Written Answers Nos. 482-489
482. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans for the maximisation of benefit for the dairy sector in the aftermath of the abolition of quotas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14598/13]
View answerAgainst the background of the abolition of milk quotas on the 1 of April 2015, my Department has been providing a range of supports to assist the dairy sector in its efforts to fully exploit its potential for expansion and development. It is clear that in the context of a quota free production environment, Ireland’s natural advantages in terms of climate and grassland provide a tremendous opportunity for the dairy sector, particularly in light of expanding global population and demand for dairy products.
It is against this background that the industry has set an ambitious but achievable 50% target for expansion in output in the Food Harvest 2020 Report. Meeting this target will require positive and pro-active action to improve efficiencies at farm level, to increase processing capacity, and to improve breed quality and animal health.
My Department has provided a range of critical supports through measures such as the New Entrants to Dairying Scheme, which helps to revitalise the sector through the provision of milk quota to dynamic young educated farmers, through the Dairy Efficiency Programme, which encourages the adoption of best practice management and production methods on farm, through the provision of financial support for ICBF and Animal Health Ireland to improve breed quality and animal health. My Department has also made up to €40m available through its Rural Development Programme for investment on farm, as well as €80m in capital investment support for the processing sector through the Dairy Investment Fund
Teagasc and Bord Bia are also playing their part in ensuring a continued focus on commercially relevant R&D and marketing activities, and these aspects are being advanced in collaboration with the sector, with critical financial support from my Department.
Against this background, I believe that the opportunities for the dairy sector will expand significantly over the coming years and I can assure the Deputy that my Department and its agencies will continue to play their part in providing an appropriate framework to support the development of this critically important industry.
483. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he is satisfied in respect of the future prospects for the cereal growing sector over the next ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14599/13]
View answerThe maintenance of an efficient and viable cereals sector in Ireland is clearly very important to the well being of the agri-food 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.
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. The cereals harvest for 2012 is estimated at 2.05 million tonnes which is lower than the record harvest of 2011 due to the persistent adverse weather during the growing season. Prices however continue to remain high due to production shortfalls in the USA and Russia.
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, research funding through the ‘Stimulus’ programme, funding for grain drying/storage and funding for the quality assurance scheme 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.
Food Harvest 2020 outlined a number of challenges facing the cereal sector in the coming years including price volatility, climatic and disease issues, high input prices, small and fragmented holdings and the cost of rented land. However, the report also pointed to positive projections for cereal prices as markets are relatively well-balanced and world cereal prices are projected to be higher than in the last decade. It is known that global grain production is struggling to meet the increasing demand for food, feed and industrial uses. In addition to a rising global population creating a bigger demand for cereals, an increasing demand for meat is disproportionately increasing grain demand even further. It is predicted that global demand for cereals will reach 3 billion tonnes by 2025 compared with 2.3 billion tonnes currently.
Global grain stocks are known to be reducing over time and this should also lead to improved market prospects for Irish cereals. With the world population projected to grow to 9 billion by 2050, it is vital that the agriculture sector, including the Irish cereal sector, can meet the increased demand for food, not just in the next ten years, but through to 2050. Signalling an intention to migrate away from the use of food in the production of biofuels, in October last, the European Commission published a proposal that seeks to introduce a 5% ceiling on the use of biofuels derived from sugar, cereals and rapeseed as part of the count towards the EU’s 10% target for renewable energy in the transport sector by 2020. The proposal seeks to encourage future investment in advanced biofuels such as municipal waste and agricultural residues that do not compete directly with food and feed crops.
Food Harvest 2020 highlighted the importance of optimising yields, tackling high costs and targeting higher priced domestic markets in order to reverse declining production trends and made a number of recommendations on competitiveness, branding and marketing. Some progress has been made on these recommendations and in recent months the Tillage Stakeholder Group presented their development plan to the Food Harvest High Level Implementation Committee (HLIC). This plan identified opportunities and was devised to stimulate concerted action by the sector so as to exploit to the maximum the potential identified by the stakeholders. The HLIC welcomed this report and noted that many of the issues required a strong cross-industry approach if they are to be progressed. They advised that industry should start this process and the group should revert back to the HLIC at a later date on the progress achieved.
The primary growth in requirement for Irish cereals in the years ahead is likely to be for animal feed given the targets for increased livestock output proposed in Food Harvest 2020. However, considerable potential also exists in grains for the drink industry such as malting barley and recent significant investments by the large brewing and distilling companies here in Ireland are proof of such potential. Further, it is envisaged that there will be increased demand for Irish oats milled for human food for the home and export markets and in this context, the success of the Agribusiness sector in securing, long-term contracts with US-based Foods companies to supply milled Irish oats to a premium Irish oatmeal brand in the US market, is particularly welcome. Production of oats is also declining globally and therefore it is envisaged new export markets will continue to come on stream for Irish oats.
In conclusion, I am confident that demand will be sustained for a strategic supply of native cereals as raw material for our brewing, distilling, flour and oat milling industry and for the expanded livestock and dairy production foreseen in the Food Harvest 2020 report.
484. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he continues to monitor the costs affecting the pig and poultry sectors arising from animal welfare regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14600/13]
View answerMy Department has worked closely with both the pig and poultry sectors as they have adapted to the introduction of new animal welfare requirements in 2012 and in 2013. Significant supports, in the form of Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Schemes (TAMS), for egg producers and pig farmers were put in place and a total of €32 million to these sectors was made available under the Rural Development Programme.
In the case of egg producers the conversion of production systems to ‘enriched cages’ came into operation on 1 January 2012. From this date eggs from ‘unenriched’ caged production systems were not allowed to be placed on the market. Following the operation of an aid package amounting to €16 million to assist producers to convert, the size of the caged egg flock remained stable, at approximately 1.25 million birds due to new entrants and consolidation amongst existing producers.
The Loose Sow Housing Directive came into operation in January of this year. These new standards in relation to the housing of sows have presented a challenge to pig farmers and officials from my Department continue to liaise with producers as a small number continue to work towards compliance.
The Sow Housing Welfare Scheme was introduced in 2010 to facilitate pig producer compliance with the new requirements. The scheme has been enhanced and extended on a number of occasions. While the majority of producers have worked extremely hard to achieve compliance, my Department became aware that a small number of producers had experienced difficulties with planning permission and, with this in mind I recently announced a further extension in the deadline for grant applications until 2 April 2013.
I have provided a total of €16 million for this scheme. I should add that this funding is in addition to earlier Sow Welfare Schemes which delivered over €6 million to successful applicants.
Officials from my Department will continue to engage with pig producers to ensure compliance with this and all animal welfare requirements.
485. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent, if any, to which inflation has been detected in the beef or other meat sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14601/13]
View answerI assume the Deputy is referring to the price of meat products (beef, pigs and lamb) which my department reports on a regular basis to the EU Commission.
The following table shows the average market prices for beef, pigs & lamb for the first ten weeks of 2013, together with the corresponding prices for 2012:
|
Prices exclude VAT |
2013 |
2012 |
|
Beef (R3 Steers) |
€4.01 / Kg |
€3.88 / Kg |
|
Pigs |
€1.69 / Kg |
€1.46 / Kg |
|
Lamb |
€4.18 / Kg |
€4.91 / Kg |
The reduction in sheep prices can be attributed to lower consumer spending in key export markets and also to an increase in imports into the EU from New Zealand. There are some signs of a recovery in sheep prices in recent weeks.
I am encouraged with the very good prices which farmers are currently receiving, especially in the beef sector, where the base price for steers was up to €4.15 per Kg (excluding VAT) in week 10. However, average price increases in 2013 over 2012 in the beef and pig sectors have to be taken in conjunction with the increase in the cost of feed and adverse weather conditions which have affected farmer’s margins in the past year.
As my Department does not monitor prices at retail level and these are a result of market forces, I am not in a position to comment on inflation in this regard.
486. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which his Department continues to be in touch with the various planning authorities with a view to facilitating early processing of planning applications associated with animal welfare requirements and without the imposition of punitive levies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14602/13]
View answerThe Loose Sow Housing Directive came into force on 1 January 2013. In order to comply with the requirements of this Directive many pig farmers had to convert existing pig units or construct new builds.
In this context my Department made contact with Local Authorities during 2012 with a view to ascertaining the number of planning permission applications received from pig farmers in respect of such work. This contact was solely from a scheme monitoring standpoint given that my Department had introduced a Sow Housing Welfare Scheme in order to facilitate pig producer compliance.
The Deputy will be aware that planning matters are the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
487. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he in conjunction with his EU colleagues, expects to be in a position to introduce a reliable labelling and traceability system in respect of all meat products and ingredients regardless of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14586/13]
View answer489. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which a means can be found to ensure that where a combination of meat or meat products exists in a particular form, clear indication of the content is provided on the label in a traceable form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14588/13]
View answer493. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps that are being taken to provide reliable traceability in the equine sector with particular reference to its impact on the food industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14592/13]
View answer494. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which in conjunction with his EU colleagues, it has been found possible to strictly enforce rigid traceability in the beef, lamb, pig meat, poultry and equine sectors with particular reference to the need to achieve absolute reliability on quality, traceability, husbandry and processing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14593/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 487, 489, 493 and 494 together.
As the Deputy will be aware the Minister for Health has overall responsibility for the general food labelling legislation and the new EU food information regulations that were adopted by the Council of Health Ministers in December 2011. However my Department plays an important role in the labelling of food together with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
In my capacity as Chairman of the EU Agricultural Council I have, together with my ministerial colleagues and the EU Commission, given a high priority to food labelling issues. Consumers should rightly expect not to be misled by inaccurate labelling and must have confidence in knowing what they are eating. Ireland will continue to give leadership in this area and will work with our EU partners to strengthen consumer assurance measures, including more accurate labelling requirements as set out in the Food Information for the Consumer (FIC) Regulation (1169/2011/EC).
This legislation extended explicit compulsory origin labelling requirements to meats other than beef, with the detailed rules to be adopted in implementing acts by 13 December 2013, following an impact assessment by the Commission.
General Food Labelling Rules
Food labelling used to inform consumers of the properties of pre-packaged food is governed by EU rules. The most important labelling rule is that the consumer should not be misled.
The FIC regulation also adopts rules on compulsory labelling where the origin or place of provenance of a food is given and where it is not the same as its primary ingredient. Insofar as meat as an ingredient is concerned, these rules are subject to the adoption of implementing acts, which must take account of an impact assessment to be carried out by the Commission. As a result of the recent incidents of horsemeat being discovered in beef burgers and other beef products the Commission have now agreed to bring forward their work on this aspect of the regulation to September this year.
Beef Labelling Rules
In general, all fresh, frozen or minced beef marketed in the EU (with the exception of offal) is subject to a mandatory system of origin traceability and origin labelling. The purpose of these rules is to ensure that beef on sale can be traced back to the animal or group of animals from which it came.
There are two elements to the beef labelling regime which apply to all parts of the supply chain; the compulsory system, which requires food business operators to label their beef products (unless cooked or processed) with certain prescribed information up to and including the point of sale to the consumer; and the voluntary system, which covers any other labelling claim that processors or retailers wish to make concerning the origin, characteristics or production methods of the beef they are supplying. The claims made on product labels, marketing material or point of sale notices must be clear and cannot be misleading.
Formed meat
Also in the FIC regulation (Annex VI) in the case of meat products, meat preparations which may give the impression that they are made of a whole piece of meat, but actually consist of different pieces combined together by other ingredients, including food additives and food enzymes or by other means, shall bear the words “ formed meat” on the label.
Traceability
The identification and registration of cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and equines are also governed by EU Regulations and these Regulations have been transposed into national law.
The Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database is a generic system that records identification and movement data on cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. The AIM system was developed using Internet-based technology and the majority of interactions with the system are electronic transactions. Work is already advanced on the development of a central database for equines on the AIM system. The AIM system is integrated with the Department’s corporate systems to record customer data (CCS) and animal health data (AHCS). The AHCS database holds a record of persons registered as keepers of the different animal species, including equine animals.
The Department is introducing a range of measures to improve traceability systems in the equine sector and is liaising with passport issuing agencies in Ireland in this regard. Protocols to allow abattoir operators to cross check the details of passports with these agencies have been developed, aimed at ensuring that only those horses eligible for slaughter are slaughtered. The Department is also developing a central database of horses which will involve migration of selected data from passport issuing agencies. The database will be populated with information provided from the databases maintained by the agencies, by the Department from records obtained at slaughter plants and knackeries and by local authorities in respect of records maintained at appropriate slaughter plants. The intention is that this database will be used at abattoirs to assist in verifying the authenticity of the passport for the equine presented and to record its date of slaughter.
Pigmeat
Under the National Pig Identification and Tracing System (NPITS) all pig herds are centrally registered, all pigs being moved are identified (by means of tag or slap mark) and accompanied by movement documents, and all movements are recorded on a centrally managed database. Thus the movement of all pigs from farm to factory and to any destination in between is fully traceable.
Poultry
All poultry keepers are required to register with my Department. Poultry operators are subject to a wide range of EU and domestic legislation and are monitored by inspectors from my Department. Given the vertical nature of the poultry meat sector, most birds are reared under contract to processors. The processors supply the day-old birds in the first instance. The subsequent movement of broilers back to the processing facility is strictly controlled. Furthermore, there is an ongoing Department veterinary presence in poultry plants and this, together with inspections at farm level, underpins a strong domestic regime.
488. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he expects to achieve the targets set out in Food Harvest 2020 notwithstanding any changes in the Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14587/13]
View answer490. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he expects the agri-food sector to develop over the next ten years with particular reference to the need to remain competitive on world markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14589/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 488 and 490 together.
I remain fully committed to the growth targets set out in Food Harvest 2020 and I am very confident that these targets will be achieved. The progress achieved to date on the Food Harvest targets justifies my confidence. At end 2012, the value of both primary output and exports are estimated to have increased by 23% and 12% respectively while the value- added element of the sector has increased by 5.6% at end 2010, the latest data available from the CSO. In that context, I anticipate that the Food Harvest growth targets of attaining a 33% increase in the value of primary agriculture and fisheries and over a 40% value increase in exports and value added product by 2020 will be met and even exceeded if global economic conditions remain favourable.
Furthermore, I strongly believe that the significant progress achieved at recent EU negotiations has provided the necessary robust framework to facilitate optimal development and growth in the agri-food sector over the next ten years. The recent outcomes achieved under the Irish Presidency have delivered a Common Agricultural Policy that will strengthen productive farming and will support the goals of competitiveness, sustainability and growth outlined in the Food Harvest 2020 strategy.
The initial steps were taken in February when agreement was achieved on the EU multiannual financial framework (MFF). Subject to the consent of the European Parliament, the seven year EU budget agreed at the EU summit provided clarity on overall EU agriculture funding. It guaranteed funding of over €1.5 billion per year for Ireland from the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) including a direct payment ceiling of over €1.2 billion per year. In addition, approximately €313 million per year in current terms will be available from EU funding for rural development. When taken together, the EU funding to Ireland from direct payments, rural development and market supports will amount to over €11 billion over the seven year period 2014-2020.
This week, negotiations on the reform of the CAP moved to a new level when the package of proposals, tabled by the Irish Presidency, was agreed by the European Agriculture Ministers and so achieved an agreed position to a General Approach on CAP reform. Particular points of interest to Irish farmers were the flexibility achieved in the way in which direct payments can be distributed within Member States (internal convergence), the concession that the greening of direct payments may be a percentage of each farmer’s individual payment rather than a flat rate, and an earlier abolition of the sugar quota regime.
The negotiation process will now move to the final stage of the negotiations, where the Irish Presidency will represent the European Council in discussions with the European Parliament and with the Commission to achieve a final outcome on the reform of the CAP. While the progress achieved to date augers well for achieving the Presidency’s target of an inter- institutional political agreement by end June, there remains a significant task ahead and a very clear and strong focus is required to achieve our final objective of a reform package which underpins the Food Harvest strategy of Smart, Green, Growth.
