Written Answers Nos. 620-628
620. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of amendments to legislation he proposed during Committee and Report Stages in Seanad Éireann in 2012; if he will provide in tabular form the number of his amendments accepted; and if he will indicate in tabular form the number of amendments accepted from Members of the Seanad, broken down by Senator. [36429/13]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is available on the Oireachtas website, www.oireachtas.ie, under the Seanad portal.
621. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the staffing levels of the private offices and constituency offices of Ministers and Ministers of State in his Department; the salary of each; the same figures for this time in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36493/13]
View answerI have detailed the information requested in the following tables:
Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney - Private Office (8 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Private Secretary |
€57,745 |
€57,745 |
|
Special Adviser |
€103,200 |
€130,000 |
|
Special Adviser |
€81,676 |
€80,051 |
|
Political Adviser |
€49,790 |
€47,304 |
|
Executive Officer |
€47,379 |
€45,616 |
|
Executive Officer |
€45,616 |
€44,187 |
|
Clerical Officer |
€28,583 |
€26,420 |
|
Clerical Officer |
€31,743 |
€30,688 |
|
Total Cost (Private Office) |
€445,732 |
€462,011 |
Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney - Constituency Office (3.8 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Personal Secretary |
€47,755 |
€47,755 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
€49,035 |
€46,426 |
|
Clerical Officer |
€35,471 |
€36,267 |
|
Clerical Officer (0.8) |
€28,376.80 |
€27,072 |
|
Total Cost (Constituency Office) |
€160,637.80 |
€157,520 |
Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes - Private Office (5 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Private Secretary |
€52,955 |
--- |
|
Executive Officer |
€44,187 |
--- |
|
Clerical Officer |
€29,635 |
--- |
|
Clerical Officer |
€35,471 |
--- |
|
Clerical Officer |
€35,515 |
--- |
|
Total Cost (Private Office) |
€197,763 |
--- |
Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes - Constituency Office (3 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Personal Assistant |
€43,715 |
--- |
|
Personal Secretary (50%) |
€22,969.50 |
--- |
|
Personal Secretary (50%) |
€23,875.50 |
--- |
|
Vacancy |
--- |
--- |
|
Total Cost (Constituency Office) |
€90,560 |
--- |
Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee (deceased) - Private Office (5 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Private Secretary |
--- |
€54,329 |
|
Executive Officer |
--- |
€42,311 |
|
Clerical Officer |
--- |
€33,840 |
|
Clerical Officer |
--- |
€27,502 |
|
Clerical Officer |
--- |
€35,515 |
|
Total Cost (Private Office) |
--- |
€193,497 |
Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee (deceased) - Constituency Office (3 staff)
|
Grade |
Salary at 1/7/2013 |
Salary at 1/7/2011 |
|
Personal Assistant (50%) |
--- |
€22,742.50 |
|
Personal Assistant (50%) |
--- |
€22,742.50 |
|
Personal Secretary |
--- |
€38,945 |
|
Clerical Officer |
--- |
€35,515 |
|
Total Cost (Constituency Office) |
--- |
€119,945 |
622. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the saving to the Exchequer if the pay of all his special advisers and those of his Ministers of State were capped at the first point on the principal officer pay scale. [36508/13]
View answerIn response to the Deputy’s question, the total saving to the Exchequer would amount to €33,582 in respect of the two special advisers employed in my Department.
623. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of grant aid available to assist farmers who have to dispose of calves under the BVD eradication scheme; the reason this grant is not available for all who have disposed of it; if he accepts that this poses severe problems for small herd owners; if he considers the compensation offered fully compensates farmers for the loss of the calves in question; and if not the reason the compensation does not fully cover this cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36593/13]
View answerThe provision of funding for compensation in the context of the compulsory phase of the BVD programme must be placed in the context of the economic benefits accruing to farmers arising from the eradication of this disease and, particularly, the short payback time involved for individual farmers as well as the scarce budgetary resources available to my Department. It has been estimated that the overall benefit of the eradication of this disease is beneficial to farmers. Notwithstanding this and taking account of the slightly longer payback period for suckler cow producers compared with dairy farmers, I have made compensation available to suckler cow farmers who have multiple cases of persistently infected calves in their herds in order to encourage the early disposal of such calves. The compensation scheme offers farmers €100 for the second and subsequent calves removed from suckler herds to a knackery under the BVD Eradication Programme.
624. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the allocation under the 2007-2013 Common Agricultural Policy programme broken down by axis and measure; the spend to date, broken down between Exchequer and EU spend; the latest date for incurring spend under each measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36594/13]
View answerThe tables that follow this reply set out the measures funded under the Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 (RDP). The expenditure performance is based on the quarterly returns to the European Commission and the tables reflect the position up to June 2013. Under Council Regulation No 1698/2005, the latest date for incurring expenditure using funds available under the current rural development programme is 31 December 2015 or earlier if the funds have been exhausted prior to that date.
|
---- |
Current RDP Allocation (€) |
EAFRD Allocation (€) |
Total Exchequer Allocation (€) |
EAFRD and Exchequer Expenditure 2007 – June 2013 [Provisional] (€) |
Of which EAFRD Spend (€) |
Of which Exchequer Spend (€) |
|
Axis 1 – Competitiveness |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Vocational training (REPS) |
5,675,440 |
3,458,613 |
2,216,827 |
7,227,927 |
4,120,729 |
3,107,198 |
|
Installation Aid |
12,261,081 |
7,471,903 |
4,789,178 |
12,892,430 |
6,504,938 |
6,387,492 |
|
Early Retirement |
219,188,239 |
133,592,630 |
85,595,609 |
219,937,368 |
118,879,796 |
101,057,572 |
|
Farm Modernisation |
154,570,446 |
92,992,230 |
61,578,216 |
82,873,854 |
49,648,565 |
33,225,289 |
|
TOTAL Axis 1 |
391,695,206 |
237,515,376 |
154,179,830 |
322,931,579 |
179,154,028 |
143,777,551 |
|
Axis 2 – Environment and land management |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Less Favoured Areas |
1,617,984,198 |
634,141,309 |
983,842,889 |
1,298,309,823 |
714,070,403 |
584,239,420 |
|
Natura 2000 |
528,582,998 |
308,720,649 |
219,862,349 |
92,470,175 |
51,916,288 |
40,553,887 |
|
Agri-environment |
1,922,493,570 |
1,058,314,930 |
864,178,640 |
1,946,670,915 |
1,086,985,733 |
859,685,182 |
|
TOTAL Axis 2 |
4,069,060,766 |
2,001,176,888 |
2,067,883,878 |
3,337,450,913 |
1,852,972,424 |
1,484,478,489 |
|
Axis 3 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Broadband |
17,884,000 |
13,413,000 |
4,471,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
TOTAL Axis 3 |
17,884,000 |
13,413,000 |
4,471,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Axis 4 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Competitiveness – Food Projects. |
5,000,000 |
4,250,000 |
750,000 |
102,293 |
86,948 |
15,345 |
|
Implementing Local Development Strategies – Quality of Life |
265,470,511 |
182,632,819 |
82,837,692 |
130,082,913 |
89,041,307 |
41,041,606 |
|
Co-operation Projects |
7,878,000 |
5,885,653 |
1,992,347 |
2,487,516 |
1,813,905 |
673,611 |
|
Running of LAGS |
62,464,000 |
46,666,854 |
15,797,146 |
56,140,059 |
36,835,511 |
19,304,548 |
|
TOTAL Axis 4 |
340,812,511 |
239,435,326 |
101,377,185 |
188,812,781 |
127,777,671 |
61,035,110 |
|
Axis 5 – Technical Assistance |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
Technical Assistance |
6,000,000 |
3,000,000 |
3,000,000 |
1,441,575 |
720,789 |
720,786 |
|
OVERALL RDP |
4,825,452,483 |
2,494,540,590 |
2,330,911,893 |
3,850,636,848 |
2,160,624,912 |
1,690,011,936 |
625. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the increase in the number of backdated penalties being levied on farmers relating to historical discrepancies (details supplied); if he accepts that in difficult times his Department’s resources could be better utilised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36668/13]
View answerIn the context of delivering the Single Payment Scheme and other area based schemes, my Department is required to carry out an annual round of inspections covering both the eligibility of the land declared by farmers to drawdown payments and also Cross Compliance checks relating to 18 Statutory Management Requirements (SMRs) in the areas of public, animal and public health, environment and animal welfare and Good Agricultural Environment Condition to ensure compliance with EU regulatory requirements. In order to be eligible to draw down EU funding, it is a requirement that all land eligibility inspections must take place before any payments can issue to any farmer in the country in a given year. While cross compliance inspections can be carried out after payment has been made, it is a regulatory requirement that this category of inspection must take place throughout the calendar year to take account of specific requirements at individual Statutory Management Requirement level.
SMR 4 relates to Nitrates and specifically the requirements of EU regulations on Good Agricultural Practice for the Protection of Waters. It is a requirement of these regulations that specific records must be maintained and made available for inspection for a period of five years. The inspection process for SMR 4 involves an inspection of the holding in the first instance and a follow-on office check of the records, which farmers are requested to submit within 14 days of the inspection. The checking of these nitrates records is an integral part of the overall inspection process for SMR 4 and failure to complete such checks would result in adverse audit findings, putting at risk the significant EU funding available for these schemes. While every effort is made to complete the office checking of these records in a timely manner, priority must be given to the completion of the eligibility inspections so as to allow payments to issue to farmers and the cross compliance inspections to ensure regulatory requirements are being complied with.
626. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will reconsider a decision to disallow a person (details supplied) from the agri-environment options scheme 3 having considered the grounds of appeal submitted by the applicant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36762/13]
View answerAn application under the Agri-Environment Options Scheme from the person named was received in my Department on 7 December 2012. The process of ranking and selecting all AEOS applicants was clearly set out in the scheme documentation. Acceptance into the scheme was established using the pre-determined selection criteria as follows:
1. farmers in the Boora region of Co. Offaly who chose Wild Bird Cover Option B (Grey Partridge) as one of their selected options,
2. farmers with a minimum of 0.5 hectares of designated land,
3. farm partnerships,
4. farmers who previously participated in REPS commencing with smallest farms. and
5. others based on farm size (again favouring smaller holdings).
The person named was a previous participant in REPS. Based on the funding available farmers in category 4 with 22.06 hectares of utilisable agricultural area and below were successful. As the farm size of the person named is 83.28, the application was unsuccessful. On 27 May 2013, a letter issued to the person named informing him that he was not successful and setting out the reasons. The person was also informed of his right of appeal to AEOS Section. An appeal was received from the person named and it is currently being considered. The person named will be notified in writing of the outcome of this appeal once a decision has been made.
627. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine with regard to trout and salmon farming on land, the plans he has to introduce containment measures, such as closed containment farms, that would significantly reduce water column pollution from feed, faeces and chemical waste and contamination of the sea bed under farms, eliminate the risk of disease and parasite transfer from such operations to wild stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36776/13]
View answerAll applications for land-based aquaculture licences are considered by my Department in accordance with the provisions of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1997. The legislation provides for extensive consultation with stakeholders including a period of general public consultation. Applications for aquaculture licences regardless of the location of the site in respect of which the applications are made, are referred to a wide range of consultees for comment. These include, inter alia, the Marine Institute, Inland Fisheries Ireland, the Department of Environment Community and Local Government, Fáilte Ireland, An Taisce and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. In addition, my Department’s Engineering Division provides technical advice on each application. Applications which are subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment must be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement, and this document is assessed by my Department’s consultees and technical advisors, and made available for comment by the public. Applications in respect of sites which are located in Natura areas are subject to an Appropriate Assessment process. The specific conditions included in any aquaculture licence are based on the results of my Department’s examination of the application in question following receipt of all the appropriate scientific, technical and engineering and other advice as appropriate in relation to the application, as well as the requirements set out in legislation.
628. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the present gender balance of the total members of State boards under the aegis of his Department; if the ratio has changed significantly over the course of the present Government's term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36783/13]
View answerThe current gender balance of the Boards of the State Agencies under my remit is as set out in the following table:
|
Agency |
% Females on the Board |
No Females appointed by the Minister since taking office |
|
Aquaculture Licensing Appeals Board |
Nil |
--- |
|
Bord Bia |
13% |
1 and 1 reappointed |
|
Bord Iascaigh Mhara |
Nil |
--- |
|
Marine Institute |
11% |
1 |
|
National Milk Agency |
Nil |
--- |
|
Sea Fisheries Protection Authority |
33% |
1 |
|
Teagasc |
18% |
1 |
|
Veterinary Council of Ireland |
42% |
1 |
|
Bord na gCon |
14% |
1 reappointed |
|
Coillte |
22% |
1 |
|
Horse Racing Ireland |
7% |
1 reappointed |
Since taking office, I have appointed 6 women and reappointed 3 to those positions under my direct control. Whenever I make an appointment, gender balance is always a consideration and a priority.
