Written Answers Nos. 110-119
110. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide copies of all general and limited felling licences associated with a development (details supplied) in County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9622/15]
View answerTwo Limited Felling Licences (FL15842 and FL15843) issued to Coillte on 8 August 2014 for various townlands in Co. Roscommon in connection with Sliabh Bawn Wind Farm.
Both licences are valid for 2 years from the date of issue.
FL15842 carries an obligation to replant alternative specified sites in counties Limerick, Leitrim, Galway and Mayo, while FL15842 carries an obligation to replant the area felled under that licence.
Copies of the licences and associated maps will be dispatched to the Deputy as soon as possible.
111. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be made on a case (details supplied); if the person's explanation of circumstances will be accepted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9628/15]
View answerThe Agriculture Appeals Office is in receipt of an appeal in respect of the above named person. The Appeals Officer has been in direct contact with the above named and advised that the decision will issue in writing, within the next two weeks.
112. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that all commonage land parcel identification system reviews, from 2009 to date in 2015, have been carried out in a transparent and non-discriminatory manner, with specific regard to notice and the provision of reports to the affected applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9629/15]
View answerMy Department initiated a LPIS Review of commonage land in 2009. The objective of this Review was to confirm that the commonage land declared by applicants under the Direct Aid Schemes was eligible for payment. It is recalled that over €1.5 billion is paid annually in Ireland to farmers under the EU funded or partially funded Direct Aid Schemes. The Review involved an assessment of the eligible area of each commonage parcel using ortho-imagery from the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) database. The objective was to ensure that payments under the EU funded Direct Payment Schemes, under which in excess of €1.5 billion is paid annually to farmers in Ireland, are made on land that is eligible for payment.
As part of the Review, ineligible areas such as rocks, scrub, roads, forests, lakes and other features were excluded from the eligible area. It is also necessary to exclude areas where no agricultural activity is carried out. The outcome of this Review was communicated to farmers where reductions were made to individual commonages. In the majority of cases, the reductions had no impact on payments made under the Single Payment Scheme. There were a number of reasons for this, which includes the following:
-Many farmers acted in a prudent manner and declared a lesser area than their share of the commonage, which meant that the claimed area was still less than the share of the reduced commonage area.
-Some farmers declared more land than the number of payment entitlements held.
-It was possible up until 31 December 2009 to re-calculate the number and value of entitlements held by farmers where the eligible area of a commonage was reduced. Following amendments to the EU Regulations, it is no longer possible to re-calculate entitlements in such cases.
In accordance with EU Regulations, the assessment of commonages continues to ensure that ineligible areas or areas with no farming activity are not paid on under the Direct Payment Schemes. The relevant farmers are informed of the findings of these assessments.
113. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason payment under the grassland sheep scheme has not issued to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9671/15]
View answerAn application under the 2014 Grassland Sheep Scheme was received from the person named on 23 April 2014, processing of which has recently been completed. Payment under the 2014 Grassland Sheep Scheme is due to issue directly to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.
114. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm if a person (details supplied) in County Limerick made a late application in 2013 under the organic farming scheme for an increase in land claimed; and if so, if that extra land will now be considered for inclusion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9695/15]
View answerMy Department proposes to open a new Organic Farming Scheme this year under the new Rural Development Programme and existing Organic Farming Scheme participants will have the opportunity to transform to this new scheme under a new five year contract. If approved, the above-named will be permitted to bring additional owned or leased land in to his Organic Farming Scheme contract provided this is declared in his 2015 BPS application.
115. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on a payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo under the rural environment protection scheme. [9696/15]
View answerThe person named commenced REPS 4 in April 2008 and received payments for the first five years of their contract.
All issues have now been resolved in this case and the 2014 REPS payment, less clawback, is now being processed. Payment of the first instalment of 75% will issue to the herdowner before the end of next week and the balance of 25% will issue thereafter.
116. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if hare coursing will be banned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9699/15]
View answerUnder the provisions of the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, the regulation of coursing is chiefly a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC) subject to the general control and direction of Bord na gCon (BnG).
The welfare of greyhounds involved in coursing is provided for in the Welfare of Greyhounds Act 2011 which inter alia requires that persons who course greyhounds must have regard to the “Code of Practice in the Care & Welfare of the Greyhound”, developed jointly by the ICC and BnG.
The ICC has assured my Department that it has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved in coursing and that it goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of welfare are adhered to.
A Monitoring Committee on Coursing is in place, comprised of officials from my Department, the ICC and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds.
Hares can only be collected for coursing by clubs affiliated to the ICC in accordance with the terms of two licences granted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. These licences contain 26 conditions which have been refined over the years, the majority of which are central to hare welfare, including the following:
- All clubs shall arrange for a qualified veterinary surgeon to be in attendance during all of their coursing meetings, who shall prepare a signed report on the health of the hares and on any injuries or deaths of hares that occur during the meeting.
- Hares may not be coursed more than once on the same day and all necessary arrangements shall be made to ensure that hares that have been coursed can be readily identified to ensure this condition is rigidly observed.
- Sick, injured or pregnant hares shall not be collected for coursing; hares that become sick or injured or that appear to be pregnant while in captivity may not be coursed.
- Adequate escapes must be provided while coursing hares pursuant to the licence.
- All hares must be released back into the wild during daylight hours the day after a coursing meeting is concluded, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant NPWS staff beforehand.
- Hares must be released back into the wild at the same locations from which such numbers were captured, unless otherwise agreed beforehand with the relevant NPWS staff.
- There must be full compliance with the Directives, Instructions and Guidance Notes issued by the Irish Coursing Club in all matters relating to the capture, keeping in captivity, tagging, marking, coursing and release of hares, and the muzzling of greyhounds.
The ICC attends to the welfare of the hare as evidenced by the following:
- The health status of all hares is assessed prior to placing in the Hare Park following netting
- Hares are treated for a range of common ailments under veterinary supervision
- Hares are released into the Hare Park which is laid out to replicate the wild with appropriate cover and shelter
- Footbaths are located in the Hare Park to treat/prevent any minor foot issues
- Hares are fed on a diet of oats (whole or sheaf), sallies (branches of young trees), apples and fresh water
- The feeding and training of hares is confined to a limited number of people with the relevant expertise
- All hares are familiarised with the coursing stretch and with the escape located at the top of the coursing field
- Prior to each meeting, the hares and facility are inspected by a Hare & Field Committee member, a veterinary surgeon and ICC Control Steward
- A veterinary surgeon certifies whether or not the hares are fit to course
- A veterinary surgeon is appointed to attend on the day of coursing to advise and administer care when required
- The Executive Committee (Board) of the ICC appoints one of its members to oversee each coursing meeting with powers to curtail or abandon a meeting if required
- An ICC Control Steward is appointed to each meeting to ensure all rules are adhered to by the host club
- On conclusion of the coursing meeting all hares are released back into the countryside under the supervision of an ICC steward and a Wildlife Ranger (if in attendance)
- Each coursing meeting is documented to capture relevant information regarding the conduct of the meeting as required by the NPWS. This information is submitted to the NPWS and is available under FOI legislation
- The ICC’s Hare & Field Committee advise and instruct clubs on best practice in terms of hare welfare and field layout to ensure greyhound welfare
- The ICC provide full/partial grant aid to clubs to develop their facilities to ensure best practice
- Quercus of Queens University Belfast, concluded that where there are coursing clubs there are 18 times more hares than in the wider countryside.
A review of the outcome for the most recent season indicates that the procedures and processes in place in terms of animal welfare are appropriate given that 99.4% of hares were released back to the wild at the conclusion of coursing.
The systems in place to oversee coursing are, in my view, effective, proportionate and working well and on that basis I have no plans to ban hare coursing.
117. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm that the Land Commission vesting orders for land and attached seaweed rights are held in Portlaoise, County Laois; the arrangements in place to allow the public access to these orders; if consideration was provided to transferring these documents to the Property Registration Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9724/15]
View answerRecords Branch Portlaoise is the repository for some 8 million records produced or used by the former Irish Land Commission (ILC) including title documents, maps and related papers as well as Vesting Orders, Purchase Orders and other records of ILC proceedings. These records contain private and personal information on the individuals concerned and are not generally available for public inspection. The current owner of the lands in question or parties acting on their behalf are given access to relevant documentation by prior consultation with staff in Records Branch.
It is not possible to confirm whether records relating to vesting orders for lands with seaweed rights attached are held without identifying the specific lands in question. As regards transfer of documents to the Property Registration Authority, this happens as a matter of course in situations where documentation relating to a vesting is required for registration purposes.
118. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied), who had an approved forestry grant, is now subject to a retrospective penalty of over €4,000; if the person has the right to appeal the decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9726/15]
View answerThe debt that arose in this case was solely as a result of an overpayment to the applicant; in this case there was no penalty imposed from the schedule of penalties provided for under the scheme. The application by the person named under the Native Woodland Establishment Scheme when originally claimed and approved for payment included an unplanted area of 1.7ha for which payment was not due. The amount owed has since been repaid in full. If the person in question believes that he has been unfairly treated in this matter it is open to him to seek a review by my Department of the decision giving the grounds on which he considers it should be reviewed.
119. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons who were in receipt of forestry grants that had retrospective penalties imposed on them in the past two years; the total amount of penalties imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9727/15]
View answerIn the last two years penalties were imposed on twelve current forestry contracts from the schedule of penalties provided for under the scheme. The total amount of penalties imposed on the twelve people was €12,699.85.
