Written Answers Nos. 490-497
491. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of labelling breaches detected throughout the food industry in each of the past three years to date; the action taken thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14590/13]
View answerThe Food Safety Authority of Ireland, under the aegis of the Minister for Health, has overall responsibility for the enforcement of food safety in Ireland. This includes the enforcement of food labelling regulations. It carries out this remit through service contracts with my Department and other agencies including the Health Service Executive, Local Authorities, the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and National Standards Authority of Ireland. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has advised my Department that the number of inspections where non-compliance with labelling legislation was found was 11,231 in 2009, or 16.33% of the total number of inspections carried out in that year; 9,919 in 2010, or 14.04% of the total number of inspections carried out in that year; and 9,499 in 2011, or 15.98% of the total number of inspections carried out in that year. Final confirmed data is not yet available for 2012. The majority of these infringements were minor and remedial action was taken. During the period in question, there were seven prosecutions which included breaches in labelling legislation.
492. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he expects to be in a position to ameliorate the concerns of the farming sector arising from discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14591/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Council of Agriculture Ministers successfully adopted a General Approach on CAP Reform by a strong qualified majority at its meeting in Brussels on 18 and 19 March last.
In my view, what has been adopted by Council on the key outstanding issue from an Irish perspective, relating to the distribution of Direct Payments, represents a very good outcome for Ireland. I am pleased that the Council endorsed the principle of flexibility that I have been seeking and agreed to the inclusion of the Irish model of partial convergence to a flat rate system in the options available for distribution of direct payments within Member States. As I have said many times, my key aim in these negotiations is to ensure a reasonable level of transfers of payments between farmers, compared to the large transfer that would occur under the Commission's flat rate proposal. My proposal reduces this transfer to around €74 million at a minimum with discretion to transfer higher levels if we wished; whereas the Commission proposal would result in the transfer of around €280 million, based on our 2010 payments database. In addition, the Council has agreed that the greening payment may be a percentage of each farmer's individual payment rather than a flat rate payment. I am pleased with the Council’s agreement to my proposals to bring the necessary flexibility to the Commission’s original proposals on greening, so that farmers can practise sustainable agriculture without overly bureaucratic impediments.
The successful completion of the Council’s deliberations in the form of a General Approach means that my target of an inter-institutional political agreement by the end of June remains on schedule. This General Approach will form the basis for the next step in the negotiation process, the so-called "trilogue" stage. As Chair of the Council of Agriculture Ministers, I will represent the Council in discussions with the European Parliament and the Commission to agree the final CAP Reform Package. I am hopeful that all participants across all three institutions will maintain their focus and redouble their efforts so that, together, we can bring the reform negotiations to a conclusion by the end of June.
495. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he is satisfied regarding quality control, production, processing, labelling, traceability and hygiene throughout the fish food industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14594/13]
View answerResponsibility for co-ordinating the enforcement of food legislation in Ireland rests with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and is discharged by Official Agencies which operate under Service Contract to the authority. The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority and the Marine Institute act as Official Agencies under service contract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and enforce the relevant seafood Regulations. A framework for the prevention and control of aquatic diseases in aquaculture facilities is set out in Council Directive 2006/88/EC. This Directive has been transposed into Irish law by SI No. 261 of 2008, as amended. Under this legislation, every Aquaculture Production Business in the country must be authorised by the Marine Institute. To become authorised, the operator must retain mortality records and records of movements of live and dead fish to and from the farm. He must also implement adequate bio-security practices.
Record keeping, bio-security measures and the clinical health of the animals on the site are assessed as part of the inspection regime which is implemented on aquaculture sites by Marine Institute or Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Veterinary Inspectors. Sites are inspected annually or biennially, depending on the risk of disease spread. In addition, all movements of live animals to and from aquaculture sites in Ireland must be pre-approved by the Marine Institute, to ensure traceability and for disease control purposes. Further to the statutory provisions outlined above, all Aquaculture Production Businesses which farm salmonids have signed up to a Code of Practice and are implementing the provisions of the Farmed Salmonid Health Handbook, which outline best practice in relation to the farming of salmon and trout in Ireland. A combination of the statutory requirements under the legislation and the adherence to the Code of Practice and the handbook ensures the animal health and welfare standards adhered to by the Irish Aquaculture industry are among the highest in Europe.
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority carries out its official controls in accordance with the relevant EU and National legislation on an ongoing basis from boat up to but excluding retail level; for example, on fishing vessels, in shellfish production areas and in establishments handling preparing and processing seafood. The Health Service Executive has responsibility for official controls in the retail sector while the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine carries out routine inspections of aquaculture farms. There is ongoing official control monitoring of primary producers - fishing vessels and aquaculture production areas. All seafood establishments are registered by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. In addition, those handling fishery products are approved by the authority. Both registered and approved sea food establishments are inspected at a determined frequency based on a risk assessment. Official control checks carried out by the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority include quality checks of the produce, food safety management system checks, hygiene and structural checks of establishments preparing or processing seafood, labelling and traceability. Official control samples of produce are also taken if necessary to verify the effectiveness of food business operators' food safety management systems.
496. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when full payment for the suckler cow welfare scheme will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15162/13]
View answerThe person named registered 13 animals under the 2012 Suckler Welfare Scheme. Payment issued in respect of five animals on 19 December 2012. The pre-payment validation programme established that were errors associated with the remaining eight animals. My Department has recently issued letters to the person named seeking clarification of these errors. When a response is received from the participant, the matter will be reviewed with a view to completing the processing of the file.
497. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding GM Food production here and the trials being undertaken by Teagasc: if he will provide an update with reference to its introduction to Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15164/13]
View answerThe issue of genetic modification is dealt with by three State agencies in Ireland. In summary:
- Issues relating to GM foods come under the remit of the Minister for Health and Children (DHC) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI);
- GM feeds and the coexistence of authorised GM crops alongside non-GM crops rests with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM); while
- Approval to trial GM crops or authorise new GM crops for deliberate release into the environment rests with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
There is no commercial production or cultivation of GMOs in Ireland.
With regard to the Teagasc GM-potato trial, Teagasc applied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 27 February 2012 for approval to trial a genetically modified potato with enhanced ability to resist late blight. The trial is part of an EU Framework Programme 7 funded research project consisting of 22 partners in 15 EU Member States. The Teagasc application was approved by the Board of the EPA. The main objective of the Teagasc field trial is to assess the impact of cultivation of the blight-resistant potato on the Irish ecosystem.
The Act establishing Teagasc confers on it principal functions in relation to the provision of education, advisory and research services to the agriculture sector. It is a matter for Teagasc to prioritise activities in the delivery of these services and to allocate its resources in accordance with these priorities. Ministerial responsibility is confined to matters of policy in accordance with the Act and I have no function with regard to the day-to-day operations of Teagasc.
