Thursday, 26 May 2016

Written Answers Nos. 231-240

Agriculture Schemes

Questions (231)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

231. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine following more flexible State aid measures agreed at European Union level to deal with market volatility in the dairy and pigmeat sectors, the criteria that farmers must meet in order to access temporary finance up to a maximum amount of €15,000 per farm per year; if he will introduce a scheme to avail of new State aid flexibility in the area to bridge liquidity shortfalls for farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12412/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The second package of measures to deal with the ongoing difficulties faced by farmers in the dairy and other sectors, which was agreed by the Council of Agriculture Ministers in March, includes the making available of more flexible State aid support.

This flexibility is being allowed by the Commission under paragraph 30 of the EU Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors. This provision allows the EU Commission to assess, on a case by case basis, any aid measures not specifically covered by the current State aid instruments and to determine whether such measures are compatible with the State Aid provisions in Article 107 (3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), i.e. to determine that any aid to facilitate the economic activities involved does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest.

The Commission has stated that it will use the exemption in paragraph 30 to allow Member States to provide support to farmers up to a maximum amount of €15,000 per farm this year in circumstances where they either:-

(i) make a commitment to freeze or reduce production compared to a given reference period, or

(ii) use the funds to bridge a liquidity gap.

Aid would be granted in the form of direct grants, loans or guarantees in the case of freezing/reducing production, and in the form of loans or guarantees in the case of liquidity assistance (remunerated in the form of an interest payment). The latter could also be provided in grant form if accompanied by a commitment to freeze or reduce production.

Given that the measures are assessed on a case by case basis by the EU Commission, exact criteria to be met by farmers are not determined in advance. Instead the Commission assesses any proposals made by Member States to determine whether they meet the compatibility test with the State Aid provisions in the Treaty.

I do not plan to avail of the option to provide national funding to support the freezing or reduction of milk supply compared to a given reference period. On the question of liquidity, I am continuing to keep this option under review in the context of my Department’s ongoing engagement with financial institutions concerning the provision of flexible finance to farmers.

Sugar Industry

Questions (232)

Seán Crowe

Question:

232. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will establish a sugar beet processing factory in County Kildare or in a neighbouring county. [12415/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Prior to the last CAP reform negotiations my predecessor met with two separate groups which had conducted feasibility studies into the possibility of establishing a new sugar/bioethanol processing facility in the country. The figures published by the interested groups who are investigating the possibility of building a new facility, indicated that the overall capital costs involved could range from €250 million to €400 million, depending on what type of facility would be constructed.

Both groups were informed at the time that any venture to develop a combined sugar/bioethanol production facility in Ireland, would have to be a viable commercial proposition, and supported by a business case which is sufficiently robust to attract the funding from investors for the very substantial capital investment required. An agreement was reached as part of the overall CAP reform in June 2013, to abolish all sugar quotas by 30 September 2017. This agreement removes, with effect from 1 October 2017, the current EU quota barrier for operators in Ireland or other Member States, wishing to re-establish a sugar industry.

At the time, this agreement was welcomed by those parties who are interested in seeking to re-establish a sugar industry here. It is now up to any commercial interests who wish to establish a sugar plant to move the project forward and to garner sufficient commercial and financial support to turn their plans into a viable reality. The new Programme for a Partnership Government makes clear that “State enterprise bodies will be asked to examine any substantial business plans related to rebuilding the industry with a view to considering appropriate State supports”.

I can confirm that officials in my Department have met with the interested parties a number of times since 2011 to hear from them how the projects are developing and to give assistance and advice that has been sought by the interested parties. The location of any new sugar beet processing facility is a matter for the interested parties.

Single Payment Scheme Payments

Questions (233)

Paul Kehoe

Question:

233. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine why a person (details supplied) did not receive a full payment under the single payment scheme; the options open to the person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12438/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The person named submitted a Transfer of Entitlements Allocation Right and Reference Value application to my Department seeking the transfer of allocation rights and values by Division of Holding as transferee. This application was fully processed.

The person named also submitted a Private Contract Clause application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements by lease as transferor. This application was fully processed. She also declared 4.61 hectares on her 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application and the full value of her Basic Payment Scheme entitlements was allocated to her on this land.

GLAS Appeals

Questions (234)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

234. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has made a decision on an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12451/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The person named submitted an application for Tranche 1 of the GLAS Scheme. Following the Department’s pre approval validation checks the application was unsuccessful and therefore was not selected for admission to the scheme. I understand that there may be an issue with the original assessment of this application and my Department is currently reviewing the application. Once this review has been completed, the person named will be notified of the outcome.

GLAS Issues

Questions (235)

Joe Carey

Question:

235. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the scenario whereby a contract issued in October 2016 to a landowner under the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme could be transferred to a lessee should the lands associated with the contract be subsequently leased out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12457/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

GLAS is a voluntary Scheme where participants elect to carry out specific environmental commitments and in order for a verifiable benefit to be achieved the governing regulations require that those commitments must be delivered for a minimum of five years. Accordingly all lands on which GLAS commitments are delivered, must be lands held by approved participants for the duration of the GLAS contract. The GLAS Scheme Terms and Conditions indicate that GLAS contracts are non-transferable except in the case of certified serious illness, the transfer of the entire holding subject to prior approval of the Department or the death of the participant.

Agriculture Scheme Applications

Questions (236)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

236. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12459/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Terms and Conditions of the Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme require that the minimum investment is €2,000. Grant aid per investment item is calculated on the basis of the lowest of the following amounts: 1. The Department’s reference costs applicable at the date of approval 2. The total of the invoices marked “paid” net of VAT, together with costs of the applicant’s contribution in terms of labour and machinery, deemed to be eligible by the Department 3. The cost of the investment proposed by the applicant indicated on their application form.

In the case of this applicant an application for a Dehorning Crate at a proposed cost of €950, a head scoop at €475 and Scales at €1,450 was submitted with a total proposed investment of €2,875. The Department’s reference costs for these items are Dehorning Crate €419.90, Head Scoop €379.00, Scales €1,164.00 a total of €1,962.90. As the grant aided amount was less than €2,000 , as provided for in the Terms and Conditions, the application was rejected. The applicant is free to make a further application under the Scheme.

Superlevy Fine

Questions (237)

James Browne

Question:

237. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to establish a scheme allowing dairy farmers with an outstanding superlevy bill to access Exchequer-supported, net-rest-free short-term loans of one and two years which may be used in the immediate term to facilitate a one to two year repayment holiday from the super levy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12488/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

I am fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now. I’m committed to working with all players in the sector here to address these issues and ensure that we have a sustainable dairy sector going forward.

Regarding the specific issue raised by the Deputy, the facility to phase the final superlevy payment over three years has already been previously introduced by the EU Commission last year at Ireland’s request. Farmers availing of the facility must pay at least one third of the bill in each of the first two years (2015 and 2016) with the balance to be paid in 2017. The Department implemented the scheme nationally and 3,741 farmers (out of a total of 6,109 farmers who incurred the levy) deferred repayments of €35.6 million in superlevy liability, (out of a total national levy liability of €71.2 million).

The mechanism required the Exchequer to pay the superlevy liability to the EU in full in 2015, and to recover the levy from farmers over the three years from 2015 to 2017. A wide process of consultation in the design of the scheme was undertaken with farm organisations and co-ops and it was agreed that once the initial farmer instalment was paid in 2015, the optimum repayment model for the balancing payments would involve ten equal instalments from the months of May-September in 2016 and 2017. These payments will be interest-free.

These amounts will be deducted by co-ops from a farmer’s monthly milk cheques to coincide with the peak milk supply months of April to August. The co-ops will then forward the money each month to the Department. This approach was also agreed as part of the sanction given by the Minister for Public Expenditure Reform.

As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. However the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland suggested a possible alternative legal approach, it was clear that the proposal enjoyed very little support from other Member States and was therefore unlikely to succeed.

On that basis the focus turned to other measures in the package which can be of assistance to Irish dairy farmers to help them through current difficulties, including the doubling of intervention fixed price buying-in thresholds. I did however raise the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at last week’s Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers.

Agriculture Scheme Eligibility

Questions (238)

Bobby Aylward

Question:

238. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the entitlements will revert back to children should one of them take over a farm in the future where a person previously set out land and associated entitlements for ten years due to force majeure circumstances; if he will safeguard the passing of entitlements from parent to child in such circumstances within the impending common agricultural policy 2020 negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12492/16]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

EU Regulations governing the Basic Payment Scheme 2015 to 2019 provide for various methods of transfer of entitlements including long term leasing. The Regulations also provide for the application of force majeure under certain circumstances.

The provisions of the current CAP reform are due to expire in December 2019. It is not possible to predict any issues relating to CAP Reform post 2019.

Broadband Service Provision

Questions (239)

Mary Butler

Question:

239. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will install broadband in an area (details supplied) in County Waterford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12262/16]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

The National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for a Partnership Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority.

The High Speed Broadband Map 2020, which is available at www.broadband.gov.ie shows the extent of the State Intervention area. The areas marked BLUE represent those areas where commercial telecommunications providers are either currently delivering or have plans to deliver high speed broadband services. The areas marked AMBER represent the target areas for the State Intervention . Members of the public can view whether their premises in County Waterford are in the BLUE or AMBER area by accessing the High Speed Broadband Map and entering their Eircode.  Based on information provided by commercial operators, Highfield Business Park, Portlaw, County Waterford will be part of the State intervention and will not be served on a commercial basis by commercial operators.

In terms of the procurement process, five responses have been received from prospective bidders to this stage of the competitive procurement process by the deadline of 31 March 2016. The five responses are being assessed in line with the criteria set down by the Department with a view to shortlisted qualified bidders proceeding to the next stage of procurement.

The second stage in the procurement process will be a formal invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD) to shortlisted bidders. I expect that my Department will move to this stage in the next month.

The third stage of the procurement process involves the issue of final tender documentation which follows the dialogue process. Following the submission of final tenders by bidders, a winning bidder(s) will be selected for the contract(s). The tender process includes two land areas, with a broadly equal number of premises in each. Bidders can bid for both areas separately, as well as providing a single bid for the entire area. Once winning bidder(s) have been selected, the Department will enter into formal contract negotiations with the winning bidder(s). It is expected that a contract will be awarded by June 2017.

Engagement with industry stakeholders as part of the pre-procurement and consultations has indicated that the roll-out in the State Intervention area could be achieved within 3-5 years of the contract award. Roll-out will commence once the contract is in place.

As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best roll-out strategy, in order to target areas of particularly poor service, business needs and / or high demand. This will need to be balanced with the most efficient network roll-out plan.

I am in discussion at present with Minister Heather Humphreys on the detailed arrangements to give effect to commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government regarding her Department’s role in relation to the roll-out phase of the National Broadband Plan. The role will include leading on the establishment of county or regional broadband taskforces and working with local authorities, Local Enterprise Offices, LEADER Groups and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.

Better Energy Homes Scheme Expenditure

Questions (240)

Brian Stanley

Question:

240. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the national spend under the better energy warmer homes scheme and if he will extend the scheme. [12317/16]

Written answers

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) operates a number of schemes on behalf of my Department to support energy efficiency improvements to homes. The Better Energy Homes scheme makes a range of grants available to home-owners who wish to improve the energy efficiency of their home, the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme offers free energy efficiency upgrades to those in energy poverty and the Better Energy Communities scheme funds community activity on energy efficiency.

The Better Energy Warmer Homes (BEWH) scheme delivers a range of energy efficiency measures free of charge to low income households vulnerable to energy poverty, who meet the eligibility criteria. The measures available include draught proofing, attic insulation, lagging jackets for hot water tanks, low energy light bulbs and cavity wall insulation. These measures can deliver the most energy savings at the lowest cost to the greatest number of homes.

Since the commencement of the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme in 2000, a total of 119,701 homes around the country have received energy efficiency measures at a cost to the Exchequer of €154.9 million. €16.5 million has been allocated to the scheme for 2016. Demand for this scheme remains very strong, clearly demonstrating its potential to continue to deliver energy efficiency gains and related benefits, such as reduced energy costs and better health outcomes.

Spend on the Warmer Homes Scheme is set on an annual basis through the estimates process and my Department must work within approved allocations. However, there is clear evidence that delivering energy efficiency improvements remains the best method of combatting energy poverty. Therefore, I will continue to ensure that improving the energy efficiency of homes of those vulnerable to energy poverty remains central to Ireland’s Better Energy Programme.