Written Answers Nos. 216-224
216. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will seek the commissioning of an independent study by an international expert or body, to understand the effect of wind turbine developments on thoroughbreds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8652/14]
View answerIreland is the 4th largest breeder of thoroughbred horses in the world, and the industry makes a significant contribution to rural employment and the economy generally. I have regular contact with the sector and I can assure the Deputy that I am committed to its growth and development as a flagship industry for Ireland, including through the development of overseas markets for the sector in places like China and the Gulf States. The development of national policy in relation to the wind energy is a matter for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and my Department has no function in the matter.
217. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo may expect to have a disadvantaged area payment processed; the reasons for this delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8719/14]
View answerUnder 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme, applicants’ holdings were required to have met a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units for a retention period of seven consecutive months, in addition to maintaining an annual average of 0.15 livestock units calculated over the twelve months of the scheme year. Current data confirms that the holding of the person named has not as yet satisfied either the seven month minimum requirement or the twelve-month average. Therefore, unfortunately, no payment is due to the person named under the 2013 Scheme. However, should the person named be satisfied that his holding did satisfy these requirements in 2013, then he is free to appeal this decision, in writing. Any such appeal should be supported by evidence of the stock concerned.
218. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo may expect to have a REP scheme 4 payment processed; the reasons for this delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8720/14]
View answerThe person named commenced REPS 4 in June 2008 and received payments for the first four years of their contract. REPS 4 is a measure under the current 2007-13 Rural Development Programme and is subject to EU Regulations which require detailed administrative checks on all applications to be completed before any payments can issue. Following the administrative check, issues were identified in relation to deficiencies in the original REPS Agri-environmental Plan which required further investigation and a request for an adjusted plan. The adjusted plan received on 21 November 2013 has now completed the administrative check and the SPS validation check and the 75% Year 5 payment has been authorised for payment and will issue within the next week. The remaining 25% Year 5 balancing payment will issue shortly afterwards.
219. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will make a payment under Article 31 of the EFF to fishermen involved in mussel farming in Killary Harbour in view of the fact that the harbour has been closed for harvesting mussels for two years and of the recent storm damage caused to equipment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8725/14]
View answerA comprehensive framework exists to deal with seafood safety in Ireland. The Marine Institute is responsible for monitoring shellfish for the presence of naturally occurring phytoplankton toxins. Toxicity can occur at any time during the year and the periods of closure can vary considerably from year-to-year. The monitoring programme is designed to detect toxicity in shellfish growing areas before harvesting, thereby providing the necessary information to restrict the placement of toxic shellfish on the market. Regulatory controls, which are enforced by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, exist to support these restrictions. The State controls are there to protect public health and indeed the international reputation of Irish seafood thereby ensuring the future of this important sector.
Killary Harbour has been on a closed biotoxin status for azaspiracid toxins since last June and I understand was closed for some months prior to April 2013 also. Azaspiracid shellfish poisoning can cause diarrhoea, nausea, headaches and chills. I know that some other areas in the South West and North West have been similarly affected and I understand that Killary Harbour has a history of similar toxicity events in the past. These naturally occurring events are an inevitable occasional feature of operating aquaculture farms in Irish coastal waters and are a well-known business risk in the industry. Nevertheless, I am still conscious of the business difficulties that these closures can cause for the companies concerned.
The European Fisheries Fund Regulation (1198/2006) is an EU instrument that sets out details of the type of investments that Member States may select for inclusion in national operational programmes for the seafood sector. Investments included in operational programmes are co-funded by the EFF and national administrations and are considered to comply with State Aid rules once the operational programme is adopted by the Commission. There are many potential investments in the EFF Regulation and Member States are not expected to include all in their operational programmes. Each member state must make investment choices, having regard to the finite allocation from the EFF to each Member State. Ireland’s Seafood Development Programme was finalised in 2008 and Ireland selected certain investments for inclusion, in consultation with stakeholders, and having regard to Ireland’s EFF allocation of €42 million over 7 years. A scheme of compensation for biotoxin closures under article 31 was not included because of limited EFF funds and competing priorities.
Exchequer funds for development of the seafood sector are constrained in the present economic environment and are prioritised towards implementation of the EU co-funded Operational Programme. I regret there are no funds available to me to assist the businesses in Killary Harbour with their present difficulties.
220. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has established an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8737/14]
View answerHeads of Division in my Department, with responsibility for collecting and processing personal data, are registered as Data Controllers with the Data Protection Commissioner. The public register of Data Controllers can be viewed on the Commissioner’s website. The Data Controllers are responsible for developing and implementing data protection. In addition, the Freedom of Information Officer also acts as the Data Protection Officer and centrally manages and coordinates replies to queries on data protection and requests for access to personal data under the Data Protection Acts.
221. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm when the results from several badger vaccination trials will be released; if he will cease badger culling in the meantime in view of the fact that €3.4 million was spent on culling 6,939 badgers in 2012 and only 55 less cattle were diagnosed with bovine TB in comparison to 2011, and in view of the fact that the transmission route is still unknown between badger and cattle; if he will not cease culling, if he will provide a closed season between January and May when badgers cannot be culled as they are breeding and while a detailed survey has not been carried out to clarify present badger populations which may be significantly affected due to years of culling practices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8873/14]
View answerMy Department invests in extensive research in relation to badger ecology and vaccination programmes with the intention of developing a vaccination programme, with a view to replacing badger culling with vaccination when this is a practicable proposition. In this context, my Department has been collaborating for some years with the Centre for Veterinary Epidemiology and Risk Analysis (CVERA) in UCD and with DEFRA in the United Kingdom on research into a vaccine to control tuberculosis in badgers and to break the link of infection to cattle. Research has demonstrated that oral vaccination of badgers in a captive environment with BCG vaccine generates high levels of protective immunity against bovine TB. Field trials are also being undertaken at present, involving the vaccination of several hundred badgers over 3 to 4 years, with continuous monitoring of the population to assess the impact of the vaccine on the incidence of disease in the vaccinated and non-vaccinated control badger populations. Success in the field trials is designed to eventually lead to implementation of a vaccination strategy as part of the national TB control programme. As it will be some years before full results of the trials will be available, targeted badger removals will continue in the medium term.
Conclusions about the success of badger removal, in terms of bovine TB levels, cannot be reached on the basis of a single year’s results. Rather, trends over a number of years have to be taken into account and it is the case that there has been a very significant improvement in the TB situation in recent years and, in particular, since 2008: the number of reactors has declined by almost 50% from around 30,000 in 2008 to 15,600 last year, which represented a 15 % reduction on 2012 levels. This is a new record low since the commencement of the eradication programme in the 1950s and, for the first time since the programme was introduced in the 1950s, eradication is now a practicable proposition. The improved situation has also resulted in a significant reduction in expenditure on the TB eradication scheme, which has fallen from €55 m in 2008 to €30 m in 2013.
While it is difficult to quantify the precise impact of badger culling on the reduction in the incidence of TB in Ireland over the past 10 years or so, my Department believes that much of the improvement is in fact due to the badger removal programme. In this regard, it is noteworthy that a recent peer-reviewed study, Bovine tuberculosis trends in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, 1995–2010 (Abernethy et al., 2013), published in the Veterinary Record, found that, during the period studied, the animal incidence of TB increased by 380% in England, by 190% in Wales and by 74% in Northern Ireland. On the other hand, the animal incidence in Ireland fell by 32% in the same period (and by a further 20% since the study). Significantly, the removal of badgers is not practised in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
The badger removal policy was introduced in light of research conducted over the years by the Department and others which demonstrated that the eradication of Bovine TB is not a practicable proposition until the issue of the reservoir of infection in badgers, which is seeding infection into the cattle population, is addressed. Capturing of badgers is not permitted during the months of February and March (the breeding season) in new capture areas. It is not proposed to extend this period to May.
With regard to the badger population, a complaint by the Irish Wildlife Trust that badgers in Ireland were under threat was dismissed by the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention which noted Ireland’s badger population is not being threatened and that badger numbers are being maintained at safe low levels. While estimating wild animal populations is a difficult task, current estimates are that badger numbers in the Republic of Ireland are in the range of 70,000-90,000. In addition, even in those lands where badger populations are being controlled, the local density of badgers is on a par or greater than the norms found on mainland Europe. Furthermore, Department sponsored research in collaboration with Teagasc is being finalised that concludes that badgers in Ireland are abundant everywhere and not under any threat of extinction. This research will be published shortly when it has completed the peer review process.
222. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she has established an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8739/14]
View answerMy Department is currently launching a new records management protocol and database system to manage all records held / created within the Department. The role of Information Officer will be incorporated into this records management function.
223. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position on the rights of adopted persons to access their birth certificate and adoption files on turning 18 years of age; if access to this information could be made available to the adopted person; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8755/14]
View answerI have highlighted previously the Constitutional and legal barriers to providing access to adoption records, including birth certificates, without the consent of the birth mother. The Adoption (Information and Tracing ) Bill will address this matter but the legislature will be constrained in the nature of any access which can be granted to adoption records by these legal issues. My Department is continuing to work on the Heads of Bill for the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill and I hope to be in a position to seek Government approval to publish the Heads of Bill as soon as possible. It is necessary for me to be open in saying that complex legal and constitutional issues have arisen in the drafting of the Bill. A particular difficulty has arisen in the attempt to reconcile an adopted person’s request for information about his or her identity with the right to privacy of his or her birth parent. My Department is continuing to consult with the Office of the Attorney General on this and on a number of related issues and I intend to submit the Heads of Bill for Government approval as soon as these issues have been addressed.
Once approved by Government, the Heads of Bill will be sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children for its detailed consideration. The process of sending the Heads of Bill to that Committee will ensure that the provisions of the proposed legislation will be subject to public scrutiny and it is of course open to that Committee to invite and encourage submissions from all interested parties. In the meantime I am open to any proposals or suggestions in relation to policy on this matter that assists in achieving as much access as possible in a manner that is legally and constitutionally sound.
I have been anxious to see improvements in existing procedures for the tracing of birth parents by people who have been adopted. The Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1st January last, has advised me that, in the first instance, any person seeking information on adoption should contact the Adoption Authority of Ireland or the Child and Family Agency’s Community Services who will assist in directing them to the personnel dealing with their particular records. The existing arrangements for those seeking access to information reflect a transition from complex and historical situations and I am anxious that the Agency implement much more improved and consistent arrangements. I have been advised by the Agency that it is reorganising adoption services in 2014 at a national level, and will consider how best to deploy its staff to deal with this important issue so as to facilitate access to records where they exist.
The Adoption Act 2010, requirement that agencies providing Information and Tracing services would gain accreditation resulted in a number of religious orders deciding not to apply for accreditation and transferring records from their Mother and Baby Homes and Adoption Societies to the Agency. In the case of the Sacred Heart Adoption Society, for example, some 25,000 records have been transferred to the Agency’s Regional Adoption Service in Cork. Work by the Agency on the organising and storage of these records has taken place. The advice of the National Archives has been sought in relation to the proper storage of these records that are of great significance.
I have raised the importance of arrangements for the management of these records directly with the Child and Family Agency and I have also asked my officials to examine the work that could be undertaken with the Child and Family Agency, the Adoption Authority and other stakeholders to improve arrangements for managing and accessing the records that are available.
I would urge birth mothers to enrol on the National Adoption Contact Preference Register which was established in 2005 to assist adopted people and their natural families to make contact with each other, exchange information or state their contact preferences. Applicants decide, through a range of information and contact options, how they wish to proceed. The Adoption Authority of Ireland has responsibility for the operation of the Contact Preference Register. I believe there is an opportunity in the context of the considerable public attention this area is receiving to promote awareness amongst women whose children were adopted of the importance of registering their consent for contact to be re-established.
224. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the negotiations between the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Russian authorities regarding the bilateral agreement on inter-country adoptions and when will the AAI have finalised the wording of the agreement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8768/14]
View answerEfforts are ongoing in my Department in relation to a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. Following my invitation to the Russian Ministry of Education and Science in August 2013, a delegation of Russian officials travelled to Ireland in October 2013 for discussions on a bilateral agreement on intercountry adoption between Ireland and the Russian Federation. The meeting of the 22nd October 2013 was very positive and detailed discussions took place between the Russian officials and officials from my Department, the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the HSE. At the meeting significant progress was made and my Department, in early November 2013, forwarded to the Russian side further detailed proposals based on the discussions which took place.
My Department prepared revised draft wording on a number of specific points which were recently forwarded to the Russian Authorities. It was suggested that should these revisions be acceptable to the Russian Federation, it would be useful for both sides to meet again for further discussions.
