Written Answers Nos. 198 - 205
198. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting a significant time for an operation; if the person will be scheduled for same as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15302/16]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
199. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Health the reason a person (details supplied) is waiting a significant time for an operation; if the person will be scheduled for same as soon as possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15303/16]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, A standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly. If he has not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
200. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the national reserve and young farmers scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15083/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application for the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme which was received in the Department on 27 May 2015. The application was processed with payments issuing to the nominated bank account on 17 December 2015 and 2 February 2016.
However, to complete the full processing of this application, the person named was requested to submit commonage evidence for a particular land parcel. Documentation has been recently received in this regard. It is currently being examined with a decision to issue shortly. If the parcel in question is deemed to be eligible it can then be processed for consideration for an allocation from the National Reserve and payment under the Young Farmer Scheme.
An Official from my Department will be in direct contact with the person named to clarify matters.
201. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to meet supermarket owners to discuss and ensure proper payments are made to farmers for their produce; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15089/16]
View answerFairness in commercial dealings is a key ingredient of a sustainable and well functioning food supply chain. I do not have a role in setting prices or the details of commercial arrangements in the food supply chain but I am concerned about fairness and sustainability. The Grocery Goods Undertakings Regulations, 2016 which entered into force on 30 April 2016 provide for statutory regulation of certain practices, sanctions, investigation and enforcement. The Regulations apply to dealings between grocery goods retailers or wholesalers in the State with an annual worldwide turnover of more than €50 million, and their suppliers. They provide for written contracts to be in place, for payment to suppliers for their goods within 30 days except where otherwise provided in a contract, for retention of records and for submission of an annual compliance report to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which operates under the auspices of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The Regulations also prohibit certain specific practices including the compelling of payments for the allocation and retention of shelf space and compelling a supplier to obtain any goods or services from particular third parties.
At EU level the European Commission has examined relationships in the food chain and unfair trading practices but has not to date proposed any legislative measures other than encouraging the formation of producer groups. An agricultural markets task force has also been established by DG AGRI and is due to report by the end of this year.
Sustainable food production requires access to a wide range of markets, competitiveness, adding value and innovation. The resources of my Department and its agencies are deployed to support and develop quality production systems, market insight, understanding of buyer and consumer needs and facilitating varied routes to market.
I believe that operators along the supply chain need to acknowledge their interdependence and work together to develop a supply chain model which sustains agricultural production and positions Ireland to grow the value and volume of agri-food exports. However, as I have indicated, I have no powers to set or directly influence prices or to engage with supermarkets to do so.
202. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal under the national reserve and young farmers scheme by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15100/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application under the ‘new entrant’ category of the 2015 National Reserve. This application was not successful as the applicant was deemed to have exceeded the off farm income threshold of €40,000. This income limit is applied to all applications regardless of the jurisdiction in which the income was earned. The applicant was notified in writing of this decision and was offered the opportunity to submit an appeal. My Department has received an appeal from the person named in relation to his National Reserve application. This appeal will be considered by my Department based on the information set out by the applicant and a decision with regard to the outcome of the appeal will be notified in writing to the applicant as soon as possible.
In calculating the EURO equivalent of the off-farm income declared under the National Reserve earned in another jurisdiction, the conversion rate on the final date of the tax year in the jurisdiction in which the income was earned is utilised. The determination of off farm income is applied consistently to all National Reserve applicants irrespective of the jurisdiction in which the income was earned. As per the Terms and Conditions of the 2015 National Reserve it is the gross off farm income earned by an applicant in either 2013 or 2014, whichever is more favourable, that is used to determine eligibility and factors such as ‘cost of living’ are not taken account of in the calculation.
203. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person (details supplied). [15178/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application under the 2015 Young Farmers Scheme to my Department. The application received from the person named has been fully processed and payment is due to issue very shortly.
204. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the single farm payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15181/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a Private Contract Clause application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements by lease as transferor. This application was unsuccessful as the person named had not established an allocation right on the parcel that was the subject of the application. The person named was notified in writing of this decision and was offered the right to request a review of the decision. This review was subsequently submitted to my Department but was unsuccessful. The person named will shortly receive Basic Payment Scheme payment based on the entitlements held in 2015.
205. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the current procedure for notifying stakeholders of domestic and EU funding calls and if he will endeavour to contact all agricultural and aquaculture businesses to notify them of funding opportunities going forward. [15182/16]
View answerMy Department is strongly committed to providing periodic funding opportunities for targeted research in the agri-food including aquaculture and forestry sectors through its three competitive national funding programmes - FIRM - focusing on food research, STIMULUS - focusing on agricultural production research and CoFoRD - focusing on forest research. The research funded through these programmes is undertaken, often collaboratively, by Irish research performing organisations e.g. Higher Education Institutes and Teagasc. Industry can participate in such proposals on a non-funded basis through in-kind contributions.
My Department publicises research calls widely, through, inter alia, advertising in the national press and all information relating to the call is made available on the Department’s website. In addition, research performing organisations and relevant groups such as the CoFoRD Council for forestry and the industry-led National Advisory Group on Agri-Food Research and Innovation (NAFRI) are contacted directly.
Horizon 2020, which is the European financial instrument supporting research and innovation, is directed nationally by Enterprise Ireland and is supported by a network of 32 advisors. My Department provides the ‘National Delegate’ and ‘National Contact Point’ and works alongside the Marine Institute to promote and support one of the strategic challenges identified for the Horizon 2020 research agenda, i.e. ‘Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture, Marine, Maritime and Inland Water Research and the Bioeconomy’. Under Horizon 2020 my Department provides funding for Irish research performing organisations to compete in calls under the European Research Area Networks (ERA-NETS) and Joint Programme Initiatives and research performing organisations are contacted directly by my Department when funding opportunities arise. In addition, my Department and the Marine Institute endeavour to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders such as businesses, community groups and Local Government, including County Councils, Local Enterprise Offices and LEADER organisations are made aware of the research funding opportunities. Also my Department works in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, which has a very strong outreach to all industries including agriculture and aquaculture.
