Written Answers Nos. 509-530
509. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all the findings from the Morris report into the greyhound industry in Ireland will be implemented in the greyhound industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31590/16]
View answerBord na gCon is a commercial State body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.
Bord na gCon has informed me that it has systematically worked through the recommendations contained in the Morris Report, addressing those that it can within the current legislative framework. In addition it has introduced out of competition testing at kennels, publication of adverse analytical findings, a prohibition on racing following an adverse analytical finding until the result of the test is negative, together with the publication of Control Committee decisions and the reasons for those decisions.
I will shortly be bringing forward the heads of a greyhound racing bill to address certain aspects of the report and to ensure that the principles of good governance and regulation are clearly and unambiguously laid down in primary legislation.
510. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 134 of 15 July 2015, he has received a progress report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31592/16]
View answerBord na gCon is a commercial State body, established under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry.
I understand from Bord na gCon that it has been in communication with the individual concerned by means of a decision letter under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, dated 5th October 2016.
Bord na gCon stated in its letter of the 5th October that it did not conduct any formal investigation into the matter as it has been determined by Bord na gCon, following its enquires, that this is a matter for the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), the employer of the person concerned.
511. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if all of the official bovine identification tags offered for supply in the new scenario will be subjected to the same standards surrounding tag security that has applied to every tag tender here for the past 21 years and which has been one of the cornerstones of the animal identification and traceability system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31629/16]
View answerAll bovine identification eartags submitted as part of applications made by potential tag suppliers will be assessed as detailed in the "Approval Process for Bovine Identification Tags". The standards expected in respect of tag security for identification and traceability purposes are the same as heretofore.
512. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding to be received by Bord Bia as part of budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31646/16]
View answerThe funds allocated to Bord Bia in 2016 in respect of their grant (formerly Grant in Aid) amounted to €32.492 million.
It is my intention to increase the grant to Bord Bia in 2017, however, the allocation for 2017 will not be available until the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) is published later this year.
513. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a single farm payment application and his Department's engagement with third parties with regard to payments to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31656/16]
View answerThis person's payments are subject to two court orders dated 19th November 2012. The court orders specify that payments for particular schemes must be redirected to the plaintiff. My officials have received legal advice to hold any payments due, pending clarification from the plaintiff regarding the schemes specified in the court orders. The case was due for hearing in court on Monday 24th October. My Department will comply with the terms of the outcome of any court ruling.
514. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, stage 4 will be introduced continuing on from the stage 3 scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31714/16]
View answerSome 38,000 farmers have been approved into the first two Tranches of GLAS, 26,500 in GLAS 1 and 11,500 in GLAS 2.
The current position is that it is work is concentrating on the anticipated third tranche of GLAS (GLAS 3) which will be launched in the coming weeks.
515. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) from County Donegal became eligible for the transfer of entitlements under the 2013 single payment scheme year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31745/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2013 Transfer of Entitlements application to my Department seeking the transfer of land and entitlements by gift as transferee.
The delay in processing this application is due to an issue relating to the date of amendment of the herd number which needs to be resolved with the Local Office before the Transfer of Entitlements can proceed. My Department is currently involved in resolving this issue and expect it will be completed shortly. A letter will issue to the person named once this process has been concluded.
516. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Questions Nos.1516 to 1518, inclusive, of 16 September 2016 and in view of the fact that other Ministers have provided details of State agencies funded by their Departments, if he will provide the information sought; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31781/16]
View answerThere are twelve State Bodies under the aegis of my Department, of these, eight receive funding from my Department. As the information sought by the Deputy is not routinely collected I have asked the State Bodies concerned to supply the information sought directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The deferred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
517. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara cén fáth ar gearradh pionós traschomhlíonta 100% faoin scéim buníocaíochta nó faoi scéim na limistéar faoi shrianta nádúrtha do 2016 ar fheirmeoir i gContae na Gaillimhe (sonraí tugtha); an ndéanfaidh sé na sonraí faoin bpionós sin a chur in iúl; céard iad na scéimeanna ar fad a bhfuil an feirmeoir páirteach iontu agus a mbeidh tionchar ag an bpionós sin orthu; an bhfuil an feirmeoir fós in ann achomharc a dhéanamh in aghaidh an phionóis seo; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [31788/16]
View answerChuir an duine ainmnithe iarratas isteach ar Íocaíocht Bhunúsach/Scéim na Limistéar faoi Shrianta Nádúrtha 2016 ar an 12 Aibreán 2016.
Roghnaíodh gabháltas an duine ainmnithe le haghaidh cigireacht um Rialachán Níotráití Údarás Áitiúila dhéanann mo Roinnse thar ceann na Roinne Tithíochta, Pleanála agus Rialtas Áitiúil. Chomhaontaigh an duine ainmnithe leis an Oifigeach Cigireachta go ndéanfaí an chigireacht ar an 7ú Márta 2016. Nuair a tháinig an tOifigeach Cigireachta ar an ngabháltas ar an 7ú Márta chun tabhairt faoin gcigireacht, dhiúltaigh an duine ainmnithe don chigireacht dul ar aghaidh. Deir na rialacháin AE a rialaíonn íocaíochtaí faoi na Scéimeanna Íocaíochta Dírí agus na bearta maidir leis an gClár Forbartha Tuaithe, sa chás go gcuireann iarratasóir cosc ar chigireacht a chur i gcrích, go ndiúltófar a iarratas ar chúnamh. De bharr nár chomhoibrigh an duine ainmnithe leis an gcigireacht seo cuireadh pionós traschomhlíonta 100% i bhfeidhm lena íocaíochtaí 2016. Cuireadh an cinneadh seo in iúl don duine ainmnithe ar an 30ú Márta 2016, chomh maith leis an gceart atá ag an duine ainmnithe achomharc ar an gcinneadh a lorg. Tuigim nach bhfuarthas iarraidh air sin go dtí seo.
Sa chás nach mbeidh an duine ainmnithe sásta le toradh aon achomhairc den sórt sin, is féidir achomharc faoin gcinneadh a dhéanamh chuig an Oifig Achomharc Talmhaíochta neamhspleách laistigh de 3 mhí.
518. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide assurances that there will be no delays in issuing single farm payments due in October 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31852/16]
View answer530. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding basic payment scheme payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32106/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 518 and 530 together.
I am pleased to confirm that advance payments under the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) commenced in Ireland on 17 October 2016, which is the earliest that payments can commence under the governing EU Regulations, in respect of applicants whose applications are fully processed and who have no outstanding errors. The level of advance payment was set at 70% for 2016 rather than the 50% provided for in the EU legislation.
To date payments in excess of €735m have issued to over 113,000 applicants. Regular payment runs are being made in respect of all applicants whose applications are fully processed and who have no outstanding errors. There are currently approximately 14,000 applicants with an allocation of entitlements under the scheme awaiting further processing.
I am keenly aware that the advance payment of the BPS is a vital support to farmers across sectors in maximising cash flow and my Department will continue to prioritise the processing of all outstanding cases.
I would also point out that the processing of the 2016 applications under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme is currently in progress. To date payments in excess of €179m have issued to some 83,500 applicants. Regular payment runs are being made in respect of all applicants whose applications are fully processed and who have no outstanding errors.
519. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if any extra funding has been made available to the special areas of conservation, SACs, to compensate for the restrictions imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31878/16]
View answerUnder the various Locally-Led initiatives of my Department, funding will be available to support a variety of farmer-led pilot projects, many of which will focus on tackling environmental challenges in designated areas. For example, there will be two new projects looking at different ways of improving habitat and conservation of the Hen Harrier and the Freshwater Pearl Mussel and these will specifically target farmers in the relevant designated areas. Considerable funding has been set aside for this over the course of the RDP period. There is also a separate fund for bottom-up projects, drawn from open competitive calls, and again I would expect that many of these will focus on farmer-led initiatives in designated areas. Finally, I should draw attention to the Burren Programme, which will allow for expansion of the scheme to include all eligible farmers in the Burren region and which focuses specifically on the better management of Annex 1 habitats.
From a GLAS perspective Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas are given tier 1 priority when selecting applicants under the Green Low-carbon Agri-environment Scheme (GLAS) operated by my Department. The scheme provides significant funding to farmers with designated lands.
Finally under the provisions of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), farmers need to declare an eligible hectare for each payment entitlement held in order to benefit from payment. The hectares declared must be eligible and must have an agricultural activity carried out on them. Where an officially approved environmental management plan involving Special Areas of Conservation or Special Protection Areas requires certain management practices to be conducted on agricultural areas, such management practices will take precedence in determining the level of agricultural activity to be conducted on agricultural areas declared for payment. Article 32(2)(b)(i) of Regulation (EU) 1307/2013 provides that an eligible hectare for BPS purposes includes any area which gave a right to payments in 2008 under the single payment scheme and which no longer complies with the definition of 'eligible hectare' as a result of the implementation of Directive 92/43/EEC, Directive 2000/60/EC and Directive 2009/147/EC where the following conditions are met:
(1) The land must have been claimed under the 2008 Single Payment Scheme;
(2) The land must have been eligible for payment under the 2008 Single Payment Scheme;
(3) Any increase in the ineligible area should be directly linked to the management requirements for the habitat.
520. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers waiting for area of natural constraints, ANC, payments due to delays in administration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31882/16]
View answerPayments under the 2016 Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme commenced as scheduled in the third week of September. To date payments worth in excess of €179m have issued to some 83,000 applicants. This represents 84% of those who applied.
As is normal at this juncture many farmers are not yet eligible for payment as they have not yet fulfilled the necessary stocking requirements under the ANC scheme but will do so before the end of the year. Regular payruns are continuing, with a view to processing cases for payment as they become eligible under the scheme rules.
521. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the delegated responsibilities he has given to Ministers of State in his Department; when the order of delegated responsibility was signed; if he included his Ministers of State in direct discussions or meetings with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as part of pre-budget discussions; if so, the dates of such meetings and the attendance at each meeting; if a Minister of State was not included, the reason this was the position, in view of the designated responsibilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31908/16]
View answerWhile the delegation order has yet to be signed, Minister of State Andrew Doyle has assumed responsibility for Forestry, Horticulture, Food Safety and the Greyhound Industry. It is expected that a Memo for Government will be brought before Cabinet shortly requesting execution of a draft order delegating these functions to Minister Doyle.
I met with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on a number of occasions informally as part of the pre-budget consultative process. I also met him on a formal basis on Tuesday 27 September to discuss all aspects of my Department's budget for 2017. In conjunction with this my officials were in ongoing and frequent contact with their counterparts in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform during this period.
I meet with Minister of State Doyle on a regular basis. In the run up to the Budget we consulted on several occasions in relation to expenditure items falling under the responsibilities to be delegated to him and I briefed him on the discussions and meetings I and my officials had with Minister Donohoe and his officials.
522. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a single farm payment and area of natural constraint payment will be received by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31924/16]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2016 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint scheme's application on 13 April 2016. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases Remote Sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
The application of the person named was selected for a Remote Sensing eligibility inspection. This inspection is currently being processed with the intention of issuing any payments due as soon as possible. In the event that any queries arise officials in my Department will be in contact with the person named.
523. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to a person (details supplied). [31942/16]
View answerAn application under the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme was received in my Department from the person named on 16 May 2016. During processing, an overlap was disclosed in respect of one land parcel declared and the person named was notified accordingly. A response has been received and the application is currently being further processed. Any payments due will issue as soon as possible to the nominated bank account.
524. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 596 of 18 October 2016, if he will provide a breakdown in monetary terms of the total amount of funding being provided from balance sheet support from the SBCI and COSME EU Financial Instrument in the make up of the new €150 million agriloan fund announced in Budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31948/16]
View answerI am informed by the SBCI that they and COSME are not providing funding but are providing 50% of the guarantee required to underpin the flexibility and bring down the cost of the loans within the €150 million fund. More details of the loan fund will be announced shortly.
525. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application for TAMS by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31951/16]
View answerThe person named submitted an application for grant-aid under the Young Farmers' Capital Investment Scheme Tranche 4 in TAMS 11, on 28 September 2016.
All applications received in a given tranche are checked for administrative issues and then go through a ranking and selection process. Once an application has passed through the ranking and selection process in a particular tranche, it is then checked for technical issues in the local office before approval issues. It should be noted that all eligible applications in a given tranche are not necessarily selected and in these circumstances are rolled over to subsequent tranches.
526. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers waiting for the first instalment of the single farm payment due to the delay in processing inspections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31966/16]
View answerEU Regulations governing the administration of the Basic Payment Scheme and other area-based schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including Ground or Remote Sensing inspections where applicable, be fully completed before any payments can issue.
Of the 7,475 applications selected for either a Ground or Remote Sensing inspection across the various area-based schemes, a total of 3,775 or 50.1% have been paid their first instalment of the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme payment. Priority is being given to the processing of all outstanding inspections and inspection cases continue to be finalised to payment stage on a daily basis.
527. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers and the average amount concerned, that have suffered a cut in their 2016 BPS payment because of a GLAS inspection in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31978/16]
View answerThe extensive information requested is not yet available but is currently being compiled. It will be forwarded to the Deputy directly as soon as it is finalised.
528. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 602 of 18 October 2016, the way in which he intends to follow up on the Teagasc research mentioned in the reply; and the plans to develop an industrial hemp-based economic sector and to promote the development of adequate processing facilities for such an industry here. [32018/16]
View answerIn my previous reply I outlined a number of climatic and environmental issues pertaining to the growing of hemp in Ireland. Notwithstanding this agronomic research, I understand that there are also a number of issues to be overcome with regard to processing capacity and market outlets.
I understand that no specific proposals on the development of a commercial, domestic hemp growing sector have been put forward in the past number of years.
Subject to the licensing requirements outlined in my previous reply, it is a primary matter for consideration for any party wishing to grow hemp commercially, to satisfy themselves that such an activity is economically viable. A significant part of this decision-making process would need to include an analysis of the costs of establishing hemp processing facilities on a sound, commercial footing.
529. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason certain farm payments were delayed with the reason of digitisation of records given despite his predecessor's commitment that this would not reoccur after 2015; his views on whether it is fair that farmers are left waiting for their entitlement; his further views on whether the digitisation of records should be carried out well in advance of grants due to be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32031/16]
View answerEach year farmers in Ireland benefit from funding of over €1.5 billion under Schemes such as the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) and The Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS). The EU Regulations governing the administration of these area based schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative eligibility checks, including in some cases either ground or remote sensing (satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
Eligibility checks are required to ensure that the actual area claimed in the application form corresponds to the area farmed by the applicant, that there are no dual claims of land, and that ineligible land or features are not included for aid purposes. Where ineligible land or features are identified as a result of any of the eligibility checks these areas must be mapped on the Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS). In addition, where applicants under these schemes submit details of amendments to land being declared, either to add additional land or to exclude ineligible land/features, my Department must process these amendments on the LPIS.
The processing relating to both applicants requests for amendments and the outcome of the administrative and inspections checks ensures that the LPIS is accurately maintained. The updating of LPIS is a critical element underpinning payments under the Direct Payment Schemes and my Department must ensure, under EU Regulations, that it is accurate and up-to-date. In addition, the eligibility checks are required to protect the annual drawdown of the EU funds and to avoid disallowances.
At present, advance payments under the BPS have issued to over 113,000 farmers while ANC payments have issued to over 83,000 farmers. Ireland is amongst the first Member States to make advance payments under the BPS and has made such payments each year since 2006.
There is currently no delay in the digitising of maps arising from query cases or eligibility checks other than cases which are the subject of ongoing correspondence between the farmer and my Department. The completion of all digitising of maps and the clearance of applications for payments remains a key priority for my Department. Accordingly, regular pay runs are in place for BPS and the ANC scheme to process cases for payments as they become clear.
