Written Answers Nos. 179-185
179. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 202 of 29 November 2012, the progress made to date in the determination of visa applications in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3665/13]
View answerI am informed that my officials in the Visa Office in Abuja are in contact with the visa applicants to request further documentation. As soon as the requested documents are received a decision will issue without delay.
Queries in relation to general immigration matters may be made directly to INIS by e-mail using the Oireachtas Mail facility which has been specifically established for this purpose. This service enables up to date information on such cases to be obtained without the need to seek information by way of the Parliamentary Questions process. The Deputy may consider using the e-mail service except in cases where the response from INIS is, in the Deputy's view, inadequate or too long awaited.
180. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Defence if he or his officials met any representatives of the tobacco industry in the last six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3617/13]
View answerNeither I nor officials from my Department have met any representatives of the tobacco industry in the last six months.
181. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Defence the position regarding training to assist in returning to the civilian workforce in respect of a person (details supplied). [3689/13]
View answerIt was not possible to provide the information sought by the Deputy in the time available. My Department is currently seeking to compile an accurate reply and I will provide the information directly to the Deputy once it comes to hand.
182. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rules in relation to split holdings under the disadvantage area based scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3490/13]
View answerThe factors taken into account when examining whether an applicant under the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme is operating a separate holding and, therefore, entitled to aid if all other Scheme criteria are met, include the following: separate herd numbers; herds maintained separately; herds handled separately in separate handling facilities; separate Area Aid declarations; separate Agri-Environment Scheme applications, where applicable; stock-proofed boundaries; independent access to holdings; separate farm accounts/financial records/other documentary evidence; ration and silage stored and fed in separate farm yard facilities; or any other relevant issue.
In addition, changes to the Terms and Conditions of the 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme included the introduction of a Differential Rate of Aid. This applies where an applicant’s main holding/residence is situated in a non-DAS area and where some of that applicant’s declared land is non-disadvantaged land and results in a digressive rate of aid payable on the ratio of non-disadvantaged/disadvantaged lands farmed. In addition, a restriction was introduced in relation to the distance from the main holding; where the applicant’s main holding/residence is situated in a non-DAS area, land situated more than 80 kilometres from an applicant’s main holding is not eligible under the 2012 Scheme.
183. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rules in relation to split holdings under the REP scheme and agri environment option schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3491/13]
View answerUnder the Terms and Conditions of both REPS and AEOS farm units cannot be artificially created by dividing or enlarging existing holdings with a view to obtaining a financial advantage. No payment shall be made in favour of beneficiaries for whom it is established by the Department that they artificially created the conditions required for obtaining such payments.
184. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive their REP scheme 4 payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3500/13]
View answerThe person mentioned commenced REPS 4 in January 2008 and received payments for the first four years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 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. These checks are being finalised in the case of the person named with a view to making payments as soon as possible.
185. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason payment did not issue to a person (details supplied) in County Galway in relation to the beef technology scheme; if the delay related to BVD samples as the person's views are that it was compulsory in the second year but not in the first to submit such samples; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3603/13]
View answerThe Beef Technology Adoption Programme (BTAP) was introduced in 2012 to improve the technical and financial performance of producers. Its objective is to improve the productivity and profitability of participants’ beef enterprises by focusing on five areas: financial management, grassland management, herd health, animal breeding/welfare and producing animals to market specifications. Under the BTAP, participants engage in peer-to-peer learning by joining discussion groups which are facilitated by professional agricultural advisors drawn from Teagasc and the private sector.
Payments to producers in 2012, which were limited to a maximum of €1,000 per participant and subject to EU state aid rules, were contingent on compliance with Programme requirements, i.e. attendance at a prescribed number of discussion group meetings or approved national events plus completion of two technology adoption tasks from a menu of eight designed to enhance on-farm efficiency. The broad range of available task options allowed participants to choose those best suited to the business needs and particular characteristics of their beef enterprises.
I understand that the individual concerned did not obtain a payment because he failed to satisfactorily complete one of two selected tasks which related to the completion of a herd health plan in consultation with a veterinary surgeon. Participants who chose that task were required to join the voluntary Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme, a condition of which was that herd owners had to submit tissue samples from all calves born on their holdings in 2012 to one of a number of designated laboratories. Task completion was verified by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) which maintains a database of laboratory results on behalf of Animal Health Ireland.
The rationale for this approach is that the BTAP thus recognised and rewarded producers who tested their herds during the initial voluntary phase of a national programme to eradicate a highly contagious and costly cattle disease. Information received from ICBF indicated that the herd owner in question did not sample any animals born in 2012. Given that it is now mandatory for herd owners to take a tissue tag sample from all calves born after 1 January 2013, a producer should not entertain a legitimate expectation of receiving a BTAP payment for complying with a statutory requirement.
It is the responsibility of participants and their facilitators to familiarise themselves with the Programme Terms and Conditions and with the consequences for breaches of the rules. In applying for the BTAP, farmers undertook to comply with the Terms and Conditions of the Programme and accepted that failure to abide by the rules could result in a loss of payment. It was determined following appeal that the individual concerned failed to fully comply with the BTAP Terms and Conditions and, accordingly, no Programme payment was possible in this case. However, subject to satisfying eligibility criteria, the producer concerned is free to participate in year two of the Programme, the opening of which I announced last week.
