Written Answers Nos. 155-160
155. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork is not being paid their single farm payment in respect of lands which were previously disqualified but which have now been adequately fenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5765/14]
View answerAn application under the 2013 Single Payment/Disadvantaged Areas scheme was received from the person named on 8 May 2013. An issue arose with the fencing of some of the lands declared by the person named. This issue has been resolved and I expect that payment will shortly issue to the person named.
156. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if grant aid for the construction of harvest roads on planted land will be continued under the new Common Agricultural Policy arrangements; his plans to reduce the level of grant aid provided per linear metre constructed under the forest road grant scheme; his further plans to reduce the number of metres allowed per hectare under the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5808/14]
View answerThe construction of forest roads during the 2007–2013 programme period were exchequer funded under EU State Aid rules and therefore did not come under the Rural Development Programme. The new forestry programme for 2014–2020 will continue to be funded by the Exchequer under state aid rules. These rules which are in draft form only, limit the level of State support for forest roads to 40% of the total eligible costs as opposed to 80% under the previous programme.
The development of the new forestry programme will be carried out in parallel with a Strategic Environmental Assessment which will feed into the development of the programme at scheme level. A tender for this work has issued and work is expected to begin in early March 2014. It is therefore too early to make a statement in relation to the forest roads scheme at this time, other than to say that various options are currently being explored. A public consultation process will take place in June/July 2014 at which point more detail will be made available on the content of the proposed new forestry programme.
157. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an area aid payment will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wexford. [5814/14]
View answerAn application under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 15 May 2013. Subsequent to the 50% advance payment issuing to the named person on 16 October 2013, one of the land parcels declared by the person named was found, during review of the Land Parcel database, to have been over-claimed. With processing of the application recently completed, the balancing payment will issue in the coming days, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named over the last few days. This balancing payment will be very slightly reduced in value, to reflect the finding following the LPIS Review; the person named has been written to in this regard and provided with a map of the land parcel in question; he has been advised of his right of appeal.
158. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the profits from Tote Ireland for the years 2009 to 2013, inclusive. [5826/14]
View answerTote Ireland Limited (Tote Ireland) is a subsidiary of Horse Racing Ireland. The principal activities of the company consist of the operation of the totalisator at race meetings, the operation of a tele-betting service and an internet service. Tote Ireland’s income derives from the amount retained from those wagers placed into Tote Ireland pools and the commission earned on bets placed into pools operated by Totes in foreign jurisdictions. Tote Ireland reported a loss of €0.8m in 2009, profits of €0.3m in 2010 and €0.7m in 2011 and a loss of €0.4m in 2012. Results in respect of 2013 are not available as yet.
159. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the profits from the greyhound tote for the years 2009 to 2013, inclusive. [5827/14]
View answerBord na gCon, a commercial state body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, operates a totalisator on greyhound racing in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted by the Minister for Finance under the Totalisator Act, 1929. Bord na gCon does not operate the totalisator as a separate company. The financial transactions associated with the Bord na gCon totalisator are included in the Annual Report and Accounts of Bord na gCon, accordingly it is not possible to provide the details sought by the Deputy. However the published accounts of Bord na gCon show the following:
|
Year |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
|
Amount |
€ |
€ |
€ |
|
Tote Receipts |
32,884,036 |
24,464,543 |
23,868,379 |
|
Tote Payout |
25,942,281, |
19,036,435 |
18,626,868 |
I anticipate that the 2012 Annual Report and Accounts of Bord na gCon will be published in the coming weeks.
160. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if results of a review sought by a person (details supplied) in County Galway in relation to land excluded for single farm payment purposes and disadvantaged payment purposes have issued to the person; the results of the inspection; the penalties and reduction of eligible land that resulted from the review; and the scheme years to which any penalty imposed will apply. [5828/14]
View answerThe person named submitted an appeal in respect of land declared on his Single Payment Scheme which following a review by the Department was found to have contained ineligible features. This case was one of a number selected for ground verification checks. The file is currently with the Inspectorate and a reply will issue to the applicant outlining the results of the review as soon as the file is received in this division.
