Written Answers Nos. 17-20
17. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he expects that the GLAS scheme will open for applications; the expected date of the approval of these applications; the expected pay-out to farmers under this scheme in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42804/14]
View answerGLAS (the Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme) is part of a suite of proposed measures under the new Rural Development Programme (RDP) which was submitted to the European Commission in July. The Commission services have recently notified us of their observations on the draft Scheme and my Department is this week providing responses to the Commission with a view to gaining approval at the earliest possible date. Once approval is granted, my Department will move to open the Scheme for applications. I would hope to be able to do so before the end of the year, but this is entirely dependent on approval being secured in time from the EU. I can only make final decisions in this regard when I have EU approval to hand.
GLAS is designed around core requirements which all applicants must satisfy. A tiered approach is being applied to entry into the Scheme and the tiers are based on a consideration of priority environmental assets and actions, with those in Tier One receiving priority access to the scheme. I anticipate that between 25,000 and 30,000 farmers could be approved for entry to GLAS next year and it will take some time to process those applications. As with the introduction of previous agri-environmental schemes, payment in the first year of application will be on a part-year basis, paying up to 75% of what is due before the end of 2015. I anticipate that payments of some €20m will issue for GLAS in 2015, depending on numbers approved and date of approval.
18. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the steps he has taken to resolve the beef price crisis that has caused farmers to blockade factories; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42803/14]
View answerI am fully aware that this past year has been extremely difficult for beef farmers as prices have dropped from the high levels of 2013. While I can have no role in discussing prices, I and the Government have been very proactive in ensuring that we have the appropriate policy support environment in place to secure a sustainable future for all in the beef sector. I have brought forward a number of initiatives this year to help the sector, including the creation of the Beef Genomics Scheme and securing a budget of €23 million for this in 2014. I have also ensured that the budgets of the Beef Data Programme and the Beef Technology Adoption Programme are retained at €10 million and €5 million which when added to residual payments under the Suckler Cow Welfare Scheme amounts to an investment of €40m in 2014.
In the recent budget, I announced a total package of approximately €74 million for the beef sector in 2015, including a provision of €52 million for a proposed Beef Data and Genomics Programme. The budget package included an additional sum of €9 million to fund the Beef Data Programme, €6 million to assist farmer participation in the Beef Quality Assurance Scheme, and a further €1 million for Bord Bia in support of its marketing of Irish products abroad.
I established a Beef Roundtable earlier this year to facilitate discussions on the strategic issues facing the sector and to exchange intelligence on market developments and forecast. The roundtable is a valuable resource for engagement between stakeholders within the sector. It has been pivotal in improving communication between all parties in the sector. The discussions have led to a number of notable outcomes, including the decision to press forward with the development of Producer Organisations to rebalance bargaining power along the supply chain.
One particular concern highlighted by beef producers in this forum has been the application of specifications by the meat factories. While it is important to incentivise the production of the type of animals demanded by the marketplace, it is also vital that the signals provided to farmers are clear and reasonable. In order to overcome the concerns, and at my request, farm groups and processors have agreed to engage in intensive discussions over a two week period on the commercial issues in dispute, under an independent chair, Mr. Michael Dowling. For my part, I have agreed to hold another meeting of the roundtable today to review progress at which I expect receive an updated report and recommendations on the outcome of these discussions.
19. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the position regarding the discussions on climate smart agriculture discussions at the UN climate change conference; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37650/14]
View answerThe concept of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) was defined and presented in November 2010 by the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations (FAO) to the Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change. Since then the Netherlands Government has led an initiative to move the concept of Climate Smart Agriculture into an global alliance that would include governments, farmers’ organizations, scientists, businesses, civil society and NGOs. The initiative has been in particular supported by the FAO, the World Bank, as well as by the USDA and the Vietnamese and South African Governments. The three pillars of Climate Smart Agriculture are:
- sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes;
- adapting and building resilience to climate change; and
- reducing and/or removing greenhouse gases emissions, where possible.
The Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture was launched at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York on the 24th September 2014 and Ireland is one of the first signatories to the Joint Action Statement for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition. Ireland has also signalled an intention to formally join the Alliance subject to a satisfactory governance structure being put in place. The interim secretariat indicated that this would be developed during the “inception year” commencing from 24th September 2014.
The alliance aims to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals and it integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) by jointly addressing food security and climate challenges. The alliance has the potential to provide a useful opportunity to showcase Irish agricultural policy, expertise and agribusiness, as well as Irish Aid’s work in developing countries. Membership of the alliance could also afford improved opportunities for Ireland to both promote and to learn from best practices elsewhere.
The interim secretariat has advised that the first working meeting of the alliance will be held at FAO in Rome on 17-18 December 2014, and will focus on the following items:
1. Governance of the Global Alliance for CSA (structure and composition);
2. Programme of Work of the Global Alliance of CSA/Key deliverables (Inception year);
3. Action Groups, Update and Plan of Action; and
4. Facilitation Unit; Terms Of Reference; Finance.
20. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to detail the measures his Department has taken to tackle the issue of farm safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42989/14]
View answerBoth my Department and I are very strongly committed to promoting Farm Safety in collaboration with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), the organisation with primary responsibility for securing health and safety at work. My Department has taken a number of steps this year and over recent years in tandem with some of the other State and industry organisations to raise awareness of the problem and educate farmers and their families on the dangers of working in this industry.
Most recently, I launched a new Farm Safety Scheme for the grant-aiding of items relating to farm safety. I have committed funding of €12.2 million to the scheme which was opened on the 22nd October this year and covers items such as animal handling facilities, safety agitation points for slurry tanks and safety cages under translucent roof sheets, to name but a few of the items being supported. This scheme will see a significant investment in farm safety on farms in the coming months.
In addition, I supported The National Farm Safety Awareness day on Monday 21st July 2014; The ‘EMBRACE Farm’ National Day of Remembrance for farm accidents on 29th June 2014 and attended the launch at the national ploughing championships 2014 of the ‘EMBRACE Farm’ ‘What's Left Behind!’ series of videos, with testimonies of families that have endured tragic loss in farm accidents.
To support bereaved families, my Department is establishing a co-ordinated service / single point of contact for families who have suffered a sudden loss and who may not have experience in dealing with the type of day to day issues that might bring them in contact with the Department in relation to schemes and services. Also this year my Department has issued text alerts to farmers in relation to increasing the awareness of farm safety. Further to this, a Farm Safety leaflet has been included with the Single Payment application packs for the last three years in association with the Health and Safety Authority and the Farm Safety Partnership Advisory Committee. This was distributed to over 130,000 farmers each year and has targeted different risks in each year. In addition a Code of Practice aimed at reducing farm accidents was issued to all farms.
In addition to all of this work, there are ‘Health and Safety’ guidelines included in all of the farm building specifications drawn up the Department for the construction of agricultural buildings and structures. It is important that we all support a change in approach to safety on our farms.
