Adjournment Matters

Alcohol Pricing

Senator Deirdre Clune

I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me the opportunity to raise this issue of the cost of alcohol. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Shortall, and I am glad she has come before the House because she has a particular interest in the area. The issue at hand is the price at which alcohol is being sold in many outlets across the country. It arose as an issue following the abolition of the groceries order six years ago. There was a suggestion at the time that alcohol would not be included in the measure and there would be a floor below which the price could not fall. That did not happen.

In the past ten years we have seen a sharp rise in the number of premises licensed to sell alcohol, and they now include petrol stations, supermarkets and convenience stores. At the same time, and probably as a result of the economic climate, traditional pubs across the country have seen their numbers fall. The issue was brought to the fore last week by the father of David Higgins, a young man who died tragically by suicide. I heard the man on the radio last week and he attributed his son's death to the availability of cheap alcohol and all-night parties. My home has students and my home town also has a university and Cork Institute of Technology. Drinking at house parties before young people go to clubs has become very popular and such activity happens on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night.

There is much alcohol available very cheaply and taking in all the supermarkets, the price of alcohol is amazing. It is not unusual to get a can of beer for a euro or even less depending on the time of year or the type of loss leader that the supermarkets wish to promote. There have been calls to amend the practice for some time, although I do not know what action is possible, there are issues of competition, for example. There must be some way to introduce a control on the price of alcohol.

Many groups are calling for this control, particularly the Vintners Federation of Ireland, although people might think that group would seek control of the price of alcohol because it is in competition with supermarkets and off-licences. I have always maintained that vintners and licensed premises have a certain responsibility. They do not want to lose their licences and can also see if somebody is taking too much alcohol and needs to be controlled. We are all aware of those kinds of scenario.

When somebody buys a lot of alcohol from a supermarket or off-licence and drinks it at home, there is nobody to tell that person that enough drink has been taken. Drinking in a licensed premises means the environment is controlled. We must respect that. I have examined supermarkets and garage outlets and young people could be selling the product. That is not to say they are irresponsible but they certainly do not have the same interest in the welfare of those to whom they sell the alcohol.

In the media today there is a report from the Health Research Board about the significant increase in health problems relating to alcohol. We all know the social consequences. Last week Alcohol Action Ireland called on the Government to tackle alcohol pricing Under the umbrella group, the ISPCC is supporting calls for minimum pricing to protect young people. The Irish Cancer Society is seeking minimum pricing for health reasons and Barnardos is doing so in highlighting parental abuse of young people arising from alcohol consumption. Research from the Rape Crisis network indicated that 80% of people investigated in rape files sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions had been drinking. There are numerous examples of organisations supporting this position so I ask the Government to consider the issue and investigate what can be done to ensure this phenomenon is tackled. We have seen its effects and it must be dealt with.

The price of alcohol can be very high in some pubs, which might have an effect on the issue. Alcohol is a drug that should be controlled and we are in a very dangerous position, particularly as we consider the effect on young people in society.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Róisín Shortall)

I thank the Senator for raising the issue, which is timely. Apart from the report from the HRB, to which the Senator referred and which indicated we have alarming rates of alcohol consumption in this country, another report was launched this morning by the North West Alcohol Forum. This report outlined the severe impact that alcohol consumption by parents has on children due to the lack of care and neglect that this leads to in many families. These effects on young children can last for life. The report also drew attention to the fact that a significant number of children are taken into care due to the drinking habits of their parents. It is a timely debate and I welcome the increasing public support, not only as outlined by the various groups mentioned by the Senator, but in the general realisation that we have got to a point in this country where we have done enough damage to ourselves through the abuse of alcohol.

Alcohol abuse has cost us very dearly, both in human and financial terms. It has cost us about €3.7 billion due to the huge burden on the health service, lost productivity, days away from work and the costs involved in child care for those children abused due to the abuse of alcohol. We have no choice at this stage other than to address the problem in a comprehensive way.

A steering group was set up to address the issue of alcohol abuse in 2009. It is chaired by the chief medical officer of the Department of Health and representatives of different Departments, agencies and interests in this area. That steering group recently completed its work. The final touches are being put on the report and I hope to receive it in the next couple of weeks. I will be bringing that report to the Cabinet in respect of proposals we will make to address all the aspects of the alcohol abuse problem in this country.

There is no doubt it is a cultural problem and we all need to examine our attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol. It is sometimes convenient to talk about alcohol being a problem that affects young people in disadvantaged areas or in particular marginalised groups, but the reality is that as a society, we all have a problem with alcohol. We drink too much. We drink more alcohol in this country per head of population than any other country in Europe. We drink to get drunk more often than anybody else, and young people do exactly the same. They largely do what they see their parents doing. For that reason, there is a real onus on legislators to address this problem.

In recent years, the problem has got out of control, partly due to the boom and partly due to the relaxation of the licensing laws and the lifting of the groceries order. The World Health Organization indicates that availability and price are two key factors in respect of controlling the use of alcohol. For this reason, some of the recommendations coming from the steering group will be on availability, licensing and pricing. This is not straightforward. Personally, I am committed to introducing minimum pricing. However, there are legal obstacles to that and I am awaiting legal advice. There is some case law on minimum pricing for tobacco products, and I hope to get the legal advice shortly. Our colleagues in Scotland published a Bill this week to introduce minimum pricing and in many ways they are far ahead of us. It is also being considered in Northern Ireland. If it is possible, I would like to see it.

It is important to point out that minimum pricing is not going to penalise people who are moderate drinkers. I have got some negative feedback with people saying that their only treat is a bottle of wine at the weekend. Minimum pricing will not penalise moderate drinkers. It will have a marginal impact on them. It will have a significant impact on people who have a problem with alcohol and young people. The drinking habits of young people are very price sensitive and alcohol is being sold at below cost in supermarkets. Sometimes supermarkets take a hit on the excise duty and VAT. One supermarket recently advertised two bottles of wine for €5, yet the VAT and excise duty comes to more than that. There is a price war taking place between the supermarkets at the moment and that has to be addressed.

While people are concerned that they might lose the opportunity to get a bargain on alcohol, it is important to point out that this is a false economy. While supermarkets are using alcohol as a loss leader, it means they have to recoup that money through groceries and so on. People are paying for it in other ways. Overall, we are all paying a big price as alcohol costs us €3.7 billion.

I hope that we have concrete proposals in the next few weeks, as soon as we have had an opportunity to consider the recommendations from the steering group. I know there is strong support within the Cabinet to act on this and that there is cross-party support as well. It is now time to deal with this national problem.

Senator Deirdre Clune

Will the Minister of State be publishing the report of the steering group? There have been reports published on the availability of alcohol and the licensed premises that can sell it. That was never linked to planning regulations. I have been on councils where we tried not to grant an application for an off-licence when there were many objections among the local community, but An Bord Pleanála overturned the decision because it is not a planning issue. Hopefully the report will cover that.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

It is my intention to publish the report. I recently presented on the alcohol issue to the Oireachtas health committee and I gave a commitment to come back with the draft proposals. As there is a high level of cross-party concern about this, I am very keen that as many Members as possible have an opportunity to consider the recommendations and to suggest amendments. I am very open to that. The only way forward is on a cross-party basis, which I am determined to achieve.

Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base

An Cathaoirleach

I welcome the Minister of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to the House. This is an all Kerry job.

Senator Mark Daly

Do not hold that against us, a Chathaoirligh. Mayo will definitely rise again.

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for addressing this important issue, which was raised by our alleged friends in Europe in their continued attempt to harmonise our corporation tax rate with their level, thereby taking away our competitive advantage. We are well aware that the French and the Germans want to bring more control and are using this European crisis to try to force members of the eurozone and the EU into a situation whereby the financial policies of Ireland and other EU member states would be controlled by a central finance ministry. This has all the hallmarks of an attempt to create a federal state by the back door.

The EU made an attempt to bring in a constitution but this failed. It then decided to bring about a constitution by the back door when it brought in the Lisbon treaty. This did not have the backing of the majority of people, because it was not put before the people. I am sure those in favour of a federal Europe are rubbing their hands in glee. I think it was Dick Cheney who said that one should never miss the opportunity provided by a crisis.

In view of the current situation, which is changing by the hour, I ask the Minister to address the issue of where Ireland now stands on the common consolidated corporate tax base. We made a submission to Europe recently, which was the only submission made by this Parliament on proposed EU legislation. Under the Lisbon treaty we are, as a Parliament, allowed to make submissions on forthcoming EU legislation, and the only time we have done so was with regard to the CCCTB. I ask the Minster to update the House on where we are on this important issue.

Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Deputy Jimmy Deenihan)

I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, who sends his apologies. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter on the floor of the Seanad.

Senators will be aware that the proposal for a CCCTB was published on 16 March last. A CCCTB would essentially introduce new common rules for calculating company taxation across the EU and replace the universally accepted "separate accounting with arms-length pricing" method for allocating group profits across borders with a sharing mechanism under a system known as formulary apportionment. This new sharing mechanism is essentially a formula which proposes that the individual taxable profit base of each company within an international group would be aggregated or pooled to form a consolidated tax base, which would be reattributed to those same companies based on their presence in any member state, that presence being measured by the scale of assets, employees, payroll and sales in any member state compared to the group as a whole.

The Commission argues that a directive is needed to tackle tax obstacles that are barriers to the completion of the Single Market and place additional costs on businesses that trade across borders. It is worth reiterating that the explanatory memorandum to the CCCTB proposal specifically states that there is no intention of extending harmonisation to tax rates and that each member state will be applying its own rate to its own share of the tax base.

Ireland's position on the CCCTB is that we remain sceptical of the proposal but we are constructively engaging in the policy and technical debate. We are not alone among member states in being sceptical about the CCCTB proposal, but all member states are participating in the technical debate on the dossier. As the Minister for Finance has stated on a number of occasions, despite our scepticism of the merits of the proposal, the Government's view is that it is vital that Ireland is represented in the debate, as it is only by actively engaging in the process that we can ensure all issues of concern are brought to the table.

Our approach to translating constructive engagement into practice has involved a number of different aspects. First, the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners are examining the Commission impact assessment in order to assess the potential impact of the proposal on the Exchequer position, and also to determine whether the proposal is rigorous enough to stand up to the requirements of a modern corporate tax system. In support of our analysis, the Department of Finance commissioned a study on the budgetary and economic impact of the CCCTB on the European Union, which was published in January 2011. This study, combined with the study on compliance costs commissioned by the Irish Tax Institute, IBEC and the Irish Banking Federation, provides important empirical information supporting Ireland's constructive approach to the CCCTB.

Second, we are engaging in the European Council working party on tax questions as appropriate and when necessary. As the discussions on the CCCTB are thus far only in the early stages of examination, our interventions have focused on posing questions and providing observations to the European Commission. The third element of our approach is to engage with Irish business representatives and our EU partners on the dossier and examine how they consider the CCCTB proposal may affect them. Engagement with our EU partners allows us to build a pan-European picture of the potential impact of the current proposal and areas in which there may be difficulties. This last step will be important in the run-up to and during the Irish Presidency of the European Council from 1 January 2013.

All member state Parliaments are entitled to scrutinise European Union legislation in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. The Standing Order 103 Select Committee examined the CCCTB in May and determined that it was in breach of the principle of subsidiarity. Members will be aware that the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the treaties requires that the Union shall act only if and in so far as the objectives of the proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states but would be better achieved at Union level. The select committee concluded that the EU failed to provide sufficient detail to allow national parliaments to fully assess the impact of the CCCTB; that the Commission had not established that EU legislation was justified as the best way to meet the broader objectives of the proposals and that actions by individual member states alone could suffice; that the plan would introduce a second parallel tax system within each member state, which would not improve the simplicity and efficiency of EU corporate tax systems; and that there was a concern that the proposal might suit larger member states more and did not adequately address the needs of new start-up SMEs.

Nine member states, with a total of 13 votes, voted that the CCCTB breached the principle of subsidiarity. This, however, fell short of the treaty requirement for 18 votes, which would have forced the Commission to re-examine whether the CCCTB was in conformity with the principle of subsidiarity. The Vice President of the European Commission responded to the reasoned opinion of Dáil Éireann on 20 October last, maintaining that the CCCTB proposal deals with combating tax obstacles caused by the disparities among national systems in computing the tax base among associated enterprises and that the best way to tackle those obstacles would be a common framework to regulate the computation of the corporate tax base and cross-border consolidation. It is maintained that these matters may only be dealt with by laying down legislation at Union level, since they are of a primarily cross-border nature, and that individual action by the member states would fail to achieve the intended results. A copy of that response can be made available to all Members by the Ceann Comhairle's office if requested.

The European Council conclusions of 24 and 25 March 2011 created the euro plus pact for stronger economic policy co-ordination for competitiveness and convergence. That pact, which was endorsed by all eurozone members plus Bulgaria, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, includes commitments on tax policy co-ordination. As well as stating that the development of a common corporate tax base could be a revenue-neutral way to ensure consistency among national tax systems, it also acknowledged the publication of the proposal for a CCCTB. Further developments at political level took place in July 2011 when, as part of the overall package of measures agreed by the heads of state of the euro area to ensure its financial stability, we indicated our willingness to participate constructively in the discussions on the CCCTB draft directive and in the structured discussions on tax policy issues within the framework of the euro plus pact. Then, in August, Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy issued a joint letter to President Van Rompuy making specific reference to the CCCTB, with both leaders seeking a commitment from member states to finalise the negotiation on the Commission's CCCTB proposal before the end of 2012.

The Government's scepticism about the CCCTB is well known. Our position is that we are opposed to tax harmonisation and, based on what we know about the CCCTB, are highly sceptical of it, but we are nonetheless willing to engage with the European Commission and other member states on the issue. That engagement will include a detailed examination of all aspects of the proposal, including the issue of subsidiarity. I look forward to a continued engagement with all Members of this House as that process develops in the coming months and years.

Senator Mark Daly

Obviously, I was aware of the recommendation made to the European Union by the Standing Order 103 Select Committee of the Dáil. That we lost the vote there does not bode well for the future of the consolidated corporation tax base we currently enjoy. Frau Merkel and Monsieur Sarkozy are writing common letters because they want this issue to be resolved before 2012. They want to help their own financial situations to the detriment of Ireland. It sounds like we are going down the road of a Europe dominated by two countries, France and Germany. When the Minister meets his Cabinet colleague, he should remind him of the need to build a broad coalition with other countries that have expressed concern about this. I ask the Minister to respond on this issue. Does he agree that although we have won the battle on the corporation tax rate itself, the Germans and the French are proposing to get around the issue, in effect, by formalising the consolidated corporation tax base across Europe? Essentially, Ireland will lose out in such circumstances. Will the Minister comment on that?

Deputy Jimmy Deenihan

We have made our position quite clear. It is obvious from the Minister's reply that we are trying to protect our corporate tax base. It is the main incentive we offer people to set up in Ireland. We cannot compete with countries like India and countries in eastern Europe in terms of pay. If we did not have our corporate tax rate, which is our main advantage, we would not be doing as well with foreign direct investment. We have spelled that out on several occasions as we have reinforced what the previous Government said on the corporate tax rate. We have made where we stand on the rate quite clear to Europe. We are engaging in this process because we have decided — I remember the discussion at Cabinet level — that it is better to be on the inside than on the outside. We are engaging and reinforcing our point.

We have been and are very good Europeans. It is hoped that the position we are taking in the interests of the survival of the euro means that Europe will not punish us in this respect. Europe is well aware of our success in attracting American companies, especially Silicon Valley companies, to Ireland as a result of this incentive. Our engagement in this process does not threaten our tax base in any way. In fact, it allows us to reinforce our position. We need to convince people that if we did not have this advantage, we would be in a much worse position at this time. As we all know, any chance this country has of recovering is through exports. If large companies do not come to Ireland to produce goods for export, we will be at a major disadvantage. I appreciate what the Senator is saying. I am confident in the ability of the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach, who have friends in Europe and an understanding of Europe, to protect the tax advantage we enjoy.

Forbairt Tionsclaíochta

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire faoi theacht isteach. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil sé gnóthach go leor. Baineann an t-ábhar atá á árdú agam le comhlacht, Arramara Teoranta. Ba mhaith liom beagáinín cúlra a thabhairt ar an gcomhlacht. Is comhlacht feamainne é Arramara Teoranta. Bunaíodh é mar chomhlacht Stáit thart ar 50 bliain ó shin. Tá sé ag feidhmiú thiar i gConamara. Tá lucht feamainne ag saothrú go maith sa chomhlacht — ag baint feamainne ar fud an chósta, mar shampla — le 50 bliain. Bhí an comhlacht faoi úinéireacht Stáit roimhe seo. Tá sé faoi úinéireacht Údarás na Gaeltachta le cúpla bliain anuas. Is beag forbairt atá déanta ar an gcomhlacht sa thréimhse sin. Tógtar an fheamainn isteach agus déantar é a mheilt agus déantar min de. Go minic, cuirtear an t-amhábhar sin amach as an tír le hábhair a dhéanamh taobh amuigh den tír seo.

Nuair a bhí an comhlacht curtha faoi scáth Údarás na Gaeltachta, bhí deis an-mhaith ann forbairt a dhéanamh ar Arramara Teoranta, breis fostaíochta a chruthú, táirgeacht breise a dhéanamh agus táirgí nua ar nós plastics agus cosmetics a dhéanamh bunaithe ar an amhábhar, ach níor rinneadh aon dul chun cinn ar sin, chun an fhírinne a rá. Tá go leor imní i measc an phobail i láthair na huaire. Tá plé á dhéanamh ar thodhchaí an chomhlachta — céard atá in ann dó, srl. — sna meáin. Tá daoine buartha nach bhfuil airgead ag Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil an bhuiséad caipitil atá ag an údarás gearrtha siar go dona — ó €26 milliún go dtí €5 mhilliún — le sé bliana anuas. Dá bhrí sin, níl mórán airgid ag an údarás le infheistiú i gcomhlacht cosúil leis seo. Deirtear linn go bhfuil comhráití ar siúl le infheisteoirí a mhealladh chun Arramara Teoranta a fhorbairt. Ba mhaith le lucht bainte na feamainne soiléiriú a fháil ar thodhchaí an chomhlachta. Céard atá i gceist ag an Rialtas a dhéanamh?

An imní atá ann ná go dtiocfaidh comhlacht mór ó Cheanada, an Fhrainc, an Iodáil nó tír éigin eile isteach agus go dtógfaidh siad an fheamainn amach as an tír, agus nach bhfaighfidh muintir na háite brabach ar bith as an bhfeamainn. Breathnaítear ar an bhfeamainn mar cheann de na hacmhainní nádúrtha is luachmhaire atá againn. Tá saineolaí ag rá go bhfuil an fheamainn atá againn in Éirinn níos luachmhaire i láthair na huaire ná an fheamainn in aon áit eile ar domhain. Tá an tSeapáin imithe as an margadh mar gheall ar an ngéarchéim núicléach sa tír sin agus tá truailliú in áiteanna eile. Tá an fheamainn atá againn ar nós ór ar na cladaigh. Tá an acmhainn tábhachtach seo iontach luachmhar.

San aimsir atá againn faoi láthair, leis an ngéarchéim eacnamaíochta, tá deis iontach againn fostaíocht a fhorbairt in iarthar na tíre, go háirithe i gConamara, Contae an Chláir, Contae Mhaigh Eo agus mar sin de. Is féidir é a dhéanamh suas chomh fada le Tír Chonaill agus síos chomh fada le contae an Aire, Ciarraí. Tá an-deis againn bheith ceannródaíoch anseo, ach caithfimid an infheistíocht cheart a dhéanamh. Má tá múnla nua le cur i bhfeidhm leis an chomhlacht seo a chur chun cinn, an mbeidh sé i gceist dul i gcomhairle leis an lucht bainte feamainne agus an pobal áitiúl le feiceáil an mbeidh siad in ann scaireanna a bheith acu sa chomhlacht seo? An mbeidh siad ábalta bheith rannpháirteach san fhorbairt? An mbeidh deis acu brabach a bhaint as an táirgeacht a dhéanfar sa chomhlacht? Beidh mé thar a bheith buíoch as freagra a chloisteáil.

Deputy Jimmy Deenihan

Cuirim fáilte roimh an rún atá curtha síos ag an Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh. Mar is eol don Seanadóir, tá Arramara Teoranta ag plé le tionscal na feamainne le blianta fada. Bunaíodh an comhlacht i 1947 agus tá feamainn á próiseáil aige i gCill Chiaráin i gConamara ó shin i leith. Bhí an obair chéanna á dhéanamh ar an Mhín Mhór i gContae Dhún na nGall go dtí 2001. Ó 1947 go dtí 2006, ba le Ranna Rialtais éagsúla an tromlach de scairshealbhaíocht an chomhlachta agus ba le húinéirí príobháideacha an fuílleach. Tá Arramara Teoranta faoi lán-úinéireacht Údarás na Gaeltachta ó Dheireadh Fómhair 2006, nuair a díoladh scairshealbhaíocht an Stáit sa chomhlacht leis an údarás. Ba é an bunús a bhí leis an gcinneadh seo ná go raibh freagracht ar an údarás maidir le forbairt eacnamaíoch sa Ghaeltacht; gur luigh gnó feamainne Arramara Teoranta go maith le fócas an údaráis ar fhorbairt acmhainní nádúrtha na Gaeltachta i gcoitinne; agus go raibh saineolas agus taithí ag an údarás a bheith ag plé le comhlachtaí trádála sa Ghaeltacht le blianta fada.

Ó tharla an comhlacht a bheith faoi lán-úinéireacht Údarás na Gaeltachta, ní mór dom a shoiléiriú nach bhfuil aon ról ag an Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta agus Gaeltachta i mbainistiú an chomhlachta. Aithním gur foinse tábhachtach fostaíochta é gnó na feamainne agus go bhfuil fostaíocht fhiúntach curtha ar fáil sa Ghaeltacht ag Arramara Teoranta thar na blianta. I láthair na huaire, tuigim go bhfuil 250 bainteoirí feamainne ag soláthar feamainne d'Arramara Teoranta. Anuas ar sin, tá 17 duine fostaithe sa mhonarcha agus tá cúigear eile, an bainisteoir ginearálta san áireamh, fostaithe san oifig. Tá feidhmeannach eile fostaithe le gairid chun díriú go hiomlán ar mhargaíocht agus díolacháin. Tá an-dul chun cinn á dhéanamh maidir leis an ghné seo. Tá margaí nua á bhforbairt i dtíortha éagsúla ar fud an domhain mhóir.

Ar ndóigh is acmhainn luachmhar é gnó na feamainne agus tairgeann Arramara Teo. feamainn thriomaithe don earnáil thalmhaíochta, don earnáil chosmaidí, don earnáil mhuirshaothraithe agus don earnáil ghairneoireachta. Díoltar é faoina bhranda féin Titan agus faoi bhrandaí a gcuid custaiméirí. Tá an comhlacht ag trádáil go brabúsach le roinnt blianta anuas agus tá forbairt agus athchóiriú suntasach déanta sa mhonarcha ó thóg an t-údarás úinéireacht iomlán ar an gcomhlacht.

Tuigtear dom ón údarás freisin go bhfuil an comhlacht ag breithniú speiceas eile d'fheamainn mar bhunábhar agus go bhfuil tuilleadh forbartha le déanamh air sin chun margaí nua a aimsiú. Chuige sin, tá roinnt oibre á dhéanamh faoi láthair i gcomhar le hinstitiúidí tríú leibhéal, lena n-áirítear Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh agus Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Thrá Lí.

Tá fiosrúcháin déanta ag oifigigh mo Roinne leis an údarás maidir leis na ceisteanna a d'ardaigh an Seanadóir i ndáil le hArramara Teo. agus tuigtear dom gur léir don údarás go bhfuil saineolas, scil, taighde, acmhainní agus infheistíocht ag teastáil chun Arramara Teo. a fhorbairt a thuilleadh agus chun todhchaí an chomhlachta i gConamara a chinntiú. Mar gheall air sin, chinn an t-údarás páirtnéir straitéiseach a lorg d'Arramara Teo. a mbeadh sé d'acmhainn aige na riachtanais sin a sholáthar. Ceapadh na comhairieoirí airgeadais Farrell Grant Sparks, FGS, le bainistiú a dhéanamh ar an phróiseas seo i gcomhar leis an údarás. Tá an próiseas fós ar siúl agus tá spéis léirithe ag comhlachtaí Éireannacha agus idirnáisiúnta ann.

Tá sé mar bhunriachtanas den phróiseas go mbeidh saineolas, acmhainní gnó agus cumas infheistíochta ag aon pháirtí a roghnófar ionas go mbeidh na gnéithe sin mar bhunchloch forbartha d'Arramara Teo. Treiseoidh an cur chuige seo cumas an chomhlachta táirgí breisluacha a fhorbairt a thacóidh le hinmharthanacht an chomhlachta agus na hearnála próiseála feamainne i gConamara agus sa tír i gcoitinne.

Tuigtear ón údarás go bhfuiltear ag súil le moladh faoin gcás a chur faoi bhráid bhord an údaráis go luath agus nach mbeadh sé cuí aon eolas faoi na páirtiíhe atá ag plé leis an bpróiseas a thabhairt ag an bpointe seo. Tá sé curtha in iúl ag an údarás go bhfuil an eagraíocht féin ag breathnú ar na féidearthachtaí infheistíocht chaipitil a dhéanamh in Arramara Teo. mar chuid den phróiseas seo. Tá curtha in iúl ag an údarás freisin nach raibh aon phlé le lucht bainte feamainne maidir leis an bpróiseas go nuige seo ach go roinnfear gach eolas leis na páirtithe leasmhara ar fad in am cuí.

Mar fhocal scoir, táim thar a bheith dóchasach go rachaidh an próiseas seo atá idir lámha ag Údarás na Gaeltachía chun leasa an chomhlachta Arrramara Teo., a chuid fostaithe, lucht bainte feamainne agus na hearnála i gcoitinne. Aithníonn an t-údarás an poitéinseal fáis agus forbartha atá ag an earnáil seo agus is chuige sin atáthar ag lorg páirtnéara a bheidh in ann breis luacha a chur le táirgí Arramara Teo. agus bonn láidir a chur faoin bhfostaíocht a ghineann an comhlacht.

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh

Go raibh míle maith ag an Aire as ucht freagra iomlán i nGaeilge a thabhairt. Is maith uaidh é. Cuirim fáilte roimh an méid atá ráite ach bheadh sé tábhachtach — agus b'fhéidir go gcuirfeadh an tAire é seo in iúl don Aire Stáit a bhfuil cúram na Gaeltachta air — go mbeadh plé le lucht bainte feamainne. Tá sé ar nós a bheith ag díol chomharchumainn déiríochta atá ag plé le bainne agus gan dul ag caint leis na feirmeoirí. Is páirtithe leasmhara iontach tábhachtacha lucht bainte feamainne agus pobal na háite sa chomhlacht seo. Chomh maith leis sin, tá sé iontach tábhachtach go mbeadh caipiteal ar fáil do Údarás na Gaeltachta má tá an t-údarás ag iarraidh infheistiú a dhéanamh sa chomhlacht. Tá sé tábhachtach go mbeadh an t-airgead sin curtha ar fáil dó.

Bheinn fíor-bhuíoch don Aire dá bhféadfadh sé é sin a chur ina luí ar an Aire Stáit agus dá gcuirfeadh a Roinn an caipiteal atá ag teastáil ar fáil don údarás, más féidir.

Deputy Jimmy Deenihan

I thank Senator Ó Clochartaigh for bringing this matter before the House. Aramara Teo. is under the full ownership of Údarás na Gaeltachta and I am not directly responsible for it. This is a matter for the údarás.

I am, certainly, aware of what is happening and I hope the údarás will find the best possible partner for the company. I understand there is considerable interest in the company. The seaweed industry has taken on a major significance. There is much interest in it, especially from a scientific point of view, with developments in companies in Canada and elsewhere throughout the world. There is a great opportunity here for a strategic partnership to ensure that the jobs are preserved and continue and that the company has a future. Seaweed and its derivatives are becoming very popular. Major scientific interest is developing in them, with considerable success.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I will bring it to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley, who is not here this evening. He is in Donegal. I will also bring the Senator's concerns to the attention of Údarás na Gaeltachta.

Departmental Grants

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill

This matter relates to delayed payments to farmers at this time of year. This issue also arose in previous years. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has issued a charter and established a target of paying all farmers by late September of most years.

Farmers face a particular difficulty this year because of the increased cost of raw materials, such as fertiliser and feed. The cost of re-stocking has increased because cattle and sheep prices are high, land prices have risen and even the cost of removing dead animals has increased. These costs generally accumulate at the back end of the year in September, October and November.

Unfortunately, a large proportion of farmers did not receive their payments this year. The delays in paying the single farm payment and disadvantaged area payment relate to mapping irregularities within the Department, where maps provided by farmers did not correspond to the aerial photographs taken by the Department. The disadvantaged area payments were also delayed because of the issue of the stocking densities.

While I accept that cross-checks must be done and compliances met, I believe the system that was in place a number of years ago was fairer. At that time, the farmer was paid for the actual land within the compliance of the map and if, for example, 5% of the land was not in compliance that percentage of the payment was retained until the matter was resolved. Delaying a payment for a month or two puts a farmer under huge financial pressure.

A possible solution might be to pay farmers who have no compliance issue at the end of September and that all other farmers, even where there is a discrepancy in their maps or photographs, would receive at least 75% of the payment owed to them. This system should be adopted. I appreciate that the officials in the Minister of State's Department are under pressure, especially at the back-end time of year when payments are due. However, if that system were adopted it might ease some of the pressure on farmers who are struggling at this time of year. I understand many of the payments have issued since.

Let us consider the disadvantaged areas scheme. I understand more than 100,000 applications were made and, of these, approximately 78,000 were paid out by the middle of October, but some 23,000 were delayed and this has caused a financial burden on farmers. We are entering a time of year when farm organisations and farmers will be in talks with the Minister of State. They were at the Joint Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture today to discuss several important schemes and to outline the importance of farming, the Department's objectives and the Government's objectives under the Food Harvest 2020 Milestones for Success report, as part of which we are trying to increase our exports of dairy and beef product by 42% by 2020 over and above the average from 2007 to 2009. We all support and fully subscribe to these objectives. However, these targets cannot be obtained if we do not support agriculture in the forthcoming budget.

There will be unilateral discussions between Departments at Cabinet level and at Minister of State level in terms of which schemes are retained and which are to be considered for reduction. However, if a stimulus is to be provided to the economy in any shape or form, it must be delivered through agriculture. Let us consider agriculture and the Irish food industry. They provide approximately 15% of the total employment in the State which amounts to almost 300,000 jobs. Irish farmers spend almost €8 billion per year on agriculture inputs and living expenses. The majority of this is expended locally. When a farmer gets a cheque in the post, he or she spends it on upgrading his or her yard or on new stock. He or she reinvests the money in order that the money is being reinvested in the economy. Figures from a recent UCD report commissioned by the IFA show that every €100 of agricultural output creates and additional €73 for the economy. Effectively, every €100 spent creates €173 of expenditure in the local economy. This should be borne in mind although it was not outlined in my question, which was more to do with getting the payments issued. I hope the Minister of State will be able to outline the level of payments made, when farmers who have not yet received their payments can expect to get them and whether, in the case of farmers who may not have received their payments but who may have small discrepancies, at least some of the payments could be front-loaded.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Shane McEntee)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am here to reply on behalf of the Minister. On a personal note, I was up in the Senator's beloved Donegal on this day last week and I was shocked at the amount of potatoes that had to be dug. On my way home I saw a combine machine in a field. I saw such a situation in 1985 but I thought I would never see it again. I realise the corn is probably lost but I hope the potatoes will not be lost. I was there with Deputy McHugh and I recognise the hardships of those involved. I will take on board everything the Senator had said and I hope to provide an up-to-date position.

There are no delays in payments to farmers under either the single farm payment, SFP, scheme or the disadvantaged areas scheme, DAS. In the case of the SFP, the earliest payment date under the governing European Union rules is 1 December, while in respect of DAS there is no regulatory payment date. However, it is generally recognised and acknowledged in the farmers' charter that a payment target of late September in the year in question is the most realistic.

In the case of the single farm payment it should be remembered that while the earliest payment date provided for under EU rules is 1 December, I am particularly conscious of the significance to the wider rural economy of the single payment. Earlier this year I successfully sought the approval of the Commissioner to have advance payments made as and from 17 October. This is the earliest possible legal date for making payments since it is the start of the new EU financial year. The issuing of these advance payments commenced on target and, to date, payments worth in excess of €537 million have issued to 108,000 farmers. Payments continue to issue, on a twice-weekly basis. Furthermore, arrangements are well advanced to allow the balancing payment to start issuing as and from 1 December. All in all, I am satisfied that expenditure under the 2011 SFP will reach €1.2 billion by 31 December. This will represent a strong performance by the Department in this area and it compares well with that of other member states.

With regard to the disadvantaged areas scheme, Senators will be aware that payments commenced on target on 22 September and payments issued to those farmers whose applications had been confirmed as eligible for payment at that time. I confirm that my Department has continued to pay individuals in the interim as their cases have become clear, with payment runs taking place twice each week. This is normal practice and will continue on an ongoing basis as necessary. While I am pleased to note that payments worth in excess of €195 million have issued to date, representing of 89% of applicants, I remain confident that the full budget for the scheme will be exhausted by the end of the year.

Suggestions have been made that the necessity to re-digitise farmers' maps is leading to unnecessary and inordinate delays, resulting in payments being made later than would otherwise be the case. While I assure the House and the wider farming community that I am committed to allocating such resources as are necessary to ensure the essential digitisation of applicants' maps onto the Department's land parcel identification system, LPIS, I emphasise that any failings or shortcomings in the LPIS would leave the Department open to the risk of significant fines or disallowances from the European Union. I am not prepared to take such a risk nor will I compromise the value of direct payments to Irish farmers. Furthermore, sight should not be lost of the fact that the changes recorded on the LPIS in significant numbers throughout last year and again this year are necessary given the need to have all ineligible areas mapped. Simply put, the position of any given farm must be reflected accurately on the LPIS. To this end, therefore, these changes are long since overdue in the majority of cases.

As ever, the generally excellent working relationship between my Department and the farming community greatly assists in the processing of these schemes. Where in-house checks reveal anomalies in applicants' applications, the necessary correspondence issues immediately. By replying to all such correspondence as quickly as possible, farmers ensure the rapid resolution of issues, thereby allowing their payments to be made. However, in the specific case of DAS payments issues arise each year in respect of the required minimum stocking density of applicants' holdings and usually this affects in the region of 10,000 farmers. These are cases in which my Department cannot confirm adherence to this requirement through the established computer-based animal systems and, therefore, the individuals concerned are required to submit the necessary hard-copy evidence. Obviously, farmers can only do so when they are satisfied that they have met this requirement for the requisite period of three consecutive months. Therefore, there are DAS applicants who are not yet paid, not having yet satisfied this requirement, who will ultimately be paid.

I fully appreciate the value and importance of these schemes to Irish farmers and I remain committed to ensuring that the maximum numbers will be paid at the earliest possible date. Naturally, I am mindful of the over-riding necessity to ensure compliance with the governing EU requirements. Ireland continues to be among the first of the countries throughout the EU to be in a position to make such payments and we should not lose sight of this fact.

Substantial payments are also taking place under the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, and the agri-environment options scheme, AEOS. Under REPS 4, of the 30,359 participants more than 29,000 have been paid in full in respect of 2010 and are up to date with payments. Approximately 1,000 cases in which penalties were incurred have yet to receive the 25% second instalment payment in respect of 2010 and these payments will issue in the coming weeks. Queries in approximately 500 other cases are being resolved on an ongoing basis in consultation with the farmers concerned. Arrangements are well advanced to issue payments in respect of 2011 and these payments are expected to commence later this month or in early December once all the necessary checks have been completed. In the event of any queries arising from these checks, my Department will be in direct contact with the person named.

In the case of AEOS I, a total of 8,773 applicants were admitted in 2010. The scheme is more complex and difficult to administer than REPS and it took some time to put effective processing systems in place. Following the completion of the necessary administration checks and withdrawals by approved applicants, the valid number of applications was reduced to 8,445.

To date a total of 4,605 applications have been fully processed. Some 75% of the 2010 entitlement under AEOS I, amounting to €3,095,086.88, has now issued and I expect payments in respect of the remaining 25% will commence shortly. All outstanding cases are being processed and applicants have been informed where outstanding queries have arisen.

Payment in respect of year two will commence in early December. About 6,000 participants in the scheme have committed to undertake capital investments as part of their agri-environment options. The majority of participants recently submitted their capital investment receipts and officials in my Department are processing these claims which are required as evidence of completion of the work before payment can take place. Where farmers have not yet submitted these claim forms they should do so immediately.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.05 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 9 November 2011.

Seanad Éireann debate - Tuesday, 8 Nov 2011