Written Answers Nos. 27-31
27. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he will approve an application for grants for slurry tanks with a trailing shoe for a person (details supplied) under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9215/16]
View answerThe applicant in question has applied under the second tranche of the Low Emission Slurry Spreading scheme in TAMS II.
The application has passed the initial administrative checks. All applications received are examined, validated and then have to be ranked and selected. Approvals will commence when this process is complete.
28. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an inquiry by a person (details supplied) with a District Veterinary Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9219/16]
View answerAll applications for registration of calf births are validated to ensure the accuracy of the information on bovines held on the Department’s Animal Identification and Movement (AIM) database. In this particular case, the Calf Birth Registration Agency issued correction letters to the keeper as the calving interval in both cases is less than 290 days. The Regional Veterinary Office can approve the registrations on foot of a satisfactory explanation. Accordingly, the keeper should provide an explanation to the local Regional Veterinary Office for the shorter than normal calving interval in these two cases.
29. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why land, with even a small amount of heather, is excluded from the Low Input Pasture Measure of the Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9225/16]
View answerFarmers opting for any action under the GLAS scheme are required to respect the management requirements set out in the detailed GLAS specifications accompanying the Scheme, and any other instructions or clarifications issued by the Department.
One of the main actions for grazing land under GLAS is ‘Low Input Permanent Pasture’, which is designed to preserve and enhance old permanent pasture-lands, and in this case heather cannot be present in the area selected for the delivery of this action. The Low Input Permanent Pasture specification is quite detailed in terms of a restriction in chemical Nitrogen application to 40kg per hectare per annum; the selection of suitable pasture(s) which contain less than 30% ryegrass along with at least four other grass species that are dispersed throughout the parcel. The parcels must have been declared as forage for the last 8 years on the GLAS applicant’s Single Payment application. There are also other restrictions in terms of cutting hay/silage and specific topping dates. These conditions are aimed at ensuring suitable Low Input Permanent Pastures receive payment in GLAS based on income foregone and costs incurred in accordance with EU Regulation 1305/2013.
Heather is allowable on commonage lands within GLAS and also on lands in receipt of the Natura payment rate of €79 pr hectare.
30. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is concerned about the manner in which it was first announced that staff in Coillte would be facing a redundancy programme, that it was mentioned in an interview in The Irish Times with the chief executive officer of Coillte on 22 April 2016 that 100 staff would be made redundant, before any announcement had been made to staff or consultation engaged in regarding redundancies; if he will seek justification from Coillte for these redundancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9248/16]
View answerCoillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as communications with the media, are the responsibility of the company.
In relation to the manner in which the employees were informed, I am advised that a series of meetings were held, beginning in early November 2015, to which all Coillte staff were invited, at which they were informed of the proposed restructuring of the company and the proposed reduction in staff numbers arising from that restructuring, and that management have engaged with staff in an ongoing way on the process in the interim.
The restructuring of the company formed part of the Government decision of June 2013 relating to Coillte. In line with that decision, Coillte carried out a strategic review of their business and are currently implementing a restructuring plan, one element of which is a cost reduction programme which includes the rollout of voluntary employee exit schemes to achieve the staffing levels envisaged under the proposed new company structure. It is noted that the proposed reduction in staff numbers is on a phased basis, starting at executive level, and will take place over the next year.
31. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter (details supplied) regarding a payment under the areas of natural constraint scheme. [9249/16]
View answerAn application under 2015 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme was received from the person named on 22 April 2015.
Under the 2015 ANC Scheme, eligible applicants are required to have met a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units for a retention period of seven consecutive months and to maintain an annual average of 0.15 livestock units calculated over the twelve months of the scheme year. Payment under the ANC scheme has not issued in this case as the holding concerned has not satisfied the scheme’s minimum stocking density requirements.
