Written Answers Nos. 130-139
130. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments for 2012 and 2013 under the disadvantaged areas scheme will be finalised in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6460/15]
View answerUnder 2012 and 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Schemes, there were criteria to be satisfied in relation to those applicants availing of equines to meet the minimum stocking density requirement. First, the holding itself must meet the definition of an Equine Breeding Enterprise and second, horses, in order to be taken into account for stocking density purposes, must be aged one to five years and, where older, must be a breeding mare for the purposes of the Scheme and recorded as in the ownership of the applicant. The person named submitted four equine passports to my Department, in respect of mares over the age of five of which there were no foals recorded in any of the preceding three years. Therefore, as the requirements of the Scheme were not met, no payment is due to the person named under the 2012 and 2013 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme.
131. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he has taken to include the carbon sequestration ability of hedgerows and trees on Irish farms in his determination of the net production of greenhouse gases of Irish livestock; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6462/15]
View answerMy Department recognises the importance of hedgerows and woodland habitats and their roles in biodiversity, agricultural management and potential carbon sequestration. Hedgerows are estimated to cover 3.9% of the Irish landscape. The REPS and AEOS schemes facilitated the planting of approximately 10,000 km of new hedgerows and the rejuvenation of some 3,000 more. The total area of hedgerow and non forest woodland patches across the landscape could possibly represent a significant carbon sink and could potentially be used as a mitigation option.
Where tree cover extends to 0.1 ha or more and meets height and ground cover criteria, areas are classified as forest and come within the national carbon reporting system under the 2013 EU LULUCF Decision (Decision No 529/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on accounting rules on greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from activities relating to land use, land-use change and forestry and on information concerning actions relating to those activities) and under the Kyoto Protocol.
At the moment there is no national inventory system to facilitate the accounting of hedgerow sinks under the Kyoto Protocol, and there is a lack of historic baseline data to be used as a reference period for calculating greenhouse gas changes over time. However the Environmental protection Agency (EPA) and Teagasc have concluded a climate change research programme on carbon sequestration by hedgerows in the Irish landscape, using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) remote sensing technology and terrestrial laser scanning for assessing hedgerow biomass. This technology can measure the physical characteristics of hedges and the work has concluded that a national inventory of hedgerows is technically feasible.
The content of this report and its recommendations will be considered by my Department in the context of the 2013 LULUCF decision.
Climate Change Research Programme (CCRP) 2007-2013, Report Series No. 32. Carbon Sequestration by Hedgerows in the Irish Landscape – Towards a National Hedgerow Biomass Inventory for the LULUCF Sector using LiDAR Remote Sensing.
132. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants paid under the beef data scheme 2013; the total value issued; the number of applicants awaiting payment; the total amount due; the number of applicants under the 2014 scheme; when they will be paid; the total moneys due; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6467/15]
View answerPayments of €9.18 million were made to 26,715 participants under the 2013 Beef Data Programme. My Department is currently validating the applications of remaining participants to establish the number that will be eligible for payment. When the validation process is completed, the number of eligible applicants and amount payable can be established.
There are currently approximately 38,000 applicants under the 2014 Beef Data Programme. Applicants cannot complete the submission of data under this Programme until the late-born animals concerned are five months of age. Therefore, my Department will not be in a position to validate all data under the 2014 Beef Data Programme until May 2015. It is not possible, therefore, to establish the number of applicants due payment and the amounts involved until that time.
133. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants paid under the beef genomics scheme 2014; the total value issued; the number of applicants awaiting payment; the total amount due; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6468/15]
View answerThe Beef Genomics Scheme was launched in 2014 using national funds. To date, my Department has paid €22,030,600 to some 31,000 participants under this Scheme. While the vast majority of applicants have received their payment under the Scheme, there are a small number of cases that had not met all of the requirements when payments were issued. My Department is currently in the process of validating these outstanding cases. However, it is not possible at this stage to quantity the exact level of outstanding payments until the validation process is completed.
134. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the provisions of the beef genomics scheme for 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6469/15]
View answerThe 2015 budget includes a 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 (BDGP) which will place Ireland at the leading edge globally in the use of genomics in beef production.
The proposed BDGP would deliver an accelerated improvement in the environmental sustainability of the beef herd via the application of genomics technology. This will help farmers to manage their enterprises sustainably, cognisant of Ireland’s climate change commitments, and will improve the quality of the national suckler herd. It will also cement our place amongst the more progressive beef producing nations in the world.
Subject to the approval of the Rural Development Programme by the EU Commission, farmers will be paid for work carried out in a range of areas related to data recording and animal breeding policies. The actions being considered for the Programme include recording a range of data related to performance criteria and animal events, taking tissue (DNA) samples from selected animals and sending for laboratory testing, completing an on-farm Carbon Navigator, and selecting high quality replacement bulls and heifers over the 6 years of the BDGP contract.
All Rural Development Plans submitted to the European Commission are subject to approval, following a detailed period of analysis and discussion. The Commission has provided observations on the BDGP and my Department has been engaged in intensive discussions to address issues raised and to provide the necessary clarifications. The scheme will be rolled out without delay following approval, with application forms issuing to all eligible farmers.
135. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposals he put forward at the recent European Union Agriculture Council meeting in relation to the need to extend the end-date of the private storage scheme to help offset the impact of the Russian ban on the export of food products from the European Union to Russia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6471/15]
View answer148. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proposals he put forward at recent European Union Agriculture Council meetings in relation to the need to provide adequate market support measures to offset the impact of the Russian sanction on exports of dairy products from the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6502/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 135 and 148 together.
At the last Council of EU Agriculture Ministers meeting in Brussels in January, Ireland made the point that the continuing weakness in the global dairy market was having a severe impact on dairy farmers in Ireland and throughout the EU. While the medium term outlook was positive, it was important that the EU Commission use the measures available to it to assist the situation in the short term. We acknowledged that the Commission had already taken the step of extending private storage aid for butter and skimmed milk powder to the end of September 2015 and proposed that such aid should be re-introduced for cheese. We also proposed serious consideration of intervention, to be undertaken at price levels that would positively support the market.
From previous contacts with the Commission, we had received assurances that it would be possible to phase the burden of super levy payments for producers over a period of time and we sought assurances that this could be extended to the level of Member State. The Commissioner has promised to respond at next month’s Council to this proposal.
As regards other products affected by the Russian embargo, we called on the Commission to introduce a scheme of aids to private storage for the pig-meat sector, referencing the rapid and substantial drop in prices and the real effects being felt by producers from the loss of the Russian market.
136. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants paid, and the total amount paid, under the 2014 rural environment protection scheme 4 and the agri-environment options schemes 1, 2 and 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6490/15]
View answerA total of 15,776 applicants have been paid in respect of the 2014 REPS4 Scheme year in the amount of €92.487 million. The position for 2014 AEOS is set out in the table below:
|
Scheme |
Amount |
No. of Applicants paid |
|
AEOS1 |
24,770,428.25 |
6,305 |
|
AEOS2 |
15,639,325.45 |
4,762 |
|
AEOS3 |
14,941,304.96 |
4,505 |
|
Totals |
55,351,058.66 |
15,572 |
Payments are made in two parts 75% and 25% and they continue on an on-going basis as cases are cleared.
137. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applicants paid under the 2014 disadvantaged areas scheme; the total amount paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6491/15]
View answerPayments to date under the 2014 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme have issued to some 92,957 beneficiaries worth approx €195 million. Payments are continuing to issue as further cases become clear for payment.
138. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made in relation to the adoption of a new charter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6492/15]
View answerThe Farmers Charter Review Group is chaired by an Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and comprised of senior Department officials and representatives of the main farmer representative organisations. The aim of the Review Group is to agree standards and delivery targets for the schemes and services provided by the Department to all its clients including farmers. While negotiations on the new Farmers’ Charter are at an advanced stage there are a number of areas that require further discussion. My Department is endeavouring to achieve consensus with representatives of the main farmer representative organisations on these outstanding issues and to do so in as timely a manner as possible.
Upon finalisation of the new Farmers’ Charter, a Charter Monitoring Committee will be established under an independent chair to monitor Charter targets/commitments.
139. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria that will apply for applicants under the green low-carbon agri-environmental scheme in relation to commonages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6493/15]
View answerFirstly I would like to point out that my priority is to put in place requirements for commonages that will deliver real and measureable environmental benefits and will fit within the framework of the Rural Development Regulations. In order to put in place an implementation strategy which will deliver these benefits, I have consulted widely with the hill-farmer representatives and I am confident that the plan now in place will deliver what is needed. It is clear that the sustainable management of our commonages must be carried out in a cohesive and integrated manner in order to achieve the required environmental objectives. The best mechanism to do so is a common plan, drawn up by one Advisor who takes the individual circumstances of each shareholder into consideration and assigns stocking levels appropriate to the individual farmer, with in the context of the overall needs of the commonage. Ideally, at least 50% of active shareholders would participate in the plan but I am aware that in some areas this could present difficulties, which is why it will not be a barrier to entry. In addition, a farmer will apply individually to join GLAS on the commonage or commonages on which they farm.
My focus now is to secure Commission approval of the Rural Development Programme at the earliest possible date so that I can open GLAS to applications.
