Written Answers Nos. 222-230
222. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of the proposed sheep scheme as outlined in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21379/16]
View answerThe new Programme for Government commits to the introduction of a scheme for sheep farmers under the Rural Development Programme with a budget of €25 million to be provided in Budget 2017.
Any such scheme must comply with the Rural Development Regulation. The scheme proposed will be additional to existing supports available to sheep farmers under the BPS, GLAS, ANC and TAMS, will make a vital contribution to ensuring the continuing viability of the sheep sector in Ireland. This commitment is a clear acknowledgement of the contribution the sheepmeat sector makes to the Irish Agri Food economy generating an output value of €320 million in 2015 and supporting 34,000 farm families directly as well as providing several thousand jobs indirectly in rural areas.
As regards the specifics of the scheme design and operation, my Department has engaged in extensive consultation with farm organisations. In addition they met last week with officials of the European Commission to discuss the proposed new scheme in the context of the specific requirements of the Rural Development Programme.
My officials are currently working on the details of the scheme in light of those consultations. The scheme is being proposed as an animal welfare scheme under Article 33 of the Rural Development Regulation and all actions will have to improve animal welfare conditions for flocks within the scheme. Furthermore, schemes payments may be made only on the basis of costs incurred or income foregone as a result of the required actions. Those actions must be verifiable and controllable, and go beyond normal standards of husbandry practice.
My objective is to ensure that the scheme is simple to participate in and to administer, complies with EU requirements and is sufficiently attractive to maximise the number of participants from both lowland and hill farmers sectors.
223. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set down the number of animal welfare prosecutions that have come about following his efforts in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21380/16]
View answerThe Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, which came into operation on 6 March 2014, is a legal instrument with wide application and potential use by a range of authorised officers in a wide variety of settings. Local authorities, An Garda Síochána and officials of my Department are empowered to take prosecutions under the Act.
To date, over fifty prosecutions have been initiated under the Act, including those taken by my Department arising from field inspections by Department Officers, authorised officers of the ISPCA and DSPCA and An Garda Síochána. Several prosecutions have been successfully completed and the remainder are at various stages in the court system.
224. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his efforts to open market access for Irish beef inside and outside the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21381/16]
View answerThere is a strong demand for beef globally and my role as Minister is to facilitate market access and to enable Irish exporters to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. In 2015 Ireland exported an estimated €2.2 billion, or approximately 500,000 tonnes of beef, to almost 80 countries around the globe. Food Wise 2025 acknowledged that there is a rising global population together with the growing middle classes in a number of rapidly growing economies and changing dietary patterns to incorporate increased protein consumption. Taken together these provide a great opportunity for increasing the exports of high quality, safe and sustainably produced Irish beef.
As a member of the European Union, Ireland already has full market access to the 27 other EU Member States for beef and other commodities produced. Therefore Ireland has ready market access to a population of over 500 million inhabitants, which indeed is one of the many benefits that comes with being a Member of the EU. The majority of Irish beef exported is to other EU Member States. According to Bord Bia, in 2015 some 52% of Irish beef exports went to the UK and 36% went to other EU markets. Recent events in markets close to home have highlighted once again the importance of diversifying our international beef markets. As an exporting country, accessing new markets is crucial to the long-term sustainability of our beef sector.
The balance of our beef exports was to non EU markets including the USA, Middle East, Philippines, Hong Kong, Ghana and Switzerland amongst others. These Third Country markets are increasingly an important alternative outlet for the industry. My Department engages on an ongoing basis with many Third countries, in collaboration with Bord Bia, the meat industry, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade and the European Commission on various market access issues. My Department continues to push strongly for market access to other Third Countries.
In 2015 Ireland had some notable successes including becoming the first EU Member State to gain beef access to the USA, having a BSE ban lifted by the Chinese authorities and negotiating an extension to our market access to the Philippines, where we are now the second largest supplier of beef. More recently beef markets in Canada, Oman and the Maldives have also been opened. Significantly our access to the US market was recently further extended to incorporate manufacturing beef, as a testament to our beef production and regulatory systems. It is expected that similar extended beef access to Saudi Arabia will be achieved shortly. We are currently in the process of trying to secure beef access to other third countries including, inter alia, China, South Korea, Israel, Ukraine and Vietnam. It is my intention to continue to focus on developing as many third country markets as possible in order to provide exporters as many commercial opportunities as possible in a competitive global marketplace.
225. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his efforts to develop the seafood industry and the wider marine sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21382/16]
View answerOur seafood industry has been on a sustained growth path in recent years, with sales growing to €890 million in 2015. Current FAO estimates are that growth in world consumption of fish will require an extra 40 million tonnes of seafood by 2030. Ireland can capture a significant share of this global seafood opportunity with the right strategy and supporting investment.
Food Wise 2025 recognised this opportunity for the growth of our seafood industry and set out a strategy to realise that growth potential by focussing on the key areas of sustainability, added value, processing scale, human capital, increasing raw material supply and developing our markets.
In January this year, Ireland’s new €240 million development programme for our seafood sector was launched. The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme will be the primary tool to address the 6 key areas identified in FoodWise. I was delighted to announce in June the first tranche of €4.3 million in grants to 51 aquaculture and seafood processing enterprises under the EMFF Programme.
Under that Programme, I am making available €30 million to kick-start growth in our aquaculture sector, which has been stagnant for too long. In December, we published Ireland’s first National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development, targeting growth in output of 45,000 tonnes by 2023, aided through 24 specified initiatives. To complement those efforts, my Department is working to deliver up to 200 licence determinations this year and will initiate a review of aquaculture licensing procedures, as recommended in FoodWise.
All of these efforts focusing on aquaculture, together with efforts to attract landings of fish by foreign vessels, will help increase the supply of raw material to our growing processing industry to convert to added value consumer foods, food ingredients and functional foods. I will be making available €33 million Government funding through the EMFF Programme to support the further development of our processing sector through enhanced scaling and value adding. FoodWise recognises that we need to reduce the level of seafood product which is exported in commodity form from its present 70% level to below 50%. Adding value to seafood products will make a huge difference to the economic activity and levels of employment in our coastal communities.
These efforts are being supported through €2 million investment in 2016 by Bord Bia in promoting Irish seafood internationally and assisting our producers to find and grow markets. They are being supported by a commitment within the seafood sector to sustainability, with 32 Irish seafood companies fully verified as members of Origin Green, and a further 16 applications in the pipeline. Between them, these companies will account for in excess of 80% of total seafood export values.
In these many initiatives to implement the FoodWise strategy and in our financial commitment through the EMFF Programme, Government is clearly stepping up to the challenges and striving to grow our seafood industry.
226. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 522 of 14 June 2016 to set out the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the agri-environment options scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21383/16]
View answerThe person named commenced their AEOS 1 contract on 1 September 2010 and was paid in full 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 be completed before any payment can issue. The application of the person named was also selected for an on-farm inspection which took place on the 21 August 2015. During this inspection non-compliances with the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme were noted in relation to the Species Rich Grassland and the Traditional Stone Wall Maintenance actions which resulted in a penalty being incurred. The stone walls in this case were found to be covered with scrub, bushes and briars. As such, they were not visible and were not accessible for assessment and maintenance. The application was processed on the basis of the inspection findings and payments in respect of the 2015 Scheme year, less penalty, were issued on 6 May and the 16 May.
The person named requested a review of the decision to apply the penalty for the Traditional Stone Wall Maintenance action to the Regional Inspector who upheld the original decision. The person named appealed this decision to the Agriculture Appeals Office and an oral hearing took place on 16 June 2016. The decision of the Appeals Officer which will also issue directly to the person named is awaited.
227. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21402/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a Private Contract Clause application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements by lease as transferee. The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application was submitted under the herd number shown prior to the herd number being changed into the name of the person named. For this reason my Department has been unable to fully process this application to facilitate payment under the Basic Payment Scheme. Processing of this application is now underway and arrangements are being made to finalise the case for payment shortly.
The person named also submitted an application under the 2015 Young Farmers Scheme to my Department. Once the Basic Payment Scheme application has been finalised, payment due under the Young Farmers’ Scheme will issue shortly thereafter.
228. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the basic payment scheme in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21405/16]
View answerThe person named is an applicant under the ‘Scottish Derogation’ measure of the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme.
Under EU Regulations governing the Basic Payment Scheme, processing of applications involves administrative and on-farm checks and verification of land details submitted. The person named had submitted a late Single Payment Scheme application in 2013 which deemed him ineligible to qualify under ‘Scottish Derogation’. Following appeal the late penalty has recently been waived and the person named has now been deemed eligible to qualify under the scheme. The person named will be notified of this decision shortly.
The person named also submitted an application under the 2015 Young Farmers’ Scheme to my Department. Once the Basic Payment Scheme application has been finalised, payment due under the Young Farmers’ Scheme will issue shortly thereafter.
229. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the single payment scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21467/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2015 Basic Payment Scheme application on 1 May 2015. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases on-farm inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
The application of the person named was selected for a Ground Eligibility inspection. The inspection identified discrepancies between the areas declared and the area found resulting in an over-declaration in area of greater than 20%. Based on the terms and conditions of the scheme this resulted in no payment being due under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme. The person named was notified of this decision on 4 November 2015.
While a review of this decision resulted in an increase in the eligible area, the over-declaration in area remained at greater than 20%. The person named submitted an appeal on this decision which resulted in a further inspection taking place on 30 June 2016. The result of this inspection is now being processed and the person named will be notified of the outcome shortly. In the event that any monies are due as a result of this further inspection, arrangements will be put in place to process payment to the person named.
230. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline in detail the sequence of events relating to the disposal by way of shooting of cattle on a farm (details supplied); if he will set out the protocols in terms of engagement employed in the case between the official assignee and his Department and the Department of Defence, especially in the context of the disease status of the herd and the decision to shoot the remaining animals rather than detain them in the normal way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21501/16]
View answerThe actions in question were undertaken under the overall control of the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy acting as an Officer of the Court who has stated publicly that the decision to proceed in the way he did in relation to the cattle was made very reluctantly and was made in the interests of the public safety of the local community.
It should also be noted that the cattle were at the time in the ownership of the Official Assignee, into whose name the herd number had been transferred and that the herd in question was TB restricted on 18 February due to the disclosure of TB lesions in cattle slaughtered from the herd. Significant efforts had been made to contain the animals but these proved futile because of their feral nature. In the interests of public safety, the Official Assignee, in consultation with the Garda and the Department, considered that the most optimal course of action to be taken was that the animals be euthanised. The protocol agreed between this Department and the Department of Defence was invoked and the animals were subsequently killed by skilled army personnel in line with the agreed protocol.
It is the view of the Department that the actions taken were the most humane in the circumstances and I am advised that there was no alternative action available to the Official Assignee in the circumstances, taking account of the fact that the interest of public safety was the primary consideration at all times.
