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Wednesday, 7 Nov 2012

Written Answers Nos. 173-179

Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments

Questions (173)

John O'Mahony

Question:

173. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive their disadvantaged area aid and single farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48764/12]

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Written answers

Processing of the application concerned has recently been completed and payments under the single payment scheme and disadvantaged areas scheme will shortly issue to the nominated bank account of the person named.

Single Payment Scheme Payments

Questions (174)

John O'Mahony

Question:

174. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive their single farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48768/12]

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Written answers

Payment under the 2012 single payment scheme issued on 16 October to the nominated bank account of the person named.

Disadvantaged Areas Scheme Payments

Questions (175)

Michael Moynihan

Question:

175. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork is not receiving their disadvantaged area payment in view of the fact that they have breeding mares on their farm. [48769/12]

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Written answers

While the person named applied for derogation under the 2012 disadvantaged areas scheme, the application was unsuccessful. In the derogation application, documentation was submitted in relation to additional horses on the holding in 2011, over and above those previously notified to my Department; however, even when these are taken into account, the stocking density of the holding in 2011 remains below the minimum required of 0.3 livestock units per forage hectare. On this basis, the derogation application was not accepted.

The applicant was notified of this decision in writing and advised of the right of appeal to the recently established independent DAS appeals committee.

Forestry Grants

Questions (176)

Robert Troy

Question:

176. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will examine the current payment being made to a person (details supplied) in respect of a forestry contract. [48773/12]

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Written answers

The applicant planted 11.92 hectares under his afforestation contract in May 2000. The calculation of his premiums is based on this amount and the correct rates are also applied. Therefore, the amount of €5,692.32 that is now being paid to the applicant is correct.

Agrifood Sector Issues

Questions (177)

Arthur Spring

Question:

177. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is a capacity to grow more crops here where a commercial market price can be achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48783/12]

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Written answers

The maintenance of an efficient and viable cereals sector in Ireland is clearly very important to the well being of the agrifood industry. Indigenous production of cereals is of course, an important part of primary agriculture production. In addition to generating an income for our tillage farmers, the cereals sector is a key source of grain for the milling and malting industry and feeding stuffs for the livestock sector. Annual cereals production in Ireland has fluctuated around 2 million tonnes in recent years and it is desirable to try and sustain this level of production in order to avoid over dependence on imported cereals. According to the CSO cereals supply balance sheet, Ireland had 74% self-sufficiency in cereals in 2010/2011. Imports of cereals in that period amounted to 938,000 tonnes, down 14% or 155,000 tonnes on the previous year.

Since Ireland is a deficit market for cereals, prices here are greatly affected by world prices and supplies. In 2010, increased demands for grain from the biofuels sector and the growing needs of new emerging markets like China and India drove up world grain market prices. In line with this rise in world prices, grain prices in Ireland increased and growers here reacted by increasing the acreage sown. This resulted in a bumper harvest in 2011 with total grain production of almost 2.5m tonnes. The preliminary estimate for the 2012 grain harvest is forecast to be lower than the record harvest of 2011 due to the persistent adverse weather during the growing season and will be of the order of 2 million tonnes, despite a significant increase in cereal area planted in 2011.

This is consistent with the long-term average production of 2 million tonnes but 20% lower than the 2011 harvest figure of 2.5 million tonnes, which was exceptionally high.

My Department operates a range of services aimed at improving the efficiency of, quality and viability of cereal production. These services include seed certification, seed testing and recommended list of varieties. In addition, Teagasc provides research, training and advisory services for cereal producers. The value of all these support services is reflected in the fact that Irish cereals producers have consistently achieved some of the highest yields in the world.

Ireland is also a significant importer of field vegetables and potatoes. Most of the Department’s efforts, along with those of the State agencies involved with the horticultural industry, are focussed on increasing production for the domestic market. The opportunity for increasing outdoor horticultural crops production has become more difficult over the past five years. This is due to scale of the industry, our costs of production, competition from major suppliers around the world and the controls exercised by the supermarkets. The very difficult weather conditions over the past five years, including two very severe winters plus the very poor summer weather this year, have further restricted the industry’s capacity to expand production.

Aquaculture Licences Applications

Questions (178)

Tom Fleming

Question:

178. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will expedite the processing of applications for aquaculture licences in Castlemaine harbour, County Kerry; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that these delays are hindering investment in the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48843/12]

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Written answers

Castlemaine Harbour is designated as a special area of conservation under the EU Habitats Directive and a special protection area under the EU Birds Directive (Natura 2000 site).

My Department, in conjunction with the Marine Institute and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has engaged in a major programme to gather the necessary baseline data appropriate to the conservation objectives of aquaculture sites located within designated Natura areas, including Castlemaine Harbour.

The setting of conservation objectives and the carrying out of an appropriate assessment for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the conservation objectives has been completed in respect of Castlemaine. The general licensing implications have been examined by my Department and the public consultation stage of the licensing process is imminent.

Rural Environment Protection Scheme Applications

Questions (179)

Tom Fleming

Question:

179. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will investigate the delay in the processing a REP scheme application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48852/12]

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Written answers

The person named commenced REPS 4 in June 2009 and received payments for the first two years of their contract. In addition, in May 2009 the person named was awarded a contract under the Organic Farming Scheme and commenced participation in this scheme in June 2009.

REPS 4 is a measure under the Rural Development Programme 2007-13 and is subject to EU regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before payments can issue. Following an inspection in 2011 an anomaly was discovered in relation to both Natura and Habitats on lands owned by the person named. Consequently, a letter issued to the person named from my Department on 13 November 2011 requesting clarification of specific matters. As these queries have not been satisfactorily addressed, my Department will now process the REPS payment for 2011 based on the information to hand.

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