Parliamentary questions

Arms Trade

Éamon Ó Cuív

428. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the current EU policy in relation to the armaments industry; if he supports this policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34514/14]

Employment Data

Éamon Ó Cuív

470. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the increase that has taken place in employment in agriculture, forestry and marine in the two years to the second quarter of 2014 broken down by NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 regions; the sectors in which this increase has occurred; the causes of this increase; the steps taken to sustain this increase in employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34473/14]

Rural Development Programme Funding

Éamon Ó Cuív

471. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total profiled expenditure for 2014 for the REPS and AEOS schemes broken down by scheme; the expected expenditure under these schemes and the GLAS scheme next year broken down by scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34474/14]

Agriculture Scheme Eligibility

Éamon Ó Cuív

472. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if farmers with commonage that is classified as marginal land will be required to prove that they keep stock on this commonage in order to receive payment under the areas of natural constraint, ANC, scheme in 2015 and subsequent years; the nature of the proof of stocking commonages that will be required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34476/14]

Rural Development Programme Funding

Éamon Ó Cuív

473. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the concerns raised in the draft Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 regarding the relative position of farmers and the major multiples, the measures proposed in the programme to address this imbalance; the other steps that he is proposing in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34477/14]

Rural Development Programme Projects

Éamon Ó Cuív

474. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if participants in the GLAS scheme will be required to take part in the knowledge transfer programme; if they do participate in the two schemes, if they will be entitled to the full payment under both schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34478/14]

Rural Development Programme Funding

Éamon Ó Cuív

475. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the schemes that could have had an advance payment to beneficiaries of up to 50% of funding as part of their provisions if assistance as provided for in Article 45(4) had been included in the RDP; the reason this was not provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34479/14]

Natura 2000

Éamon Ó Cuív

476. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason that there is a minimum stocking level of 0.5 LU per hectare laid down in the organic farming scheme; his plans to give a derogation from this requirement to farmers farming mountain type land as defined for the purposes of the disadvantaged areas scheme and proposed ANC scheme or where stocking prescriptions of less than 0.5 LU are laid down by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in Natura 2000 sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34480/14]

Agriculture Scheme Data

Éamon Ó Cuív

477. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any examination was carried out using standard output data from the Central Statistics Office Census of agriculture and data from Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine databases to determine relative disadvantage on a district electoral division, DED, basis; whether this information could be used to calibrate the payment rates for areas of natural constraint, ANC, and the disadvantaged areas scheme between more severely handicapped, lowland, less severely handicapped, lowland, and mountain type land in a similar way to the method used in relation to this data to determine payment rates for the overall ANC scheme by comparing the same data between DEDs containing designated land with DEDs containing no designated lands; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34481/14]

Agriculture Scheme Data

Éamon Ó Cuív

478. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the relative rates of areas of natural constraint, ANC, payment in the three types of designation for the ANC scheme, namely, more severely handicapped, less severely handicapped and mountain type grazing; if the payments in each designated area were paid out on the same basis as is used to calculate the overall level of disadvantage in these areas allowing that the overall allocation for the ANC scheme would remain as provided for in the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34482/14]

Agriculture Scheme Data

Éamon Ó Cuív

479. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the objective criteria based on natural constraint used to determine the proposed rates of areas of natural constraint, ANC, and the disadvantaged areas scheme payments in 2014; if he is satisfied that the rate of payment reflects the relative natural constraint in each type of designated area, namely, severely, less severely and mountain type; if the methodology outlined in the rural development plan was used for the purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34483/14]

Rural Development Policy

Éamon Ó Cuív

480. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it is permissible for farmers at present to be receiving payments under both the REP scheme or the AEOS scheme and the Burren farming for conservation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34484/14]

Rural Development Plan

Éamon Ó Cuív

481. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there is no attributed cost to the cost for farmers in completing the carbon navigator with an approved adviser as this is an obligatory requirement of the RDP; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34485/14]

Trade Relations

Éamon Ó Cuív

482. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the effect that the prohibition on the export of certain agricultural products to Russia will have on farmers and processors here; the discussions he has had with the Russian ambassador on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34500/14]

Agriculture Scheme Eligibility

Éamon Ó Cuív

483. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the estimated number of farmers who have commonage land at present, which had commonage framework plans prepared on them, and are in receipt of the single farm payment and the disadvantaged payment and do not put stock on the commonage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34509/14]

Agriculture Scheme Administration

Éamon Ó Cuív

484. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to ensure that there are sufficient planners in place to prepare GLAS plans for commonage areas; the method by which the shareholders will be expected to agree and select a planner for the development of a GLAS plan for farmers with commonage holdings; if public procurement rules will apply as these contracts could involve the preparation of over 100 individual GLAS plans for the individual shareholders in the same commonage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34510/14]

Rural Development Programme Funding

Éamon Ó Cuív

485. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if payments under the new GLAS scheme are based totally on standard costings or if receipts will be required to receive any payments by farmers under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34511/14]

Trade Relations

Éamon Ó Cuív

486. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if compensation will be payable to farmers and processors by his Department or the EU for losses incurred due to the ban imposed by Russia on certain agricultural products as a retaliation against sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34521/14]

Aquaculture Licence Applications

Éamon Ó Cuív

487. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be taken on the application by Bord Iascaigh Mhara for a fish farming licence in Galway Bay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34526/14]

Direct Payment Scheme Eligibility

Éamon Ó Cuív

488. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of reviews of the land parcel identification system alleged over claims that were sought by farmers; the numbers decided; the number subsequently appealed to the special appeals committee and the number decided to date by this committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34527/14]