing and controlling floodwater. The primary mechanisms are canopy interception, the use of water by the trees themselves, and the higher water...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Fertiliser Industry (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: The Irish Fertiliser Industry does not currently manufacture nutrients in Ireland. The industry is almost entirely reliant on the importation of nutrients which are subsequently sold on as straights or blended into compound products. The predominant nutrient form used in the Irish context is Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (C.A.N) with over 80% of Nitrogen used in this form. Fertilisers are the...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: My Department is aware of work done in other countries on the role of native woodlands, alongside other types of forests, in flood mitigation, in both upland and lowland areas. My Department operates a Forestry Programme that provides funding for the creation and management of a wide range of forest and woodland types, in order to realise the variety of environmental, economic and social...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Management (21 Jan 2016)

Simon Coveney: Reducing floodwater is a complex multi-faceted issue, and appropriately sited and well-designed and managed woodlands and forests can play an important role as part of any wider solution within catchments. My Department is aware of the experiences of the Pontbren Project as referred to by the Deputy, which relates primarily to native woodland. My Department is also aware of other...