Written Answers Nos. 151-159
151. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an invalidity pension appeal will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3384/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 4th September 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 11th December 2012 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
152. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an invalidity pension appeal will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3386/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 13th November 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred in to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
153. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an invalidity pension appeal will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3387/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 16th January 2013, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
157. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if consideration will be given to extending the hedge cutting season as a result of difficulties experienced by landowners and contractors due to bad weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3267/13]
View answer158. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will allow hedge cutting to be extended well into April as the bad weather has hampered farmers efforts to get the hedges cut within the allowed timeframe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3272/13]
View answer160. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding hedge cutting; his plans to address the issue in view of the seriousness of road safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3409/13]
View answer161. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the hedge cutting season will be extended into April in view of the fact that a large amount of hedge cutting on roadsides and in fields could not be carried out due to bad weather; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3503/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 157, 158, 160 and 161 together.
Under Section 40 of the Wildlife Acts, the cutting, grubbing, burning or destruction by other means of vegetation growing on uncultivated land or in hedges or ditches is prohibited during the nesting and breeding season for birds and wildlife, from 1 March to 31 August subject to certain specific exceptions. Hedgerows are an important reservoir of biodiversity and habitat for birds, insects, wild flowers and other wildlife during the summer breeding season. The purpose of these provisions is to protect bird life during the nesting season, to prevent forest fires, and to protect vegetation and wildlife habitats during the months of growth and reproduction. I have no current plans to extend the period for hedge cutting.
While hedgerows and scrub are important as wildlife habitats, they need to be managed in the interests of both farming and biodiversity. Accordingly, I included a commitment in the National Biodiversity Plan 2011-2016 to review the overall policy in this area. The commitment is to review, in co-operation with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, both hedgerow and scrub regulation with a view to producing guidelines to encourage best practice for hedgerow and scrub management for wildlife.
159. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the data available to him regarding the seal population; his views on whether the population is so high that it is having an adverse effect on the fishing industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3286/13]
View answerThere are two species of seals in Irish waters - the Harbour or Common Seal and the more numerous Grey Seal. Both are included in a list of species protected under the EU Habitats Directive. Consequently, Ireland is obliged to monitor and report on their status, including in relation to their population, every six years, with the next such report due in June this year.
In terms of monitoring Harbour Seals, my Department has conducted surveys of the numbers of Harbour Seals occurring at a number of key sites each year since 2009, with data published annually in reports which are available on the website of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of my Department. In addition, my Department has also commissioned two aerial surveys, in 2011 and 2012, to collect data that will contribute to an estimate of the national population of Harbour Seals. This data is currently being analysed and I expect that this analysis to be completed and published in the coming months.
My Department’s monitoring programme for Grey Seals has been undertaken with the valued support of the Irish Air Corps. Each year, aerial surveys are undertaken of key haul-out sites, gathering data that will contribute to an estimate of the national breeding population of Grey Seals. The last of these surveys was completed in November 2012 and all data from the previous years are now being analysed in advance of the forthcoming report to the European Commission.
The data from both the Harbour and Grey Seal monitoring programmes will be comparable with previously-collected data and will inform my Department’s view as to the current status of the respective populations.
In terms of ascertaining the likely effects of seals on the fishing industry, I will be informed not only by the population monitoring undertaken by my Department, but also by investigations into seal-fisheries interactions that have been commissioned by Inland Fisheries Ireland, who, I understand, will publish an interim report shortly and by Bord Iascaigh Mhara, who anticipate reporting later in 2013.
While seals are protected under the Wildlife Acts, licences may be obtained under section 42 of the Wildlife Act to hunt seals where damage is being caused. Licences are issued in response to specific applications and each application is considered on its merits. This redress is available to individual fishermen to control damage to fisheries by seals at particular locations.
