Written Answers Nos. 376-382
376. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the cost of collecting and administering the disease levies collected by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1019/16]
View answerBovine disease levies, which yielded €6.2m in 2015, are collected at Department approved slaughter plants, milk processing plants, Local Authority approved slaughter plants and at points of export of bovines. Inspection fees are collected under separate EU legislation in respect of the cost of official controls carried out under EU food safety regulations relating to cattle slaughtered at meat plants and on live cattle exports as well as on milk deliveries to milk plants.
Collection systems are designed to minimise administrative cost and the burden of compliance on the business operator.
Due to the fact that the staff involved in collecting the disease levies are also involved in collecting the inspection fees and carry out a wide range of other tasks, the actual cost of collecting and administering the disease levies cannot be quantified, but it is considered that the administrative cost involved is relatively modest. The Deputy may wish to note in that connection that an automated system has been introduced for the direct invoicing of disease levies in respect of bovines slaughtered.
377. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why agricultural contractors are not eligible for grant aid under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme 2 for sustainable slurry spreading equipment if they do not farm land; if he will review this position to ensure a level playing pitch for all contractors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1024/16]
View answerThe principal objective of the Low Emission Slurry Spreading Scheme (LESS) is to assist farmers in purchasing more advanced mobile slurry equipment thereby reducing emissions. It is a condition of all TAMS II schemes that the beneficiaries must be active farmers. This in turn reflects the position set out in the relevant EU Regulations, which require that support for physical investments to improve the overall performance and sustainability of agricultural holdings shall only be granted to farmers or groups of farmers.
378. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the value of Irish beef sales to the United States of America in 2015, by month; if he is satisfied with the figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1041/16]
View answerIreland received a major reputational boost for its beef in 2015 as the first EU Member State to gain access to the US market which was opened to Irish beef exports in January 2015. To date Ireland remains the only EU MS to have secured this access. There are now six plants approved to export but as with any new market it takes time to build reputational brand and a customer base and the real time to assess its value is when these are bedded down.
In volume terms, beef exports to the USA had reached approximately 330 tonnes by early September. This would have an approximate value of €2.1 million. It must be remembered that only two plants were eligible to export up to mid-May and June respectively.
As of the start of November 2015, an estimated 1,300 tonnes valued at €8.5 million had already been exported. By the end of December this figure had risen to an estimated 1,800 tonnes which would have an approximate value of €11.5 million. This is an exceptionally strong start to this trade considering that the first exports only went in March 2015 and some of the plants were only approved for export as recently as September. Also trade is confined to the market for intact cuts as we currently await approval to export beef intended for grinding.
More importantly the relatively high prices available for beef in Europe in 2015 meant that US buyers may have been priced out of the market as Irish exporters chose to send product to more valuable markets in the UK and on the continent. By the end of October exports to the UK were up 7,200 tonnes compared with the same period in 2014 and this coincides with a reduced kill overall (back about 4% year on year) highlighting further the strength of Irish beef exports in the UK. In value terms this equates to €137 million euro more of beef going to this market. This of course is helped by a strong sterling and weak euro.
There has also been significant progress in facilitating trade in other international markets for Irish beef. For example, in 2015, the Canadian beef market opened for Ireland and other Member States and on a bilateral basis the market in Iran was re-opened, while Oman and the Maldives opened to Irish beef exports. I also concluded an extension to our market access to the Philippines, where up to the end of quarter three there had been €11 million of beef exports from Ireland, making us the second largest exporter of beef into the Philippines. Furthermore we are currently in the process of trying to secure beef access to other third countries including Korea, Vietnam and Mexico. It is my intention to continue to focus on developing as many third country markets as possible in order to provide exporters as many commercial opportunities as possible in a competitive global marketplace.
379. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the results of the recent beef forum meeting; the steps he will take to address the growing gulf between meat factories and farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1042/16]
View answerThe last meeting of the Beef Roundtable took place on the 16 of December 2015. I established the Beef Roundtable in April 2014 in order to bring all relevant stakeholders together and to facilitate open discussion between industry, farming organisations and others on the strategic path forward for the beef sector. The Forum has met on seven occasions, and has been a useful vehicle for engagement for all those involved in the sector.
At December’s meeting I updated the attendees on the progress made on legislating for Producer Organisations in the Beef Sector. My Department is now in the final stages of drafting the SI, taking into account some of the views expressed at the round table. I am hopeful that I will be in a position to sign into law this legislation before the end of January. Along with the Statutory Instrument and application form, my Department will also publish guidelines for groups applying for recognition.
The Forum also received presentations from Bord Bia on the market outlook for the sector and from Animal Health Ireland on its plans for initiatives in beef health. Teagasc also provided an update on the publication of its production blueprints for farmers since the previous meeting of the Roundtable.
I also used the Roundtable to update on significant strategic issues, including developments in Paris COP21 on climate change, and developments in relation to international trade agreements such as Mercosur and TTIP.
I have already made it clear that the forum is not a substitute for the market and that it does not obviate the need for continuing, frequent and open engagement between processors and suppliers on market issues. There were discussions on certain aspects of customer specifications for beef on which there continues to be some disagreement and I urged the parties to remain in contact to try and resolve these market issues.
My role as Minister in relation to the beef sector is to create a policy and support environment that allows it to flourish in line with standard market principles. In this context, I am guided by the long-term sectoral development strategies set out in Food Wise 2025 and am confident that these initiatives, in conjunction with the Rural Development Programme, will lead to continued growth in terms of profitability and efficiency of the sector as whole. The forum has been a vital tool for facilitating constructive engagement between all of the relevant stakeholders in pursuit of these objectives.
380. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the figures for live cattle exports in 2015, by market; to explain the decline in many key markets; and his proposals for increasing live cattle exports. [1043/16]
View answerLive exports serve a vital purpose as a means of satisfying market demand for live animals and providing essential alternative market outlets for Irish cattle farmers. I have always attached major importance to the live cattle export trade, and my Department, along with Bord Bia, has been extremely proactive during my time as Minister in both encouraging and facilitating shipments abroad and the cross border live trade to Northern Ireland.
In 2015, Ireland exported live cattle to eighteen different countries and the total figure for live cattle exports stands at just over 178,500 head. Our most important markets in 2015 were the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain, Italy, Britain and France. Full details of exports are set out below. The Dutch calf market in particular has seen sharp growth, with almost 44,000 calves sent there in 2015 as opposed to 39,000 head in 2014. IBR restrictions and geopolitical instability have impeded previously large-scale exports to Belgium and North Africa respectively.
Trade to Northern Ireland has improved sharply. The total figure for the year stands at 55,000 head. It should be noted that the weaker euro has been creating more favourable conditions for live exporters. Currency fluctuations are one of the major factors in determining the relative economic attractiveness of Irish exports to the United Kingdom.
Improved domestic demand and a tightening supply led, in 2015, to a situation where producers received the best prices on record at marts. This internal demand is also a significant factor in the overall drop in live exports in 2015 compared to 2014 and is indicative of the generally positive trends that were present in the beef sector in 2015.
As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland has in place a good system of transport links to facilitate live exports with the highest standards of animal welfare being at the forefront of procedures for approving transportation options. There are currently three dedicated vessels, the MV Express 1, the MV Atlantic M and the MV Holstein Express, approved for the carriage of livestock by sea from Irish ports. Two roll-on roll-off vessels are approved for transport to the UK, and one to France. Three other vessels are currently at various stages of the necessary processes for approval for carriage of livestock abroad.
As of the week ending December 20, the following totals of cattle of all ages had been exported from Ireland;
|
Northern Ireland |
55,636 |
Germany |
291 |
|
The Netherlands |
43,789 |
Slovenia |
81 |
|
Spain |
29,501 |
Hungary |
51 |
|
Italy |
24,930 |
Portugal |
40 |
|
Britain |
9,169 |
Bulgaria |
37 |
|
France |
8,552 |
Kosovo |
34 |
|
Tunisia |
3,923 |
Albania |
31 |
|
Greece |
735 |
Libya |
433 |
|
Belgium |
606 |
Morocco |
355 |
|
Romania |
306 |
381. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to ban super trawlers (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1054/16]
View answer386. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support a matter (details supplied) relating to foreign factory freezer trawlers on the Irish coast. [1144/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 381 and 386 together.
Under Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 (the new Common Fisheries Policy basic regulation), changes to fisheries policy involving access or restriction to fishing opportunities or fishing areas come within the sole competency of the EU. Only the EU Commission may propose changes and any such proposal must be adopted under the co-decision process by the EU Parliament and EU Council. Member States, in consultation with the Commission, Member States affected and stakeholders are only permitted to introduce non-discriminatory measures for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the 12 mile zone subject to compliance with policy and procedures set down in CFP Regulation.
The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature concerning sea fisheries control are, as a matter of law, exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved in operational matters including in relation to law enforcement.
In relation to the overall framework for fisheries control in the EU, in October 2009 a new regulation dealing with fisheries controls was adopted. Council Regulation 1224/2009 establishes a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy. Control and inspection is now focused where it is most effective through an approach based on systematic risk analysis. Inspection procedures are standardised and harmonised for all stages in the market chain, including transport and marketing. The Control Regulations were introduced so that there is a common EU level playing field and to provide for an effective range of controls across EU waters.
The SFPA and the Naval Service through the Fisheries Monitoring Centre have monitored the movements of these vessels when in our Exclusive Fisheries Zone, using the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and declared catches through Electronic Reporting System (ERS). I am advised that there are a number of freezer vessels currently in our EFZ.
The SFPA is reliant on the seagoing fishery patrol activity of the Naval Service to verify compliance of vessels not landing into Ireland. The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority has advised that pelagic freezer trawler activity in the Irish Exclusive Fisheries Zone decreased significantly over the Christmas period with most of the vessels returning to port in the Netherlands in late December. It advises that several vessels have returned and despite problematic weather conditions the Irish Navy conducted two inspections within this group of vessels late in 2015, and one further inspection within a day of their return this month. It advises that additional inspections will be undertaken as appropriate and practicable.
