Written Answers Nos. 37 - 42
37. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will issue the remainder of farm payments to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8757/16]
View answerAn application under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 28 February 2015. The advance and balancing payments due under the BPS have already issued to the nominated bank account of the person named. A final balancing payment will issue over the coming weeks when the definitive value of entitlements has been established.
38. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the dredging of a harbour (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8690/16]
View answerDingle Fishery Harbour Centre is one of the six designated Fishery Harbour Centres which are owned, managed and maintained by my Department under Statute.
My Department carried out investigations in relation to deepening the main navigation channel into Dingle Harbour some time ago. These investigation works involved a Dredging Study Report, incorporating Hydrodynamic Modelling, Benthic Studies and Chemical and Radiological Analysis of the sediments.
The Department has now completed a tender competition to procure the services of a consultancy firm with expertise in civil and marine engineering to prepare a preliminary report, detailed design and tender documentation for the Dredging of Navigation Channel Project at Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre, Co. Kerry.
On 11th of January, I announced funding of €1.225 million for new capital works and the maintenance of Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre during 2016. Of importance in the context of a possible future dredging project at Dingle is the allocation of €500,000 for the preparation of a Dumping at Sea Licence which will be required before any dredging project could commence.
As with all other developments in the six Fishery Harbour Centres, a dredging project at Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre will be considered under future Capital Programmes on the basis of available exchequer funding and competing priorities.
39. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the fishing industry (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8692/16]
View answerEach month I receive recommendations from industry representatives at the Quota Management Advisory Committee in relation to the monthly allocations to fishing vessels of demersal stocks. The Whitefish Quota Management Advisory Committee, involving fishing industry representatives, meets each month and, as far as possible, I follow the recommendations for monthly regimes for particular stocks. Additional meetings are organised as required to discuss specific issues in particular fisheries that may arise, including in relation to pelagic stocks. The Committee is comprised of representatives from the four Fish Producer Organisations, National Inshore Fishery Forum, Fishing Co-Operatives, the Irish Fish Producers and Exporters Association and meetings are attended by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority and officials from my Department.
I will ask my officials to bring your request to the attention of the Quota Management Advisory Committee at the next meeting which will discuss proposals for the fishing regimes for June. I will determine the regimes for June having considered the recommendations of the Quota Management Advisory Committee.
40. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of new schemes to be introduced for the fishing industry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8693/16]
View answerI was pleased to announce on 14 January 2016 the launch of Ireland’s new €240 million EMFF Seafood Development Operational Programme. The implementing schemes under the Programme are broad ranging, and a number of schemes are concerned with promoting sustainability in the fishing sector, similar to GLAS. These include a Sustainable Fisheries Scheme, an Inshore Fisheries Conservation Scheme, a Marine Biodiversity Scheme, an Engine Replacement Scheme, a Fisheries Local Area Development Scheme, a New Fishermen Scheme and an industry-led Mutual Fund for Adverse Climatic Events and Environmental Incidents. Overall, some €67 million is being made available to support fishermen through these schemes. Further details of these Schemes are available from Board Iascaigh Mhara’s local officers or on BIM website www.bim.ie/grants.
These schemes are intended to assist fishermen in adapting to the requirements and opportunities of the Common Fisheries Policy and helping fishermen secure the future sustainability of their industry for their families and their communities.
41. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the traceability of fish catches (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8694/16]
View answerThe Fisheries Control Regulation (EU) 1224/2009 establishing a control system for ensuring compliance with the Common Fisheries Policy and Regulation (EU) 404/2011 provides detailed rules for implementation of the Control regulation. Article 58 of the Control Regulation which applies to fisheries and aquaculture products provides that certain catch data must be ‘available’ throughout the supply chain. Products may be combined in lots and each lot must be labelled with supply chain traceability information. Each ‘lot’ is a quantity of fishery products or aquaculture products of the same species coming from the same area and fishing vessel or fishing vessels or fish farm. The traceability information associated with a ‘lot’ is required to remain available at all stages of production.
The information to be supplied with each lot is:
- Lot ID
- Quantity
- Supplier
- Commercial name
- Scientific name
- Catch area
- Production method
- FAO alpha 3 code
- Name of fishing vessel or vessels
- Date of capture (landing)
- Whether previously frozen.
Under the Common Market Organisation Regulation (EU) 1379/2013, the Area identifiable in a lot is more specific than was provided for in the Control regulation. The CMO regulation requires the identifier of a fishing area to be expressed at the level of FAO sub-area, division, sub-division, fishing effort zone etc., in terms understandable to the consumer.
The Competent Authority in Ireland for the implementation of Article 58 of the Control regulation on traceability is the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. The Authority in conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara is carrying out a project called e-LOCATE.
e-LOCATE is designed to promote the efficient and secure collection, management and sharing of product information, through the adoption of global standards and best practices for weighing, labelling and data exchange.
BIM and the SFPA launched the EU funded e-LOCATE scheme in 2013 to provide nancial assistance to Irish seafood enterprises for the implementation of new hardware and software for weighing, labelling and traceability. Key to the project was enabling the industry’s transition away from paper-based documentation to adopting modern automatic identication and data capture (AIDC) technologies such as bar code scanning, that could facilitate the storing and sharing of information in a standardised, electronic way.
42. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of Irish farm produce (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8695/16]
View answerFood Wise 2025, the new ten year strategy for the agri-food sector published in July last year, identifies the opportunities and challenges facing the sector and provides an enabling strategy that will allow the sector to grow and prosper. Food Wise includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness; as well as specific sectoral recommendations. It identifies ambitious and challenging growth projections for the industry over the next ten years.
It is central to the Food Wise strategy that Irish agriculture and food production is produced to the highest international standards of quality and food safety, for both organic and non-organic production, and that Irish food safety and traceability systems are recognised as among the very best in the world. Food Wise 2025 acknowledges that this status is fundamental to the continued growth of international markets for Irish goods and will need to be maintained and enhanced if the 2025 growth forecasts are to be achieved.
