Written Answers Nos. 318-332
318. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment under the disadvantaged areas scheme will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43112/13]
View answerPayments under the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme commenced, on schedule, on 25 September and, to date, payments worth €143.3 million have issued nationally, to some 67,538 applicants, with payments continuing to issue on a twice weekly basis, with individual cases being paid as they are confirmed eligible. As processing of the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application of the person named has recently been finalised, payment will shortly issue, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
319. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a review of the single farm payment file of a person (details supplied) in County Galway has been completed; if an overpayment issue has been resolved as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43113/13]
View answerMy Department is currently examining land parcels declared under the Single Payment Scheme and other area-based Direct Payment Schemes. As part of this review a number of ineligible features were identified and removed from the parcels declared by the person named.
The person named was notified of this decision and of his right of appeal. Following an appeal from the person named my Department has now carried out a full review of land parcels with exclusions declared by the person named and has reversed the original decision. On this basis the overpayment has been removed from my Department’s payment system.
320. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a penalty imposed on a person (details supplied) in County Galway will result in a reduction in agri-environment options scheme payments in future years; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that such a recoupment in future years would be a cause of severe financial hardship on the person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43114/13]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the Agri-Environment Options Scheme with effect from 1 November 2010. Full payment has issued in respect of the 2010 and 2011 Scheme Years and 75% payment has issued in respect of the 2012 Scheme Year.
The person named was selected for a ground inspection which took place on 8 October 2012. During this inspection non compliances with the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme were noted in relation to the Traditional Hay Meadow and Coppicing Hedgerows actions which resulted in penalties being imposed. A letter issued on 30 January 2013 notifying the participant of these penalties and providing him with an option to submit an appeal. An appeal was received in my Department on 31 January 2013.
Following receipt of this appeal a review of the file was carried out. My Department issued a letter to the person named on 14 February 2013 upholding the original decision to apply the penalties. This letter also gave him the option to appeal the decision to the Agriculture Appeals Office within three months. An appeal was received but as it was outside the prescribed time limit it could not be dealt by the Agriculture Appeals Office and the applicant was advised accordingly.
A letter issued to the person named on 27 June 2013 detailing the amounts due and the recoupment process relevant to the application. It notified him that, in addition to penalties, amounts previously paid for units not found on inspection would have to recouped. In accordance with the governing EU Regulations if full payment is not received from the participant, my Department has no option but to recover these monies from future scheme payments.
321. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a single farm payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43117/13]
View answerA 50% advance payment under the Single Farm Payment Scheme will commence on 16 October. EU Regulations governing the administration of the scheme require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases on-farm inspections, be completed before any payments issue. Processing of the 2013 application of the person named has recently been finalised and I expect that payment will issue on that date to the person named.
322. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a disadvantaged areas scheme payment will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43124/13]
View answerPayments under the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme commenced, on schedule, on 25 September and, to date, payments worth €143.3 million have issued nationally, to some 67,538 applicants, with payments continuing to issue on a twice weekly basis, with individual cases being paid as they are confirmed eligible. As processing of the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application of the person named has recently been finalised, payment will shortly issue, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
323. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the number of farmers that are finding their payments being cut following their lands being digitised, the number of farmers that have been notified that the area of ground they have been claiming for is being cut and reduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43174/13]
View answerMy Department is bound, under EU Regulations, to maintain the accuracy the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS), which underpins the processing of applications under these Schemes as well as REPS and AEOS. At the start of each year, my Department issues colour maps of all land parcels declared by farmers in the previous year together with a covering letter. In that letter, farmers are reminded to examine each map carefully and to identify and exclude from their application all ineligible features such as buildings, farmyards, scrub, roadways, forests, lakes etc. included in the land parcels. There is, therefore, an onus on all farmers to ensure that the area of land declared by them as eligible for payment under the Direct Payment Schemes is accurate. They are also given the means to do so by making the ortho-photos available to them on an annual basis. These requirements are also made clear in the Terms and Conditions of the Schemes, which accompanies the pre-printed application form issued to all farmers at the commencement of the application period each year. In view of the size and structure of farm enterprises in Ireland, farmers are fully aware of all of the non-eligible areas of their holdings.
In addition to any changes submitted by farmers, in order to insure the integrity of the LPIS, my Department continuously reviews the eligibility of lands claimed by farmers for the Single Payment Scheme and other Direct Payment Schemes.
As part of the clearance process a bi-lateral meeting was held on 25th July between the EU Commission Clearance auditors and my Department. At that meeting it was agreed that in order to avoid a significant correction, this Department had to review its entire LPIS database and its effectiveness and report to the Commission by 1 December. This is a mammoth task but my Department is making effort to ensure that it will be completed in a manner that satisfies the Commission. As a result of this review, any payments made to farmers in respect of claimed areas, which were found to be ineligible, must be reimbursed.
If farmers are not satisfied with the determination made in their case, my intention is to introduce a robust and comprehensive appeal process. In the first instance, applicants will be entitled to have their case reviewed by submitting their appeal on the form provided by my Department. If they are not satisfied with the outcome of the review, they can appeal their case to the Independent Land Eligibility Appeals Committee. This Committee with consist of an independent Chairman and appeal officers from the Agriculture Appeals Office. As the review is still ongoing, it is not possible to quantify the number of farmers that will be affected.
324. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the management of forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43175/13]
View answerIn a long-term activity such as forestry, which can create substantial and lasting change, good planning is essential to ensure that forest operations are undertaken with minimum impact on both the environment and the social and economic fabric of the areas in which they occur. The purpose of Forest Management Plans is to provide guidance to farmers, some of whom have little forestry experience, on the long term management of their forests. While the importance of achieving an economic return from forestry is a key objective of everyone involved in the forestry sector, it is equally important to ensure that forestry operations do not have a negative impact on other citizens or on the environment. The conditions attached to a Forest Management Plan will be aimed at ensuring that forestry operations comply with the principles of sustainable forest practice and can include conditions to ensure that forestry operations such as forest harvesting and fertilisation do not negatively impact on, for example, public water supplies, protected wildlife species or archaeological sites.
325. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the fact that the Irish Farmers Association strongly opposes the function conferred on him to compulsorily purchase land suitable for afforestation or for any other forestry-related activities, if section 6(e) will be removed from the Forestry Bill 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43176/13]
View answerSection 6(e) of the Forestry Bill 2013 does not confer on the Minister the power to compulsorily purchase land. It is merely a restatement of a current provision under Section 9 of the Forestry Act 1946 which empowers the Minister to purchase, lease or otherwise acquire land (e.g. by land swap).
326. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the fact that the Irish Farmers Association opposes the introduction of fees for licences and other unspecified services as it may act as a disincentive to farmers to convert land to forestry and a barrier to mobilisation of the increasingly valuable timber resource, if section 6(i) will be removed from the Forestry Bill 2013 as the introduction of charges for a forest owner to manage his or her forest is counterproductive to the expansion and development of the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43177/13]
View answerI am aware of the submission made by the Irish Farmers Association on the content of the Forestry Bill, 2013, which is currently at Second Stage in Dáil Éireann.
The issue raised by the IFA related to Section 24 of the Forestry Bill 2013 which gives the Minister the power to introduce fees for the services of the Department. I must point out that it is a matter of policy whether or not any Minister would charge for such services in the future and its inclusion in the Bill should not be interpreted as a statement of intent. It is worth noting the Department does not currently charge for any forestry licences or scheme applications.
327. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if section 13(a) will be removed from the Forestry Bill 2013, and the collection of information for statistical purposes be undertaken voluntarily; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43178/13]
View answerGranting the Minister the power to obtain information from forest owners is an important provision which will allow the Minister to produce various statistics about the national forest estate. This information will facilitate, for example, timber supply forecasts and will also enable the Minister to comply with international reporting obligations on changes in carbon stocks in forests. The collection of this information will also help to inform that Minister on how forests are being managed and assist in determining the direction of future policy.
With a view to minimising any potential burden on forest holders, it is my intention that my Department will, in the first instance, and as far as is practically possible, seek to utilise information gathered from existing consent based application processes.
328. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding the Forestry Bill 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43179/13]
View answerI have noted the points made by the IFA in this matter. The confidentiality requirement is very important in a situation where the Minister is delegating some of his functions to a Committee. It is important, therefore, that sanctions for breach of confidentiality reflect the level of responsibility that is being granted to members of the Committee. It is also important to note that penalties will only be imposed on conviction by the Courts.
329. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the fact that the fines associated with felling a tree without a licence or in contravention of a condition of the licence are excessive for the type of misconduct, if the fines will be reduced significantly to reflect the offence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43180/13]
View answerI assume that the Deputy is referring to the provisions of the Forestry Bill 2013. As the Deputy will appreciate it is important that any penalty for illegal activity such as illegal felling be sufficiently dissuasive, whilst proportionate, to deter any potential illegal actions. It should be noted that a penalty will only be imposed on a person following a conviction for an offence by the Courts and it will be a matter for the Courts to decide on the level of the appropriate penalty.
The Deputy will also be aware that in relation to minor offences relating to unlicensed felling the Bill provides for Fixed Penalty Notices. These will operate in a similar fashion to speeding fines and will allow minor offences to be dealt with without the offender being taken to Court, while also ensuring that illegally felled areas are replanted.
330. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive their farm payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43188/13]
View answerThe person named is a deceased herd owner. A letter issued from my department to the legal personal representatives of the person named advising that payments will issue to the estate of the person named when the required testamentary documents are received.
The holding of the person named was the subject of a Nitrates inspection by my Department, acting on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, on 21 January 2013. This inspection uncovered discrepancies related to the management and storage of livestock manure and the poaching of lands, resulting in a 25% penalty being applied against the 2013 Direct Payments.
The representatives of the person named have appealed this decision and this request for a review is currently being examined. The representatives of the person named will be notified of the outcome of this review as soon as possible. In the event that the representatives of the person named are dissatisfied with the outcome of the review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office within 3 months.
331. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of licences that have been issued for recreational fishing of bluefin tuna under EU directive EC 302/2009. [43191/13]
View answer332. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on whether the process for applying for recreational fishing of bluefin tuna under EU directive EC 302/2009 is adequate and in accordance with the directive. [43192/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 331 and 332 together.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas is an inter-governmental Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) responsible for the conservation of tunas and tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean and its adjacent seas. The Contracting Parties and Cooperating non-Contracting Parties, Entities whose vessels have been actively fishing for blue fin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean are implementing a 15 year Recovery Plan for blue fin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean starting in 2007 and continuing through 2022.
COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 302/2009 of 6 April 2009 concerning a multiannual recovery plan for blue fin tuna in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, amending Regulation (EC) No 43/2009 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1559/2007 , is the EU Commissions regulation for the implementation of the recovery plan across member states.
The regulation provides that member states must regulate recreational fishing for Blue fin Tuna and sets out the conditions under which this activity can take place, including the prohibition on the commercial sale of tuna, the catch limit of 1 per vessel and the closed season from 15 October to 15 June each year.
Member states must deduct recreational blue fin tuna landings from the national quota for the species. However as Ireland does not have an allocation of quota for Blue fin Tuna, no recreational angling for Bluefin Tuna can take place in Ireland which results in the fish being landed.
