Written Answers Nos. 92 - 99
92. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the issue of supporting horse sports in racing and in securing funding for future development; and if he will meet the concerned party. [27758/15]
View answerThe thoroughbred and sport horse sectors are significant contributors to employment and the Irish economy generally, and against that background receive financial support from government. The Thoroughbred horse industry is worth over €1bn per annum to the Irish economy and provides employment for in excess of 14,000 people. The industry attracts significant inward investment and is export orientated with export sales of Irish bred horses to 34 countries in 2014. The sport horse industry contributes in excess of €708 million per annum and provides 12,512 full time job equivalents, according to a 2012 report commissioned by Horse Sport Ireland. Almost 50,000 people participate in the sector. Financial support is provided by my Department to the thoroughbred sector, through Horse Racing Ireland, from the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund. The Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund was established under section 12 (1) of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act 2001 (the Act) for the purpose of giving support to the horse and greyhound racing industries.
Regarding sport horses an annual grant is provided by my Department to Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), for the development and promotion of the Irish Sport Horse, breeding and production sector, the operation of the Irish Horse Register and for administration costs. Capital grant assistance is also provided under the Equine Infrastructures scheme to organisations in the sport horse sector to assist in the pursuit of improved breeding. Aid is provided in this regard for activities which support education of breeders, performance testing of horses, DNA typing, support for the establishment, maintenance and upgrading of databases, genetic indexing, research into equine disease and website development.
My Department does not provide support for harness racing, which has been a minority-interest sport in this country, with fixtures staged throughout the year at venues outside of authorised racecourses. I understand that the Irish Harness Racing Association (IHRA) has recently been established with the aim of developing the sport of harness racing in Ireland and that it has had a number of meetings with my department to discuss the potential for the industry.
93. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the checks his Department has in place to prevent produce from stolen animals entering the food chain; the checks being operated to deal with stolen livestock being exported live; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27731/15]
View answerMy Department has a range of checks in place to prevent missing/stolen animals from entering the food chain or being presented for live export. In the event of an animal being stolen and a herd keeper reports the event to the Garda and the Department’s RVO, a copy of the Garda report and relevant details of the case are recorded on an NBAS24 form and forwarded to Animal Identification and Movement Division. The Division enters the record of 'stolen' animals and identification details on the Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database in a dedicated missing/stolen category whereby the animal is designated with a missing/stolen notification referred to as E 800.
In the event that a stolen animal is presented at an outlet such as an export point, livestock mart or slaughter plant, the E800 designation alerts the staff there not to allow further movement of the animal and an investigation takes place into the background of the missing/stolen notification. The animal is not permitted to be moved or enter the food chain until the investigation is completed, the animal’s bona fides are established and the E800 designation is deleted.
94. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to alleviate the current lamb crisis and market price volatility; his views on competition within the lamb trading market; the steps being taken to reduce barriers to live exports; the actions he will take to encourage competition in the live exports market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27733/15]
View answerAfter a good opening quarter to 2015, where Irish factory prices were up by an average of almost 11% over the corresponding quarter in 2014, prices fell back during the second quarter. However, at the end of June the average year to date price was running at approximately 4% ahead of the same period last year. Just this week, I understand that prices have started to rise again and that demand for sheep and lamb by factories is rising. Prices during the second quarter have been affected by the combination of strong supplies, with a higher average carcass weight, and a reduction in demand on both the domestic market and in our key export markets. This may be attributable in part to the warm weather and a lower than normal increase in demand during Ramadan.
At producer level I continue to put in place incentives to ensure that producers see a viable future in the sector. The Sheep Technology Adoption Programme (STAP) has been continued for a third and final year in 2015. In committing funding of €3 million to the programme I am acknowledging the success of the scheme in 2013 and 2014 in which 4,000 producers participated. Under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014 -2020 I have made provision for improving efficiency and profitability in sheep production under the Knowledge Transfer Groups measure, which has an overall budget of €100 million. The experience in STAP has informed the development of this measure. In addition to profitability, the emphasis will be on the key issues of business skills, environmental sustainability and herd health, with increased interaction between individual farmers and facilitators in order to customise information exchange.
The Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) in the RDP will benefit sheep farmers and they will continue to be significant beneficiaries from the Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme. Also, a series of capital investment schemes are being introduced under the TAMS II scheme, several of which will provide for sheep farmers.
As far as live exports are concerned, my Department continues to play its part in facilitating live exports of sheep while ensuring that all the necessary veterinary conditions set by the EU are satisfied. Ireland has a healthy live export trade that operates to a high standard and a significant infrastructural capacity of exports points, vehicles and vessels available, allied to a significant number of experienced live exporters, to facilitate the live export trade.
The recently launched Food Wise 2025 report acknowledges the importance of the sheep sector and notes that growth in the sector will come from improved technical efficiencies, as well as growth opportunities from an increase in consumer demand and export market opportunities. On the export front, my Department continues to search for new markets in consultation with the meat industry, and in cooperation with Bord Bia and the Irish Embassies abroad. For example during my visit to China leading a Trade Mission in November 2014, I was able to hand over the completed version of a sheep questionnaire which we had been asked to complete in connection with our efforts to gain access to the Chinese market for sheepmeat. This represents the first milestone on the road which will lead, I hope, to Ireland gaining access to the Chinese market for sheep meat in the future. I also raised the issue of access with my US counterpart Tom Vilsack when we last met in February of this year and progress here depends on the lifting by the US of its ban on sheep meat from the EU.
95. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on short-term borrowings in the dairy sector and the negative impact this has on the industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27757/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the EU milk quota regime ended on March 31st last. Planning for the post quota period had been ongoing amongst all stakeholders for a number of years and I believe we have the right balance of measures in place to ensure that Irish dairy farmers can enter the new era with full confidence. Notwithstanding the overriding opportunity that a quota free environment will bring I remain acutely aware that addressing issues such as borrowings and financial constraints will be key challenges for the dairy sector and for farmers in particular in the context of various factors such as price volatility, investment and shorter term borrowings and super-levy repayments. My Department has been exploring new and more competitive sources of funding and will continue to do so in the context of evolving market requirements. For example, the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, established by the Government as a strategic SME funding company, has recently launched a new ‘Agriculture Investment Loans’ product. This credit is available at favourable terms for investments by agricultural SMEs involved in primary agricultural production, the processing of agricultural products or the marketing of agricultural products.
In relation to accessing finance and credit terms generally, I retain ongoing contact with the main banks, most recently meeting directly with them earlier this year. I emphasised that this is a critical phase in Ireland’s dairy expansion and that the increased investment and output from production and processing will have significant downstream benefits across the economy generally, including for the banking sector.
In order to support the on-going development of the dairy sector and to mitigate the current difficulties caused by milk price volatility, I asked them to explore the full range of potential measures that could serve to alleviate the loan repayment burden facing farmers and offer maximum flexibility for dairy farmers in what will be a difficult year ahead. I believe that it is essential that short term cash flow difficulties are not allowed to undermine prudent investment plans or the longer term competitiveness of their operations. I will continue to communicate with the main banks on issues affecting the sector.
Another aspect to addressing this issue is the utilisation of provisions under the regulations governing the European Structural and Investment Funds (including the Rural Development Programme - RDP), where it is open to Member States to fund interventions via financial instruments. Essentially, financial instruments offer an alternative to the traditional grant based approach whereby schemes under the RDP may be funded via loans, guarantee funds or equity investments. The funding for any such financial instruments would have to draw on our existing RDP allocation of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development funding as well as National Exchequer funding. It is also possible to incorporate funding from other sources such as the European Investment Bank.
The European Commission has indicated that it is aiming to double the usage of these financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period. Officials in my Department have been engaging with the European Commission, EIB and other stakeholders in order to identify areas where financial instruments could be implemented to best strategic effect. They are also exploring the practical steps which are required in order to implement financial instruments and put in place a clear plan based on real market failures and economic needs.
As well as the issues outlined above, it is worth mentioning at this stage that I have also been proactive in other areas in terms of ensuring the right balance of measures is in place to ensure that Irish dairy farmers can enter the new quota free era with confidence. On-going contact has been maintained with the Minister for Finance to ensure that existing and future taxation policy reflects the Government’s commitment to agriculture. Of interest to dairy farmers here will be the announcement in last October’s budget to provide for income averaging over five years when it comes to paying income tax bills. I have also ensured that priority has been given to measures for the dairy sector in the Rural Development Plan.
Finally and importantly, in terms of super-levy impacts I certainly recognise the difficulty that this causes for farmers here and for that reason I have taken the decision to make the 3 year interest free instalment arrangement available to all those affected. This is now open for applications by farmers. The first instalment must be collected by the milk purchaser in the normal way and paid to my Department before 1 October 2015 and the two subsequent payments must be paid by similar dates in 2016 and 2017.
I firmly believe that the dairy sector can look to the future with confidence. The long-term fundamentals of the global dairy market are strong. I am confident that the Irish and EU dairy sector is well placed to gain from the opportunity presented by expanding global demand whilst simultaneously addressing these challenges as outlined above.
96. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if shareholders can apply to him for the compulsory partition of commonage, where there is a majority agreement, but not a unanimous agreement, for the division by shareholders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27760/15]
View answerMy Department has no role in the transfer of land ownership and, therefore, any application for a compulsory partition of any commonage is a matter that should be addressed to the Courts.
97. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a list of each of the current grant schemes administrated by his Department that are available to community groups or projects; the total amount paid for each of these schemes for each of the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27775/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is provided in the following table.
|
Name of Grant Scheme that are available to community groups/projects |
Amount paid 2011 |
Amount paid 2012 |
Amount paid 2013 |
Amount paid 2014 |
|
Exgratia payments to Animal Welfare Bodies |
€1,235,000 |
€1,365,000 |
€1,806,000 |
€1,867,200 |
|
Neighbourwood Scheme |
€351,300 |
€434,863 |
€148,243 |
€11,292 |
Funding of €1 million has been provided in this Department’s 2015 Vote for pilot innovative projects which progress the CEDRA remit whose implementation is the responsibility of Minister of State Phelan.
The current provisional allocations are:
|
€ |
- |
|
€330,000 |
Combined allocation for existing Social Farming projects and existing or start up community based food/artisan/craft markets or shops in villages/small towns, |
|
€40,000 |
Social Farming initiatives under SoFAB operated through Leitrim Development Company |
|
€475,000 |
Proposals are being formulated for a competitive call on agri-tourism projects with a particular emphasis on food, beverages and the marine. Sanction is required from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform |
Social farming is described as the practice of offering, on a voluntary basis, farming, horticultural and animal related work experience as a choice to people who avail of a range of day support services. This novel social support service allows people to choose to participate in therapeutic outdoor agriculture related activities in a non–clinical environment. These operations can be run in a number of settings ranging from working family farms, local community initiatives through to a more institutional framework.
98. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will confirm that the further documentation requested by his Department on 11 June 2015 in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has been received; when the person will receive a payment under the agri-environment options scheme year 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27804/15]
View answerCorrespondence was received from the planner of the person named on 3 July 2015. This correspondence bore the date of 20 June 2015. A letter acknowledging the receipt of the correspondence was sent to the person named on 3 July. The correspondence received did not fully address the issues contained in the original letter of 11 June from the Department. An official from my Department rang the planner on 6 July and explained the issues as outlined in the letter of 11 June and the deficiencies in the correspondence received on 3 July. The planner has agreed to discuss the matter with the person named and revert to the Department.
Further payments in this case cannot be made until the outstanding issues have been resolved.
99. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address and respond to concerns raised in a representation in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27819/15]
View answerGrant aid for arable farmers will be available under the following strands of TAMS II, Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme, Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage and Low Emission Slurry Spreading. Support will assist arable farmers in, for example, the construction of nutrient storage facilities, and storage facilities for other farmyard manures, soiled water and related facilities, as well as farm-safety investments such as sliding/rolling doors. The range of investment items included under the various TAMS measures was informed by the SWOT and needs analyses undertaken as part of the development of the new Rural Development Programme, as well as by a consultation process with the various stakeholders over a period of almost two years. Some new proposals, such as those referred to, would require a formal amendment to Ireland’s Rural Development Programme and a reallocation of RDP funds.
