Results 181-200 of 4,571 for speaker:Trevor Sargent
- Order of Business (21 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: It matches Deputy Kehoe's tie.
- Written Answers — Food Labelling: Food Labelling (21 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: Food labelling is governed by Council Directive 2000/13/EC which was transposed into Irish law in 2002. The principle underlying this Directive is that the purchaser must not be misled to a material degree, particularly with reference to the nature, composition and origin of the foodstuff. In addition, there are national regulations for beef and veal, making mandatory the display of the...
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: Energy crops are relatively new to Irish farmers and are being considered as an alternative to more conventional farm enterprises. The total area of energy crops in Ireland has increased steadily since 2003, supported by incentives introduced by the Government to stimulate cultivation and subsidies to increase the use of bio-fuel in the Irish transport market. In addition, the decoupling of...
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: I thank the Deputy for his answer and his question.
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: It is good to look at all the information. I am sorry I cannot give the Deputy exactly what he is looking for because when the information was being collected it was presented in the form of a visual table. He will get it but it is unfortunate that he does not have it before him now. This is the end of a three-year scheme. The Deputy is right to ask the questions, including whether we are...
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: For example, there has been a good take-up in miscanthus, more so than willow. Anecdotally, it seems people felt that miscanthus was less of a long-term commitment and that it could be grubbed up. However, the horticultural experts tell me that it is quite difficult to do so. Once one has miscanthus one has it for a while. One needs to be used to it and be sure of what one is doing....
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: I, too, will be asking some of those questions.
- Alternative Energy Projects. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: There are factors that have a bearing on the uptake and one, as Deputy Sherlock stated, is its economic viability. The recession has had many knock-on effects, one of which is the reduction in the price of oil. The viability of planting and processing a crop and getting a return for the labour means that naturally it will be difficult to compete with a product which has been lying in the...
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: Decisions on marketing campaigns are primarily a matter for Bord Bia. In this case I understand that Bord Bia considered that a fresh approach was needed to raise customer awareness and transparency on the origin of food and supplier information when eating out. Féile Bia membership, which peaked at 1,500 food service outlets, had decreased in recent years to very low levels of...
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: As I stated at the start, the decisions on this relate to Bord Bia so I will have to ask it to get an answer to the Deputy's question.
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: I do not have the information.
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: If I could finishing answering the question before the-----
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: It was not actually a point of order but I am not here to decide that.
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: It was nice to hear all the same.
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: I am trying to be helpful.
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: Deputy Sherlock did not, actually. If he had asked that question we could have got him the answer but-----
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: Indeed, and I wish I had some knowledge but all I can say is that the Just Ask scheme is far better value for money than the cost of running the Féile Bia scheme. This is not the only reason for the change and I hope Deputy Sherlock agrees with that. We were getting less and less buy-in to the Féile Bia scheme and we needed a reality check; we could not blindly continue with the Féile...
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: While the Just Ask campaign is primarily about meat, it is about all produce. The important question of labelling is dealt with by the Food Safety Authority primarily. Bord Bia has no remit to promote non-Irish food; at the same time it is not the authority that deals with control of labelling and this must be clarified. The Just Ask campaign is about Irish produce but it requires people...
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: We have had discussions such as this previously and undoubtedly we will have them again. Much of the non-Irish produce coming into Ireland was going to catering. It is important to make a fresh start, which this is. The emphasis is on the new campaign, Just Ask, by which the public is mandated to establish where food comes from and who produces it. Restaurants are being urged to provide...
- Food Labelling. (20 May 2009)
Trevor Sargent: I was delighted to hear the president of the IFA, Mr. Padraig Walshe, on the radio this morning asking people to buy Irish produce. The reason Mr. Padraig Walshe can do that but neither I nor the Minister, Deputy Brendan Smith, can is that the use of State money for the guaranteed Irish campaign is not allowed under EU rules. I have met with representatives of the Restaurants Association of...