Written Answers Nos. 262-275
262. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the measures to protect the well-being of animals engaged in hare coursing in view of live hare coursing now being a criminal offence in the United Kingdom and much of the rest of Europe; his views on the continued practice of live hare coursing here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6711/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon (BnG).
The welfare of greyhounds involved in coursing is provided for in the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 which inter alia requires that persons who course greyhounds must have regard to the “Code of Practice in the Care & Welfare of the Greyhound”, developed jointly by the ICC and BnG.
The ICC has assured my Department that it has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of animals participating in coursing and that it goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of hare and greyhound welfare are adhered to.
An enhanced system of regulation for the detection of prohibited substances in coursing greyhounds, accompanied by more stringent sanctions, was put in place by the ICC in August 2012. The Executive Committee of the ICC has also established a sub-committee (the Testing Review Committee) to examine current practices for the detection of prohibited substances in coursing greyhounds with a view to extending the scope and frequency of testing. The Committee will report back to an EGM with recommendations for consideration and approval by members before the end of March 2015.
A Monitoring Committee on coursing was established during the 1993/94 coursing season and comprises of officials from my Department and representatives from both the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the ICC to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds alike.
The ICC has systems in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved at coursing events.
Hares can only be collected for coursing by clubs affiliated to the ICC, in accordance with the terms of two licences granted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. These licences have 26 conditions attached, the majority of which are central to hare welfare. These conditions have been developed and refined over a number of years. The conditions of the licences cover a range of items, including:
-all clubs arrange for a qualified veterinary surgeon to be in attendance during all coursing meetings, and he/she shall prepare a signed report on the health of the hares and on any injuries or deaths of hares that occur during the meeting.
-hares may not be coursed more than once on the same day and all necessary arrangements shall be made to ensure that hares that have been coursed can be readily identified to ensure this condition is rigidly observed.
- sick, injured or pregnant hares shall not be collected for coursing; hares that become sick or injured or that appear to be pregnant while in captivity may not be coursed.
- adequate escapes must be provided while coursing hares pursuant to the Licence.
- all hares must be released back into the wild during daylight hours the day after the coursing meeting is concluded, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant NPWS staff beforehand.
- hares must be released back into the wild at the same locations from which they were collected, unless otherwise agreed beforehand with the relevant NPWS staff.
- hares collected in this jurisdiction cannot be removed from this jurisdiction under the terms of the Licence. There must be full compliance with the Directives, Instructions and Guidance Notes issued by the Irish Coursing Club in all matters relating to the capture, keeping in captivity, tagging, marking, coursing and release of hares, and the muzzling of greyhounds.
The ICC ensures the welfare of the hare as evidenced by the following:
- The health status of all hares is assessed prior to placing in the Hare Park following netting.
- Hares are treated for a range of common ailments under veterinary supervision.
- Hares are released into the Hare Park which is laid out to replicate the wild with appropriate cover and shelter.
- Footbaths are located in the Park to treat/prevent any minor foot issues.
- Hares are fed on a diet of oats (whole or sheaf), sallies (branches of young trees), apples and fresh water in general.
- The feeding and training of hares is confined to a limited number of people with the relevant expertise.
- All hares are familiarised with the coursing stretch and the escape located at the top of the coursing field.
- Prior to each meeting, the hares and facility are inspected by a Hare & Field Committee member, a veterinary surgeon and ICC Control Steward.
- A vet certifies the hares are fit to course or otherwise.
- A vet is appointed to attend on the day of coursing to advise and administer care when required.
- The Executive Committee (Board) of the ICC appoint one of its members to oversee each coursing meeting with powers to curtail or abandon a meeting if required.
- An ICC Control Steward is appointed to each meeting to ensure all rules are adhered to by the host club.
- Muzzles worn by greyhounds in coursing are made of fabric, so as to minimise injuries to hares where the dog and the hare come into contact.
- In the event of a hare being compromised (pinned by muzzled greyhound(s)) a dedicated Hare Steward is appointed (2/3 stewards operate to ensure efficient intervention). This hare is examined by the appointed vet and not coursed again irrespective of outcome of the examination.
- On conclusion of the coursing meeting all hares are released back into the countryside under supervision of the ICC steward and Wildlife Ranger (if in attendance).
- Each coursing meeting is documented to capture relevant information regarding the conduct of the meeting as required by the NPWS. This information is submitted to the NPWS and is available under FOI.
- The ICC appointed Hare & Field Committee advise and instruct clubs on best practice in terms of hare welfare and field layout to ensure greyhound welfare.
- The ICC provide full/partial grant aid to clubs to develop their facilities to ensure best practice.
- Coursing Clubs prevent and report illegal hunting on a 12 month basis and work closely with the Garda and NPWS in this regard.
- Coursing Clubs are the only organisation to have a conservation strategy compared to opponents of coursing.
A study undertaken by Quercus, Queens University, Belfast, has found that there are 18 times more hares found in areas where there are coursing clubs than in the wider countryside.
A review of the outcome for the 2013/4 season indicates that the procedures and processes in place in terms of animal welfare are appropriate given that 99.4% of hares were released back to the wild at the conclusion of coursing.
The systems in place to oversee coursing are, in my view, effective, proportionate and working well.
263. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the measures undertaken by his Department, including the numbers of site visits and other inspections carried out on dog pounds run by local authorities, private institutions and charities, to ensure animals are cared for in a manner compliant with the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013; his views on the matter of animal welfare standards at pounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6712/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department maintains a close working relationship with the Local Authorities on dog welfare matters. I am informed that regular inspections of dog pounds are carried out by the Local Authority veterinary officers and, in addition, that all pounds have regular services of private veterinarians to deal with sick animals and emergency cases.
The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government publishes statistics in respect of a range of dog control responsibilities of the local authorities each year. Information up to 2013 is available on the Publications page of the Department’s website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/DogControl/ and I understand that statistics in respect of 2014 will be published shortly.
The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 is enforced by authorised officers of my Department, by An Garda Síochána and by authorised inspectors of the ISPCA and the DSPCA under service provisions of the Act. The Act also provides for the authorisation by local authorities of persons to carry out functions under the Act. If the Deputy has a concern in regard to a welfare issue at any dog pound he should contact both the Local Authority and my Department immediately.
264. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when persons (details supplied) in County Westmeath will receive a decision on their appeal to the appeals committee of the forestry services department regarding delay in their forestry payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6715/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe appeal by the persons named is currently under review. Every effort will be made to expedite the review and to notify the appellants of the outcome.
265. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the Land Commission is still letting turbary rights to persons; if so, whether turbary rights are available to rent or lease in Connemara, County Galway; if he will provide details of the bogs in which these rights are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6739/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department, as successor to the former Irish Land Commission, still holds some non-agricultural land but is not engaged in renting or leasing turbary at the present time. In the case of certain bog areas my Department has allocated the lands to the National Parks and Wildlife Service as the appropriate custodian, particularly in the case of special areas of conservation.
266. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set down the total payment due under the single farm scheme and disadvantaged areas scheme for 2013 and 2014 in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; the amount of payment that issued under each scheme to date; when any outstanding payments will issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6749/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the 2013 Single Payment (SPS)/Disadvantaged Areas Schemes was received from the person named on 3 May 2013. Under the SPS Scheme, the advance payment of €802.68 was issued on 16 October 2013 with the balancing payment of €802.69 issuing on 2 December 2013. The applicant was also paid €707.63 under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme on 20 September 2013.
A review of the land parcels declared by the person named under both Schemes revealed that several of the land parcels declared by the person named contained ineligible features. The person named was informed in writing of these findings. These area reductions did not have an impact on the 2013 Single Farm Payment of the person named. However, the over-declarations resulted in an area over-declaration greater than 20% being recorded under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme. Under the relevant EU Regulations, no payment is due in the year of application where the level of over-declaration is greater than 20%. Therefore, the amount involved was deducted from the SPS advance payment.
Following the review of my Department’s decision, sought by the person named, a visit by a Department official to verify the position on the ground was necessary. The outcome of this check resulted in an over-declaration in area of between 3% and 20%, which was applied to the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and a payment of €441.03 issued to the applicant on 2 December 2014, based on the reduced area. The person named was notified of this decision on 18 July 2014. The applicant was informed that in the event he was dissatisfied with the outcome of a verification check, he could appeal the decision to the independent LPIS Appeals Committee.
The findings of this verification visit were applied to the applications under the 2014 Single Payment/Disadvantaged Areas Schemes. The SPS advance payment of €802.68 issued on 16 October 2014 with the balancing payment of €802.69 issuing on 1 December 2014. A payment of €477.24 was issued to the person named on 7 October 2014 under the 2014 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.
267. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be accepted as a new entrant for allocations from the National Reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6768/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn order to be eligible under the priority category of New Entrant under the National Reserve, the applicant must:
- Be participating in the Basic Payment Scheme in the year in which s/he applies to the National Reserve;
- Have commenced the present agricultural activity in the 2013 calendar year or any later year;
- Not have had any agricultural activity in his/her own name and at his/her own risk in the five years preceding the start of the present agricultural activity;
- Have successfully completed a recognised course of education in agriculture giving rise to an award at FETAC level 6 or its equivalent, or have committed to commencing such a course by 30th September 2016;
- Have a gross off-farm income that does not exceed €40,000 in one of the tax years 2013 or 2014.
Full details of the Terms and Conditions of the National Reserve are available on my Department’s website at http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/nationalreserveandyfs/. Alternatively, the above named person can contact my Department directly at 0761 064 446 or at NationalReserveYFS@agriculture.gov.ie and my staff will be glad to provide assistance.
268. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to explain the reason a payment under the calf welfare scheme has been withheld in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6777/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named registered 30 animals under the Beef Genomics Scheme for 2014. Under the Terms and Conditions of this Scheme all animals must be tested for BVD within 27 days of birth and if the test is positive, or inconclusive, then the animal must be removed to a knackery within 7 weeks of the test result. If the BVD requirements are not complied with then the whole herd is ineligible for payment. The sample taken from one animal was not sufficient to determine the BVD status of that animal and the person named would have been advised to retest the animal. My Department has no record of a retest being undertaken on this animal. It is open to the person named to seek a review of the decision outlining any reasons why the animal was not retested.
269. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a compensation scheme is available in respect of the extensive bloom of the harmful algal species Dynophysis, known as red tide; if a compensation package complying with European Union regulations will be provided to all producers suffering closures from same to ensure that the sector remains feasible and in a fit state to return to normal trading and job creation, once harvesting begins again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6812/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA robust shellfish biotoxin monitoring regime is essential in order to protect consumers and safeguard the good reputation of the Irish seafood industry. I am aware that a number of bays in the south-west have experienced temporary suspensions of harvesting over the Winter as the level of biotoxins exceeded the regulatory limits. Such harvesting suspensions are not unusual and all aquaculture enterprises will be aware that this is a known business risk in the sector. However, I am informed by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority that the toxicity events in the south west are abating. Some of the production areas in the south west have already re-opened for harvesting, and lifting of suspensions in certain other production areas appears to be imminent.
I have received a request from aquaculture industry representatives for a package of compensation for rope mussel farming enterprises affected by harvesting suspensions. My Department is presently finalising a new Seafood Development Programme under the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) which will determine how we use the finite resources that will be available to us in the coming years in the overall best interests of Ireland and its seafood sector as a whole. I will be publishing a detailed consultation document and Strategic Environmental Assessment for public consultation in the next month or so, with a view to submitting the new Programme to the Commission by May this year for its consideration and adoption.
The EMFF Regulation sets out a legal framework under State Aid rules and the European Structural and Investment Funds concerning investment measures that Member States may implement in the period up to 2020. This potentially includes compensation aid to aquaculture enterprises for suspended harvests, but there are of course many other worthwhile investment possibilities allowed under the EMFF and national choices must be made between competing demands. So, as part of the preparation of the new Programme, my Department has been following a structured process of considering the investment needs of the seafood industry as a whole. Stakeholders have been consulted on this on a number of occasions to date. This has helped shape my initial thoughts on investment priorities and when I publish the consultation draft of the Programme shortly, my proposals will become clear. I will welcome all views at that point on the extent to which our resources should be directed towards compensation for suspended harvests.
270. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding commonage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6822/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the proposals for Commonages in the new GLAS Scheme, the shareholders themselves will draw up a new Commonage Plan, guided by the agricultural adviser they have chosen for their commonage. In these new Plans, a minimum and maximum stocking - level will be assigned to each participating shareholder and each shareholder will be required to comply on an individual basis with his or her prescribed stock numbers. Where a shareholder does not maintain his or her own stocking level on the commonage a sanction will apply to the individual shareholder in question, but to no other member of the Commonage group in question.
Where the Commonage Management Plan requires an action to be addressed by all shareholders in GLAS and this is not complied with, any resulting sanction must be applied to all participants.
271. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6825/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new rules referred to apply on a number of GLAS actions, including Low Input Permanent Pasture, and the over-riding concern is to protect farmland birds, whose nesting period commences from early March onwards.
However, the Draft GLAS Specification allows topping to take place any time from 15th July to 15th March. This is in fact a relaxation of the rules which applied previously under AEOS, where topping could not take place on parcels in receipt of the similar AEOS Species Rich Grassland payment until after 15th July up until the end of the year in question. The relaxation of the rules for GLAS is specifically designed to help with areas of marginal land where rushes may be prevalent and need to be topped early in the year.
272. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a payment under the suckler cow scheme will issue in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and the reason for the delay in payment. [6837/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named registered twenty two animals under the 2014 Beef Data Programme/Beef Genomics Schemes. The twenty two animals have been validated under the 2014 Beef Genomics Programme and payment will issue to the applicant shortly.
273. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update regarding the installation of signs along the Howth Harbour area in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6860/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, owns and directly manages six Fishery Harbour Centres located at Howth, Dunmore East, Castletownbere, Ros an Mhíl, Killybegs and An Daingean.
Departmental signage, addressing Health & Safety matters primarily, is present at each of the Centres, including Howth. Matters pertaining to the updating of such signage are kept under ongoing review.
The Deputy will be aware that signage in the Howth area generally, outside of the precincts of the Fishery Harbour Centre, is primarily a matter for Fingal County Council. I would therefore suggest that the Deputy contact the Council in relation to any queries he may have in this regard.
274. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a payment under the rural environment protection scheme for 2014 will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6862/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person named commenced REPS 4 in May 2009 and received payments for the first five years of their contract.
REPS is a measure under the 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. In addition, an on-farm compliance inspection took place in November 2014 which is currently being finalised.
It is anticipated that the 2014 payment will issue shortly.
275. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue under the 2014 disadvantaged area based scheme in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cavan; the reason for the delay in issuing this payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6929/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under 2014 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 7 April 2014. Payment has not issued as yet, as the holding concerned has not satisfied the Scheme minimum stocking density requirements. Immediately the holding is identified as meeting these requirements, the application will be further processed with a view to payment at the earliest possible date.
