Written Answers Nos. 994-1,010
994. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will expedite an agri-environment options scheme 2 payment that is overdue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35273/13]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the 2011 Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 September 2011 and has received full payment totalling €1,319.00 in respect of 2011.
The person named was selected for a ground inspection which took place on 15 November 2012. Non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the scheme was found in relation to the Natura option which resulted in a reduction in payment entitlement. The 2012 payment application has now been processed and payment issued in the amount of €3,885.35. In accordance to the regulations payment issued in two stages, 75% of the amount due issued on 7 June and the balancing 25% issued on 13 June 2013.
995. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide, in tabular form, the amount of capital funding his Department has allocated to the piers in Helvick Head, Ballinacourty and Dungarvan Harbour in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35335/13]
View answerHelvick Pier, Ballinacourty and Dungarvan Harbour are in the ownership of Waterford County Council and responsibility for their repair and upkeep rests with that Local Authority in the first instance.
Under the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme my Department has provided funding for the development and repair of Local Authority owned piers and slipways subject to the availability of Exchequer funding.
In relation to the piers mentioned by the Deputy there has been no capital funding provided by my Department from 2008 to 2012 inclusive. However I am pleased to inform the Deputy that in 2013 funding in the order of €380,000 has been allocated as follows to these piers from my Department’s Programme.
|
Piers |
€ |
|
Ballinacourty |
€112,500 |
|
Helvick Slipway |
€78,750 |
|
Helvick Pier |
€112,500 |
|
Dungarvan Harbour |
€75,000 |
996. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide, in tabular form, the total amount of capital investment his Department has allocated to Dunmore East Harbour, Passage East Harbour and Cheekpoint Harbour for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35336/13]
View answerMy Department administers the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Capital Development Programme on an annual basis. Dunmore East Fishery Harbour Centre is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department and as such it receives funding annually on foot of the Programme. The following table shows the allocation of funding under the programme for 2008 to 2012, inclusive, for Dunmore East.
|
Dunmore East |
Allocated Funding |
|
2008 |
€808,000 |
|
2009 |
€669,000 |
|
2010 |
€951,000 |
|
2011 |
€940,000 |
|
2012 |
€563,500 |
Passage East Harbour and Cheekpoint Harbour are in the ownership of Waterford County Council and responsibility for their repair and upkeep rests with that Local Authority in the first instance.
Under the Fishery Harbour Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme my Department has provided funding for the development and repair of Local Authority owned piers and slipways subject to the availability of exchequer funding. The following table shows the allocation of funding under the programme for 2008 to 2012, inclusive, for Passage East and Cheekpoint Harbour.
|
Year |
Passage East Harbour |
Cheekpoint Harbour |
|
2008 |
N/A – no application |
N/A – no application |
|
2009 |
N/A – no Programme |
N/A – no Programme |
|
2010 |
N/A – no application |
N/A – no application |
|
2011 |
€0 |
€175,773 |
|
2012 |
€52,500 |
N/A – no application |
997. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount of money allocated by his Department for the upgrade of the slip in Dunmore East Harbour in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35337/13]
View answerThe harbour at Dunmore East is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department. Funding is made available on an annual basis by my Department to the Fishery Harbour Centres, including Dunmore East, via the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Capital Development Programme.
I am happy to confirm to the Deputy that funding in the amount of €450,000 has been allocated to widen the slipway on the West Wharf at Dunmore East Fishery Harbour Centre under the 2013 Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme.
998. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the possibility of the recommencement of export of livestock to the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35343/13]
View answerMy Department has in recent weeks received an enquiry from one shipping company in the UK regarding the approval procedure for ships engaging in the carriage of livestock on Roll on–Roll off vessels. However, no application has been received to date.
999. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if payment has issued for a fencing grant to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35373/13]
View answerThe person concerned is an applicant for grant-aid under the TAMS Sheep Fencing-Handling Scheme and has received approval to proceed with the investment works concerned. To date, my Department has no record of having received a payment claim in relation to the application concerned.
1000. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the continuance of tax relief available to help farmers to pass their farms to relatives and maintain a working farm within the family unit; if he will support the maintenance of such relief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35380/13]
View answerCapital Gains Tax Relief (CGT) is available to farmers over 55 years who dispose of certain qualifying assets. This relief, which is more commonly known as “retirement relief”, continues to be available having been in place for many years. Qualifying assets relevant to farming include:
- The chargeable business asset of the individual which he/she has owned for at least ten years up to the disposal date and which have been his/her chargeable business assets throughout the 10 years.
- Land leased under the Scheme of Early Retirement from Farming, where for a period of not less than 10 years prior to the land being leased it was owned by the person claiming relief and was farmed by him throughout that period.
- Land which was let at any time in the 15 years before disposal but, prior to its first letting, was farmed for 10 years by the owner and the disposal is to a child.
There are two separate elements to this type of CGT relief:
a) Disposal of a business or a farm to one’s child:
Irrespective of the amount of consideration for the disposal, full relief may be claimed by a person on the disposal to his child. If the child disposes of the asset within 6 years clawback applies. To incentivise earlier lifetime transfer of holdings it was announced in Budget 2012 that, from January 2014, the amount of full relief in the case of transfers to children will be reduced from an unlimited amount to €3 million for those aged over 66 years of age, but will be retained at the unlimited level for those aged 55-66 years. A two year lead in period for these changes was put in place to allow for an orderly transition.
b) Disposal of a business or farm to a person other than one’s child:
Where the consideration is less that €750,000 there is full relief for those aged over 55 years. Where the consideration is over €750,000 marginal relief is available which reduces the CGT payable to an amount equal to half the excess over €750,000. Budget 2012 introduced from January 2014 onwards a lowering of the amount of full relief in these cases from €750,000 to €500,000 for those aged over 66 years of age. The level will be retained at the 750,000 level for those aged 55-66 years.
Budget 2012 also introduced new lower stamp duty rates for land transfers with a 1% rate now applicable to transfers to close relations until the end of 2014. The 1% rate is half the rate applicable to non-family transfers. In addition Budget 2013 extended the longstanding 100% relief on stamp duty for land transfers to certain young trained farmers for a further period of three years until end of 2015.
The range of tax measures applicable to the agricultural sector announced in recent Budgets reflect the Government’s commitment to supporting younger farmers through encouraging earlier inter-generational transfer of farm holdings and minimising the costs associated with transfer of farm holdings. These measures have created a positive environment for structural change to occur and will help facilitate meeting the ambitious expansion targets planned in the Food Harvest 2020 strategy.
The issue of further changes to these reliefs in the future is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for Finance and I will continue to liaise closely with Minister Noonan in relation to possible taxation measures linked to policy priorities in my Department.
1001. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when it is proposed to commence the strategic environmental analysis for the fisheries operational programme under the new Common Fisheries Policy and the Rural Development Programme 2014-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35453/13]
View answerPreparatory work for the next rural development programme has already commenced. This includes the appointment of independent ex ante evaluators in January 2013, following a public tendering process, to undertake an Ex Ante Evaluation, a Strategic Environmental Assessment and an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Directive for the new rural development programme. Work on these three reports is ongoing at present.
In respect of the Seafood Development Programme 2014-2020 a request for tenders was issued for an independent external consultant to carry out tasks on this programme, which includes the SEA, with a closing date of 4 July 2013. The evaluation of the tenders received is currently under way and on completion of the evaluation process it is expected that the successful consultant will be in place by the end of August 2013.
1002. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the recent decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council to lift its ban on the importation of Irish beef and lamb; the opportunities that arise for Ireland as a result of this decision; if he intends to visit the Gulf region in the near future to agree veterinary health certificates with all the specified GCC nations to ensure exports commence as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35462/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that last week I welcomed the milestone decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Food Safety Committee to formally lift longstanding bans on exports of Irish beef and sheepmeat from Ireland to the GCC region. These bans had been in place for well over a decade because of legacy concerns related to scrapie and BSE. This is a clear signal from the Gulf States of their confidence in Ireland’s rigorous controls and excellent standards of food safety. While Saudi Arabia had previously lifted a ban on the importation of Irish beef and the UAE had lifted the ban on Irish beef, sheepmeat and poultry, the formal lifting of the GCC-wide ban means that Ireland is free to complete the formalities necessary to export Irish beef and lamb within the GCC as a whole.
This region has a combined population of almost 43.5 million with high levels of disposable income, a significant food deficit and a taste for beef and lamb, and presents an important opportunity for the Irish beef and lamb sectors, in particular at the premium food service and retail end of the market. This is exactly the kind of market opportunity that can add value to the Irish meat sector and help to build the reputation of the Irish food sector for high standards of quality and safety. My Department has already commenced the process needed to agree beef and sheepmeat certs with Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain and a sheepmeat cert with Saudi Arabia.
I also announced last week that I will be leading a trade mission to the Gulf region from 27 October to 1 November this year, to draw attention to Ireland and what it can offer to the very discerning customers in this region and to explore future opportunities. I look forward to this mission and to highlighting the unique qualities of Irish food production and products. During this visit I will of course thank the GCC for their decision and raise the subject of meat access to this region, among other issues.
1003. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is supportive of reopening spurdog fishing in Irish waters; if his attention has been drawn to the considerable employment potential that such a move would bring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35475/13]
View answerThe EU Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for spurdog is set at 0 and the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) has advised that the stock is depleted. Spurdog spawning biomass is currently at the lowest observed level, although stable in recent years. Spurdog is a long-lived, slow growing, and late maturing species and therefore is particularly vulnerable to fishing mortality. ICES advice is that there should be no target fishery and that by catch in mixed fisheries should be reduced to the lowest possible level. It recommends that a rebuilding plan should be developed for this stock. The Marine Institute supports ICES advice and further notes that spatial avoidance measures should be put in place to avoid large catches of accidental by-catch. On the basis of the scientific advice, there does not appear to be a case for the re-opening of a commercial fishery for spurdog at this time.
1004. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide information on pension benefits paid in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork who worked in his Department between 1979 and 1986; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35521/13]
View answerThere are no employment records in my Department in respect of the person mentioned.
1005. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the annual saving to the Exchequer if all State agency board fees were reduced by 25% under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35794/13]
View answerThe annual saving to the Exchequer if the fees for State agencies were reduced by the percentage indicated by the Deputy is €154,900.75.
1006. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is confident that all overseas travel undertaken by staff in State agencies is necessary; if the agencies ensure a robust business case is submitted before travel is sanctioned; if the agencies ensures the objective of the travel cannot be achieved through other means; if, on their return, the staff have to submit a report on the work carried out while they were on agency business overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36038/13]
View answerOverseas travel undertaken by staff in State agencies under the aegis of my Department is an operational matter for the bodies themselves.
1008. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide, in tabular form, a list of all non-commercial State-sponsored bodies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36210/13]
View answerThe following eight non-commercial bodies come within the aegis of my Department.
Bord Bia
Bord Iascaigh Mhara
Sea Fisheries Protection Authority
Teagasc
The Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board
The Marine Institute
The National Milk Agency
Veterinary Council of Ireland
1009. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the benefits associated with foster care can be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34312/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Minister for Social Protection has responsibility for social assistance and income supports, including the Guardian's Payment Scheme.
A child requires to be taken into the care of the State, where they cannot live with their parents either on a short or long-term basis. The HSE will, in the first instance, seek a suitable relative or person known to the child to provide relative care. Relative carers go through an assessment and approval, in a similar way to general foster carers.
In placing a child in foster care, the HSE regards the welfare the child as paramount, having regard to the rights and duties of his or her parents. Each child in foster care has a social worker who visits the child in the foster carers' home and, where appropriate, maintains contact with the child’s birth family.
Every foster carer is also supported in their care of the child. Foster carers are required to be reviewed by the Foster Care Committee at regular periods.
1010. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the procedure to be followed by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare to facilitate inter-country adoptions in respect of two children who are family relatives whose country of origin is Ghana; if such adoption can be effected through the UK; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34317/13]
View answerThe responsibility for the registration of intercountry adoptions is a matter for the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI), an independent quasi-judicial entity established under the Adoption Act 2010. It is a matter for the AAI to ensure that all adoptions are made in accordance with the provisions of the Adoption Act 2010. Accordingly, as Minister, it is not open to me to intervene in individual cases.
The Authority has advised me the United Kingdom ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption on 27 February 2003 with effect from 1 June 2003.
Ireland ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption on 28 July 2010 with effect from 1 November 2010.
Article 2 of the Hague Convention states that the Convention shall apply where a child habitually resident in one Contracting State (e.g. the United Kingdom) has been, is being, or is to be moved to another Contracting State (e.g. Ireland) either after his or her adoption in the State of origin by spouses or a person habitually resident in the receiving State, or for the purposes of such an adoption in the receiving State or in the State of origin. The Convention covers only adoptions which create a permanent parent-child relationship.
The United Kingdom has four National Central Authorities, i.e. one each for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The designated Central Authority to which any communication may be addressed for transmission to the appropriate Central Authority is
Intercountry Adoption Casework Team, Ground Floor Area D, Mowden Hall, Staindrop Road, Darlington Co. Durham DL3 9BG - Telephone: 0370 000 2288 Email: ica.darlington@education.gsi.gov.uk.
Department for Education, Castle View House, East Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 2GJ.
