Written Answers Nos. 422-438
422. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a disadvantaged area and single farm payment will be issued in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41380/14]
View answerThe person named applied for both the Single Payment and Disadvantaged Areas Schemes on 11th April 2014. An Official from my Department has been in regular contact with the person named in an attempt to resolve an outstanding issue on commonage land claimed by the person named for the first time in 2014. On receipt of the documentation requested by my Department, the application will be further processed with a view to any payment due issuing as soon as possible thereafter .
423. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a duplicate of a decision will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo, and to this Deputy, considering that the person has not yet received the formal decision letter as indicated in a previous question, which was not responded to in full; the way in which the herdowner can appeal to the independent appeals office when they did not receive the formal decision letter; if he investigated this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41409/14]
View answerAs previously indicated to the Deputy; payment under the 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme has not yet issued to the person named as, at this stage, the holding concerned has not yet satisfied the Scheme minimum stocking density requirements. Following an appeal in this matter from the person named, my Department carried out a full review of the application. This review was unsuccessful and the applicant was informed of the outcome in a letter dated 22 April 2014 , advising of their right to appeal to the Independent Appeals Office.
Appeals to the Independent Appeal Office are required to be submitted within ninety days of the date of original decision letter. However, I have arranged to waive this time limit in this case due to the circumstances as outlined above by the Deputy and I have also arranged for a copy of the original decision to issue to the person named today to facilitate their appeal.
424. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of beef imported into this country by month to date in 2014. [41450/14]
View answerThe amount of beef imported per month is set out below up to end-August which is the most recent point for which the CSO has available data. The figures below are in tonnes.
|
Jan-14 |
Feb-14 |
Mar-14 |
Apr-14 |
May-14 |
Jun-14 |
Jul-14 |
Aug-14 |
Grand Total 2014 |
|
1,683 |
1,343 |
2,006 |
1,919 |
2,288 |
1,935 |
1,647 |
2,153 |
14,975 |
Ireland produced approximately 520,000 tonnes of beef in 2013 and Bord Bia estimates that around 470,000 tonnes of this was exported.
425. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of single farm payment applications which have been selected for satellite inspection in 2014; the number of these applications which were eligible for DAS; the number which have been cleared for payment under each scheme; the number pending under each scheme; the number under each scheme which have thrown up anomalies of less than 3% and greater than 3%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41453/14]
View answerMy Department , in the context of delivering the Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme, and other area based schemes, is required to carry out an annual round of inspections, both in the field and by means of Remote Sensing, to ensure the eligibility of land declared to drawdown payments. The basis of these inspections is governed by EU legislation and there are minimum numbers that must be conducted each year.
Land eligibility checks must be carried out on at least 5% of applicants. In response to concerns about the impact of on-the-ground inspections on farmers, 6,715 cases or some 85% of the required 2014 inspections are initially being carried out without the need for a farm visit as the information needed is acquired using the technique of remote sensing via satellite.
The EU Regulations governing Remote Sensing inspections also require that where it is not possible to make an accurate determination on the eligibility of a parcel or parcels of land by means of an assessment of the available satellite imagery, a field inspection must be undertaken to verify the eligibility of the land.
My Department continues, on a daily basis, to process outstanding applications (including inspection cases) to finalisation with the intention of issuing any payments due as soon as possible. The following tables detail the data requested in relation to inspections, payments, etc.
2014 Single Payment Scheme
|
Total Selected for Satellite Inspection |
Total Paid to Date |
Total Finalised & Payment to issue this week |
Total being Processed to Finalisation |
|
6,57 5 |
3,942 |
1,132 |
1,501 |
2014 Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme
|
Total Selected for Satellite Inspection |
Total Paid to Date |
Total Finalised & Payment to issue this week |
Total being Processed to Finalisation |
|
5,728 |
2,183 |
1,074 |
2,471 * |
* Note - Of the total number of cases being processed to finalisation, 1,065 cases have specific DAS related issues outstanding, e.g. failure to meet stocking density requirements , etc .
The following tables detail the data requested in relation to reductions.
2014 Single Payment Scheme
|
Total Paid/Payment to issue this week - Reduction Less than 3% |
Total Paid/Payment to issue this week - Reduction Greater than 3% |
|
702 |
290 |
2014 Disadvantaged Areas’ Scheme
|
DAS Land Type/ Crop Group Category |
Total Paid /Ready for Payment - Reduction Less than 3% * * |
Total Paid /Ready for Payment - Reduction Greater than 3% * * |
|
Mountain Type Grazing |
12 5 |
8 6 |
|
More Severely Handicapped |
246 |
8 2 |
|
Less Severely Handicapped |
48 |
2 3 |
* * Note – As different aid rates apply to the different Crop Group Categories within DAS, reductions are applied at individual crop group category. An individual applicant may incur a reduction in one or more Crop Group Categories
426. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41464/14]
View answerPayment of the 50% advance due under the Single Farm Payment Scheme issued to the bank account of the person named on 23 October 2014 and payment in respect of the Disadvantaged Areas Scheme issued on 24 October 2014.
427. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) in County Cork had their single farm payment reduced in 2014 compared to 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41471/14]
View answerWhile there is no modulation reduction applicable to the 2014 scheme year payments a linear reduction of 10.49% has been applied to entitlements to bring their total value into line with 2014 ceiling. This reduction applies to all farmers with a Single Farm Payment of over €5,000, including the person named.
428. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo will receive their area aid payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41473/14]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2014 Single Farm Payment/Disadvantaged Areas Scheme application on 25 March 2014. Processing of the Disadvantaged Areas application of the person named has recently been finalised, with payment issued directly to the nominated bank account of the person named on 8 October 2014.
429. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on allowing for the upgrading of existing equipment and add-on facilities in the next TAM's funding scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41480/14]
View answerThe draft Rural Development Programme for the 2014-2020 period was submitted to the EU Commission for approval in July 2014 and includes provision for a suite of on-farm investment schemes.
The following investment areas have been identified as priorities to be targeted in the initial stages:-
(i) dairy equipment,
(ii) low emission spreading equipment,
(iii) animal welfare and farm safety (specifically beef and sheep handling facilities),
(iv) pig and poultry investments in energy, water meters and medicine dispensers,
(v) organic capital investment; and
(vi) a young farmer capital investment scheme.
The investment areas will subsequently be expanded to cover farm nutrient storage and animal housing. While in some cases it will be possible to upgrade or extend certain facilities such as replacement of damaged slats in the safety scheme or the conversion to organic housing under the organic capital investment scheme the emphasis in TAMS 2 will be very much on investing in new facilities. Likewise, grant-aid will only be available for purchase of new equipment, not for upgraded equipment or for the upgrading of existing equipment. This is to ensure that the highest standards are maintained and best value-for-money secured.
The definitive list of investment items eligible for support will be made available when EU Commission approval for the Programme has been received.
430. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way his Department deals with 2014 disadvantaged area scheme and first 50% tranche of 2014 single farm payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare who is currently appealing a 2013 decision and awaiting an on-site inspection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41495/14]
View answerAn application under the 2014 Single Farm Payment /Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 2 May 2014. Processing of this application has recently been finalised on the basis of the area declared by the applicant. I expect that payments will shortly issue to the nominated bank account of the person named.
The 2013 appeal is still ongoing and will be finalised once the results of the inspection are known.
431. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will review a case in respect of a person (details supplied) regarding an overpayment issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41509/14]
View answerFollowing a review of the forestry contract, it was noted that the applicant was notified in 18th February 2014 of an overpayment due to a reduction in the payable area . He was provided with the reason for the overpayment, which was that he had requested a boundary change to allow for the inclusion in his SPS claim of some of the area previously claimed as forestry. This letter advised him that, if he wished to appeal, he should write to the Appeals section of the Forest Service providing details of the grounds for his appeal. The applicant did not lodge an appeal. He was further advised that, if the overpaid amount was not repaid within 30 days of the letter, the outstanding debt would be netted from any other Department scheme payments due to him. The debt was subsequently recovered in this manner.
On 17th September 2014, the applicant’s forestry company informed the Department that the company and the applicant accepts the reduced area and it requested that the payment application form be forwarded to the applicant to enable him to claim his 2014 premium payment, which has since been paid. It should be noted that there is no record of any involvement by Coillte for this contract.
A Department official will make contact with the applicant to discuss the matter further.
432. Deputy Áine Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding a single farm payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [41522/14]
View answerThe holding of the person named was the subject of a Nitrates inspection carried out on 19 February 2014 by my Department on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
This inspection identified breaches under the Nitrates Regulations relating to the lack of storage facilities for farmyard manure and soiled water leading to direct/ indirect run-off to ground water. As similar breaches were identified at a previous inspection on the holding in 2011 and it was noted that no improvement had taken place to address the previous non-compliances, the current breaches were deemed as serious and intentional resulting in a 100% penalty being applied against the 2014 Direct Schemes payments.
The person named was notified of this decision on 6 March 2014. The person named was also informed of the right to seek a review of this decision. No request for such a review has been received by my Department to date.
433. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide details of an alleged overpayment to a person (details supplied) in County Cork under the 2013 single payment scheme; if this overpayment is alleged to be due from an over-claim under the LPIS; if he will give details of the exact location of the plots where the alleged over-claim exists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41528/14]
View answerThe overpayment under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme relates to breaches of Cross Compliance requirements. Under the Terms and Conditions of the Single Payment Scheme, an applicant as well as meeting the Scheme criteria is required to comply with EU regulatory requirements relating to Cross Compliance.
A report detailing findings of a Nitrates Derogation inspection on 11 th October 2013 was referred to my Department’s Cross Compliance Unit for attention. This report detailed breaches relating to the cross compliance requirements under the Nitrates Regulations.
The breaches under the Nitrates Regulations related to:
- inadequate collection of soiled water, slurry and silage effluent
- inappropriate collection of dairy washing and soiled water from collecting yard
- inadequate storage capacity for organic fertilisers
- exceeding the maximum phosphorous limit
The breaches resulted in a 20% penalty being applied against the 2013 Direct Schemes payments. The penalty amount totalled €2,040.93 and this was recouped from the 2014 Advance payment of the person named.
The person named was notified of this decision on 30 April 2014. The person named was also informed of the right to seek a review of this decision. No request for a review has been received by my Department to date.
434. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for his Department's delay in contacting farmers where there is an alleged overpayment; if he will consider, where circumstances permit, issuing payment less the alleged overclaim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41530/14]
View answerPayments under the Single Payment Scheme, Disadvantaged Areas Scheme and other area-based schemes may be made only in respect of eligible land and applicants are obliged annually to declare the land parcels available to them; details of the eligible area of the land parcels are recorded on my Department’s Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). Details of the use and area claimed for each of some one million parcels on the LPIS system are registered and continually monitored by my Department.
Where over claims are identified during the processing of Single Farm Payment applications my Department contacts the applicant concerned. However, in order to expedite the flow of payments the current procedure for dealing with such overclaims is to process the application, in accordance with EU rules, and issue payment on the basis of the Department’s determined reference area. This allows funds to be paid to a farmer without withholding the entire amount while the overclaim issue is resolved. If, following review, an area is increased, a further supplementary payment can issue to the applicant.
Finally, I can confirm that payment runs are continuing on a twice-weekly basis, with individual cases being paid after they are confirmed as having satisfied the Scheme requirements.
435. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will have their forestry road grant paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41531/14]
View answerThe application by the person named for approval to build a forest road was granted on 28 September 2012 with an expiry date for its completion of 31 December 2012. There were two subsequent extensions to the completion date and the road was scheduled to be completed by 30 June 2013. When the application for payment (Form 2) was received it was noted that the completion date was outside the approved extended expiry period and the application was refused. The person named appealed against this decision but the appeal was unsuccessful.
The person named was advised that it is open to him to submit a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, if he considers that he has been treated unfairly.
436. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a single farm and disadvantaged area scheme payment will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41540/14]
View answerThe person named applied for the Single Payment and Disadvantaged Areas Schemes on 30 April 2014. Processing of the applications have recently been finalised and payments in respect of both schemes issued dated 31 October 2014 directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
437. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to close the district veterinary office in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41578/14]
View answerIn 2009, in line with government policy, my Department began a process of restructuring its local office network which reduced the number of local offices from 58 to 16 enhanced Regional Offices. A follow-on review of the business processes and procedures and, in particular, the administrative support requirements, in those 16 offices resulted in the introduction of a number of significant changes to the procedures in relation to the implementation of controls in the TB eradication programme. As a consequence of these changes and having regard to the significant efficiencies which have already arisen as a result of the investment made by my Department in IT in recent years, the number of staff required to deliver the service in the local offices has been considerably reduced. The review concluded that further substantial efficiencies would accrue from the centralisation of administrative support and, in light of this, my Department has commenced a process to centralise this support in 2 ‘back office’ locations, namely Portlaoise and Cavan.
The centralisation of administrative functions will facilitate the redeployment of staff from my Department’s Regional Offices to other State agencies and, thereby, enable Government to provide services through these agencies more efficiently. My Department has already engaged with the Garda Síochána, the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Revenue Commissioners and the Payroll Shared Services Centre with a view to new work for Department staff affected by the reorganisation plan. Following the Government decision to locate one of the 3 Payroll Shared Services Centres in Galway, my Department has been requested to redeploy our administrative staff in Galway to that Centre. No date has been set yet for redeployment but the Department anticipates it likely to happen in mid 2015. As things stand at present, redeployment to the Shared Payroll Service will not involve administrative staff being moved from their current location in Renmore.
My Department is considering further administrative efficiencies, however it is important to state that any changes in staffing levels in my Department’s Galway office will not negatively impact upon local access and services for local customers. Department veterinary inspectors, agricultural inspectors and technical officers will remain in place and frontline services will be fully maintained and public access for all of the Departments stakeholders will continue to be available. Similar changes have taken place in the Department’s offices in Clonakilty, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Enniscorthy without any negative implications for the provision of services to farmer clients.
438. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive their AEOS 3 payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41600/14]
View answerThe person named was approved for participation in the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS 3) with effect from the 1 st May 2013.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, have to be completed before any payment can issue. During these checks a query arose in respect of land parcels declared which required digitisation. This is being dealt with by my Department at present and once the digitisation process is completed, the application will be processed with a view to making payment in respect of 2013 at the earliest opportunity.
