Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 164: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if she will make a statement on her Department's recently published report for 2004. [26448/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The 2004 annual report detailed progress in relation to my Department's goal and strategies contained in its fourth statement of strategy, published in 2003, as well as complying with legal requirements to report on the operation of the Land Acts and the Prompt Payment of Accounts Act 1997.

The report provides comprehensive information on the activities of my Department in 2004, and some of the main points covered included the arrangements for implementation of the single payment scheme, arising from the decision to opt for full decoupling of direct payments from production. Significant progress was made in what is a major organisational undertaking. The report notes that in addition to commencing the implementation of the SPS, my Department paid over €1.6 billion in direct payments to farmers in 2004, and full details of the payments are included in the report. The report also refers to the substantial progress made during Ireland's EU Presidency in 2004 on the objectives of facilitating the application of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, to the new member states, continuing the process of simplification of the CAP initiated by the mid-term review and enhancing food safety standards; the progress on food initiatives in the National Development Plan 2000-2006 is set out in the report, with a total of some €187 million having been committed by year-end. Other points of interest in the report included a new milk quota restructuring programme announced in December 2004, with the purpose of making the scheme more effective in securing the long-term future of the dairy industry in an increasingly competitive and market orientated environment. Commenting on some of the main markets, the report notes that export of Irish dairy products and ingredients experienced a 6% rise in 2004 to almost €1.86 billion. The year 2004 also saw a strong performance by Irish beef in European markets, with a 7.4% rise in exports to continental Europe.

The report also deals with consumer issues, food safety, animal and plant health, forestry, agri-environment matters, scheme operation and financial management. The report is available from the Government Stationery Office and on my Department's website, www.agriculture.gov.ie.