Written Answers Nos. 16-32
16. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if findings of the Employment Appeals Tribunal are binding; the recourse available where parties do not comply with findings of the tribunal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8573/16]
View answerAt the outset I would like to explain that the Employment Appeals Tribunal is currently working through its legacy caseload with a view to being dissolved in 2017. The functions of the Tribunal have, since 1 October 2015, been taken over by the new Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court under the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. However, the Tribunal, in dealing with its legacy cases, operates under the legislation that applied pre the 2015 Act.
Determinations of the Employment Appeals Tribunal can be appealed by either party to a case and the appeals procedures are set out in the relevant legislation under which each determination is made. The mechanism for enforcing determinations of the Employment Appeals Tribunal is also prescribed in the relevant legislation and, generally, this involves an application to the Circuit Court for an order directing compliance, or instituting proceedings in the District Court as the case may be.
The legislation also prescribes who may apply to the courts to enforce the determinations. In most cases, determinations are enforced by or on behalf of the complainant. However, in some instances the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation may, if he considers it appropriate, apply on behalf of a party when requested to do so. The Inspection and Enforcement Division of the Workplace Relations Commission initiate these proceedings on behalf of the Minister and parties should contact the Commission for further information.
A comprehensive guide to the various appeals and implementation procedures open to employees who are in receipt of decisions from the Employment Appeals Tribunal can be found on the Workplace Relations website, in a document called “2016 Employee Decision Notes” on the Employment Appeals Tribunal web page. A link to this page is https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/WR_Bodies/EAT/EAT.html.
17. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to suspend milk quota fines in view of the circumstances of the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8524/16]
View answerUnder the Milk Quota Regulations a levy, commonly referred to as a super levy, had to be paid to the EU Commission by Member States in cases where butter fat adjusted milk deliveries exceeded the total national milk quota in a milk quota year. The levy was payable by the milk producers who contributed to the overrun of the national milk quota. Such an over production occurred in the 2014/2015 milk quota year - the final year of the milk quota regime. Given the very high volumes of milk produced across the EU in that final year, the consequent high levels of super levy incurred, and the declining milk prices, the EU Commission introduced a provision whereby Member States were permitted to facilitate the payment of the super levy by the milk producers in three annual instalments, without interest, on the understanding that the full amount of the levy was paid to the Commission by the Member State in year 1. In recognition of the burden on Irish milk producers to pay the high levies, I asked my Department to put in place a Super levy Instalment Scheme.
The Scheme, introduced last June and which is backed by EU and national legislation, allowed applicants to pay at least one third of their levy by October 2015 and the Exchequer would pay the remaining on the understanding that applicants would, as per a signed written agreement, reimburse the Exchequer in ten equal instalments from the months of May to September in 2016 and 2017.
The person named by the Deputy was an applicant under this Scheme.
I raised the possibility of extending this scheme at the Council of Ministers. However the Commission took the view that there is no legal basis to make any amendments to the Scheme.
18. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position with regard to a person (details supplied) who is awaiting a farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8530/16]
View answerThere are a number of applications, including that of the person named, remaining which have not passed all of the Department’s pre-payment validation checks for the 2015 part-year payment. The Department is continuing to investigate these issues including the correction of any IT or data issues with a view to all these remaining cases meeting the payment validation checks so that they will be paid the full amount of their 2015 part-year payment when the 2015 GLAS balancing payment issues.
19. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a hardship fund will be put in place for farmers who have been adversely affected by flooding and will miss cutting their first crops of fodder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8539/16]
View answerIn response to the extensive flooding during the recent winter, I introduced a number of measures to assist farmers in those areas worst affected by the floods. At the outset emergency feedstuff was made available through the provision of supplementary concentrate feed, including over the Christmas period. A Fodder Aid scheme was also introduced to replace fodder supplies damaged or lost in floods. Support under this scheme applied to the loss of stored fodder such as silage, hay, straw and concentrates.
Loss of production potential of grassland due to flood damage was not eligible for support under either the Fodder Scheme or a subsequent Emergency Flood Damage Relief Measure. The latter provided for targeted support to those that bore the brunt of the flooding through loss of livestock, movement of livestock off-holding or damage to farm buildings and fittings.
The risk of flooding is an ongoing problem for farming on the banks of the river Shannon. To develop solutions to this problem the Government approved the Terms of Reference for the Shannon Flood Risk State Agency Co-ordination Working Group under the chairmanship of the Office of Public Works. This group brings together in a co-ordinated manner, all statutory organisations and functions that involve the Shannon Catchment.
At national level, the Office of Public Works, in close partnership with all Local Authorities, is working to deliver on the objectives of the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme. This programme covers the assessment of flood risk, planning of flood risk management and implementation of flood-mitigation measures in all areas potentially affected by future flooding.
20. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the delay in payment being issued to a person (details supplied) under the agri-environment options scheme payment 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8548/16]
View answerThe person named commenced their AEOS contract on 1 September 2010. Payment has issued for the 2010-2014 Scheme years.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System, must take place. As all AEOS 1 participants will be receiving their final payments under the scheme, re-checks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. Officials are working through these files and payment will issue as soon as possible.
21. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 425 of 13 January 2016, when payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8549/16]
View answerThere are a number of applications, including that of the person named, remaining which have not passed all of the Department’s pre-payment validation checks for the 2015 part-year payment. The Department is continuing to investigate these issues including the correction of any IT or data issues with a view to all these remaining cases meeting the payment validation checks so that they will be paid the full amount of their 2015 part-year payment when the 2015 GLAS balancing payment issues.
22. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the delay in payment being issued to a person (details supplied) under the agri-environment options scheme 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8550/16]
View answerThe person named commenced their AEOS contract on 1 September 2010. Payment has issued for the 2010-2014 Scheme years.
Under the EU Regulations governing the Scheme and other area-based payment schemes, a comprehensive administrative check, including cross-checks with the Land Parcel Identification System must take place. As all AEOS 1 participants will be receiving their final payments under the scheme, re-checks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. Officials are working through these files and payment will issue as soon as possible.
23. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is an appeals mechanism in place for a person who believes he or she has been unfairly penalised following a farm inspection; if so, the exact detail the appeals process entails; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8578/16]
View answerIf an applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of eligibility or cross compliance inspections carried out on the holding, they may seek a review of the decision to the District Inspector for their region. This process and the relevant contact details will be outlined in the inspection findings notification letter (FN letter) issued to the applicant.
If an applicant wishes to seek a review of the results of a remote sensing inspection they can submit a review request to Remote Sensing Inspections Section. Again this detail will be provided to the applicant in the letter issued outlining the outcome of the inspection.
In the event that the applicant is dissatisfied with the outcome of any such review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months of the date of review decision letter.
If the applicant feels that their case has been dealt with unfairly by the Agriculture Appeals Office they can raise the matter with the Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson St., Dublin 2.
24. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for a breakdown of spend for each sector (details supplied) of the European Fisheries Fund 2008 to 2015. [8579/16]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not readily available at this time in the format requested. My Department will compile the data and forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.
25. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide the following details for the European Fisheries Fund 2015 under grant recipient, grant amount, date of approval, amount drawn down, amount not drawn down, total project cost, percentage of grant aid and the date the recipient notified Bord Iascaigh Mhara that funding would not be drawn down (if applicable). [8580/16]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not readily available at this time in the format requested. My Department will compile the data and forward it to the Deputy as soon as possible.
26. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the tender process for the report, Potential for Land Based Salmon Grow-out in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems in Ireland; and the input Bórd Iascaigh Mhara has had into this report's terms of reference and its outcomes. [8581/16]
View answerI understand that Bord Iascaigh Mhara provided grant aid of €8,600 to the Irish Salmon Growers Association for the preparation of its 2015 report ‘Potential for Land Based Salmon Growout in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) in Ireland'. This support was provided through a 2014 competitive call for projects under BIM’s Aquaculture Innovation and Technology Scheme. The project was selected by BIM for support after technical evaluation by BIM’s technical specialists and appraisal by a selection board. BIM had no input to the Report’s terms of reference and the research and outcomes of the report were delivered by a scientific consultant independent of BIM.
27. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there is any scope in the new National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development to develop the production from recirculation aquaculture systems beyond a 30% increase. [8582/16]
View answerIn December 2015 I published Ireland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development. That Plan includes 24 actions to drive the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector. Implementation of the Plan is supported through two dedicated schemes under the EMFF Seafood Development Operational Programme, which I launched on 14 January 2016, which have a combined investment budget of almost €30 million. These are a Knowledge Gateway Scheme and a Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme.
The Plan targets an increase of 45,000 tonnes in output from the aquaculture sector by 2023. I am aiming to achieve this growth from a combination of increased and or restored productivity from the existing aquaculture licence portfolio and from a limited number of new licences. The make-up of this increased output will include shellfish, finfish, novel species and seaweed in a variety of different production systems, both intensive and extensive.
Given the very wide variability of production systems and the large number of species being farmed, with more to be added into the future, the Plan notes that it is not feasible to offer a meaningful prediction of precisely which species and which production systems will yield the projected increases in specific years. However, I have included in the Plan a specific target of a 30% increase in production derived from recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
Considerable international developmental effort is being put into determining the commercial viability of land based RAS systems for the large scale production of salmon. There appears to be a market niche for such a product if the current technological challenges associated with an economically viable production system can be overcome. The two schemes I mentioned earlier are promoting and incentivising applied research into RAS and private investment in RAS production. I would welcome an increase beyond the 30% target, but the ultimate increase achieved from RAS will be determined by market forces, the pace of technological development in the industry and the extent of private investment in RAS.
28. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports available to persons to develop new land based recirculating aquaculture systems facilities. [8583/16]
View answerOn 14 January 2016, I launched Ireland’s new €240 million EMFF Seafood Development Operational Programme, together with a number of new schemes under that Programme. I launched two schemes for the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector, with a combined budget of almost €30 million.
The 'Knowledge Gateway Scheme' aims to develop knowledge, innovation and technology in the aquaculture sector to ensure its sustainable development. An important part of the focus of the Scheme will be applied research and development into recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) identified as an important policy objective in my Department’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development. The Scheme provides support to private projects of 50% of eligible costs, up to a maximum of €200,000. The Scheme is presently open for applications.
The ‘Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme’ aims to promote the sustainable growth of output, value and employment in the aquaculture sector. This will be done through supports for sustainably increasing the productive output of aquaculture enterprises, supporting new aquaculture enterprises entering the sector, scaling up of aquaculture enterprises to improve their competitiveness and efficiency, diversification into new species, more farming of underutilised species and promotion of organic aquaculture. Particular attention will also be given to the diversification of aquaculture towards methods with significant commercial output. The Scheme provides support to private projects of 40% of eligible costs, up to maximum of €500,000 per project per year. RAS is specifically identified as eligible for support under the Scheme. The Scheme is presently open for applications.
29. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will make a decision on an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the 2015 basic payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8607/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2015 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Scheme application on 24 May 2015. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases Remote Sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
The application of the person named was selected for a Remote Sensing inspection. This inspection resulted in findings of an over-declaration in area of 0.3 6ha. Based on the terms and conditions of the scheme this did not result in a monetary reduction under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme. All payments due have issued to the nominated bank account of the person named.
The person named was notified of the inspection outcome on 4 January 2016 and has appealed this decision. This request is currently being examined and the person named will be notified of the outcome as soon as possible.
In the event that the person named is dissatisfied with the outcome of this review, the decision can be appealed to the independent Agriculture Appeals Office, within 3 months.
30. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the outcome of his meetings with the European Commissioner for Agriculture and with the European Commissioner for Trade in relation to the proposed Mercosur trade deal; if he has outlined total opposition to such a deal given the adverse impact on European agriculture of such a development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8624/16]
View answerI have been very active in recent months in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European agriculture sector, and on the beef sector in particular. I have continuously raised the issue with Commissioners Malmström and Hogan, both within the Council of Agriculture Ministers and in written form. I also continue to monitor the situation closely in co-operation with my Member State colleagues, as well as with my Government colleagues, particularly the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach. These efforts are being reinforced at official level through similar contacts with other Member States and with the Commission, particularly through the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Trade Policy Committee.
Ireland has already expressed its very strong concerns in relation to the latest developments in these negotiations. These concerns have been reinforced by the large number of Member States who have spoken on this issue at recent Council and Commission meetings. They have also been expressed in joint papers presented by large groupings of Member States (including Ireland) at these meetings, and in written correspondence from Member State Ministers (again, including Ireland) to the Commissioners for Trade and for Agriculture.
In the course of such contacts Ireland has pointed out that an exchange of offers is premature, and that any movement in these negotiations must be undertaken with great caution, and following a period of careful reflection and analysis. This analysis must take into account the cumulative impact of concessions granted under other FTAs and the current forecasts for EU beef consumption. We are also trying to ensure that tariff rate quotas are not dealt with at this early stage of the negotiations, and that when they are ultimately addressed, it will be in a manner that mitigates to the maximum possible extent the potential impact on the beef sector.
31. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if a person can directly apply to be on the Visiting Committee of Portlaoise Prison; if not, the reason why; if a report for 2014 will be published for the aforementioned prison; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8554/16]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that Prison Visiting Committee members are appointed by the Minister for Justice and Equality under the Prisons (Visiting Committees) Act 1925 and Prisons (Visiting Committees) Order 1925. There are fourteen Prison Visiting Committees in existence - one for each institution.
Each Visiting Committee comprises no more than six members. In determining appointments, consideration is given to a person's suitability, appropriate qualifications and a genuine interest in prison issues. A person can apply directly to me to be considered for appointment to a Visiting Committee.
Each Visiting Committee presents an Annual Report to me. These reports are published and made available on my Department's website at www.justice.ie. The Portlaoise Prison Visiting Committee Annual Report for 2014 was published on 24 November 2015. Once the Portlaoise Prison Visiting Committee Annual Report for 2015 is presented to me it too will be published.
32. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when Garda Síochána clearance will issue to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8563/16]
View answerI am informed by the Garda Authorities that a vetting application in respect of the person referred to has been received by the Garda Central Vetting Unit. However, on processing the application it was established that it was necessary to conduct further enquiries which are currently being finalised.
It is anticipated that a response will issue to the authorised signatory in the registered organisation concerned in the coming days.
