Written Answers Nos. 255-267
255. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an overview of the process involved, including at EU level, in transferring moneys allocated from one rural development programme scheme to another; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35688/16]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, financial allocations under the Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020 are set out at measure and sub measure level and not at scheme level.
Under the RDP, the financial allocations by measure are detailed in the Financial Plan (section 10 of the RDP). Any changes to the Financial Plan in the RDP, including any transfer of funds between measures, are part of the official RDP amendment process. The RDP amendment process usually involves the following steps:
1. Development of the proposed amendment
2. Consultation with the RDP Monitoring Committee on the proposed amendment
3. Submission of the proposed amendment to the European Commission
4. European Commission considers the proposed amendment including inter-service consultation
5. European Commission issues official observation letter
6. Managing Authority responds to the Commission's observation letter
7. European Commission approves the proposed amendment by way of a Commission Implementing Act (as per Article 11 of EU regulation 1305/2013).
Scheme allocations are done as part of the annual budgetary process used for the exchequer (voted) funds. As information becomes available about requirements in the course of a year, scheme allocations can be adjusted by way of the usual public financial procedures. The transfer of funds may be effected by the Department itself, by virement with the permission of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, or by way of a supplementary estimate depending on the amount to be transferred and the subhead from which and to which the funds are to move.
256. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the total €1.4 billion programme funding allocated to green low-carbon agri-environment scheme up until 2020 will be fully drawn down; if any unspent GLAS funds will be kept within the 2014-20 RDP window and not transferred to post-2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35689/16]
View answerThe third tranche of the GLAS scheme was recently launched and is open to applications until mid-December 2016. I am satisfied that the level of interest even at this early stage indicates that applications under this tranche will bring participation levels to the projected figure of at least 50,000 in 2017. It is projected that all available European Funds over the programming period will be fully utilised.
257. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine whether the target, as announced in budget 2016, of €250 million to be spent annually on the GLAS programme when 50,000 farmers are enrolled will be realised in 2017 and the remaining years of this RDP; if not, the reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35690/16]
View answerI recently launched the third tranche for applications to the GLAS scheme and I am satisfied that the level of interest even at this early stage will bring participation levels to the projected figure of at least 50,000 in 2017. I am happy all available European Funds over the programming period will be fully utilised.
258. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide a breakdown in tabular form of the specific programme funding for AEOS, GLAS, REPS and organics in 2017 following budget 2017, where it was announced that €241.7 million had been allocated for agri-environmental schemes for 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35691/16]
View answerThe estimated allocation for 2017 will not be available until the Revised Estimates Volume (REV) is published later this year.
259. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out the status of the latest EU proposals regarding the definition of an active EU farmer and application at member state level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35692/16]
View answerThe definition of an active farmer has been discussed recently in the context of the so-called Omnibus Regulation, which proposes to give effect to the Commission's mid-term review of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020, while also making some changes to the CAP regulations in the interest of achieving further simplification.
As regards the definition of an active farmer, the Commission has acknowledged that the application of the existing criteria has proven very difficult for Member States, and that the costs associated with its implementation outweigh the benefits to be derived from excluding a very small number of farmers. It is therefore proposing that the application of the active farmer definition should be optional for Member States.
From Ireland's perspective, we are very much in agreement with the Commission's view. Extensive checks have been carried out in my Department, involving all 132,000 farmers, and I can confirm that no farmer in 2015 was excluded from receiving the Basic Payment Scheme as a consequence of failing the active farmer criteria. It is our understanding that other Member States had similar results, despite extensive and costly administrative checks. On this basis, Ireland is very supportive of the proposal to make the application of the active farmer definition optional for Member States.
260. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set down the number of garnishee orders that have been taken against farmers and their single farm payment in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35698/16]
View answerThe number of Garnishee Court Orders received in my Department against Scheme Payments in the previous 5 years is as follows:
2012 - 385
2013 - 421
2014 - 456
2015 - 496
2016 - 477.
261. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to set out in tabular form the details of all pension top-ups paid in respect of chief executives of semi-State companies under the aegis of his Department, including the name of the organisation, the name of the chief executive, the amount of the top-up, the date of payment and whether the top-up was approved by his Department in each of the years 2011 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35880/16]
View answerThere are twelve State Bodies under the aegis of my Department and none of them have made pension top-ups to their Chief Executives.
262. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 533 of 27 September 2016 to outline his views on the ruling of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on a sale (details supplied); his plans to give this sale the go-ahead; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35541/16]
View answerThe Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is an independent body with a separate role and remit in relation to Media Mergers. It would not be appropriate for me to provide any comment on its ruling on this matter.
The proposed purchase has been cleared by the CCPC on competition grounds and it must now be notified to me as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The deadline for this notification is 24 November 2016. Following this notification my Department has 30 working days to conduct an initial assessment of the case on media plurality grounds.
It would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the case until that process and my Department's initial assessment is completed. I refer the Deputy to my response to Question No. 862 of 27 September 2017 which outlines how the Media Mergers regime functions.
In accordance with the Guidelines on Media Mergers, my Department facilitates pre-notification meetings with the parties to a proposed media merger. The purpose of such meetings is to answer questions the parties may have about the media mergers process and the notification form.
I can inform the Deputy that an initial pre-notification meeting was held with the legal representatives of the parties to the proposed transaction on 22 September 2016 and a further pre-notification meeting was held on 11 November 2016.
263. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to outline the extent to which his Department supports the principle of recycling of electrical goods, having particular regard to the efforts made by a company (details supplied) which endeavours to recycle such goods but finds it difficult to access the material for such recycling due to alternative disposal methods other than recycling, in view of the fact that Ireland is unlikely to meet its 5% target for recycling of electrical goods; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35707/16]
View answerIreland has met every target prescribed by the European Union under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to date and I am satisfied that my Department has put in place the legislation and supporting structures and systems required to ensure that all future targets will continue to be met.
Each Member State is obliged to meet targets for the collection of household WEEE per person per annum, and separate targets for recovery, reuse and recycling for each of the ten categories of WEEE. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)statistics, published in September 2016, illustrate Ireland’s current progress towards meeting EU waste targets including WEEE. The most recent WEEE statistics are with respect to 2014 and demonstrate that 7.2 kg of household WEEE was collected per person in Ireland, compared to the EU target of 4 kg per person, and that Ireland is also meeting recovery rates of 80% and 90% across different recycling processes. This information is available on the EPA’s website www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/waste/stats.
These statistics are tangible proof of the positive response to the implementation of the WEEE directive in Ireland. Since the introduction of the Irish WEEE legislation, some 100 million waste electrical items have been collected and over 300,000 tonnes of WEEE diverted from landfill. The Irish public have supported the WEEE system and have fully utilised the network of free collection facilities and take-back options available to them. In so doing, they have played an important role in eradicating the visible blight on our countryside and towns caused by waste fridges and washing machines and other electro-scrap.
More than 300 people are employed in Ireland in direct connection with WEEE collection, recycling and treatment activity and 65% of all WEEE collected in Ireland is recycled by treatment facilities in Ireland. The introduction of the WEELABEX requirements into Irish WEEE legislation requires producers with obligations in Ireland to work with recyclers that are certified to the highest standard in the WEEE industry. This has had the effect of raising standards in the WEEE system in Ireland generally with domestic processing plants for small mixed WEEE, lamp recycling and television and monitor recycling in operation all of which have achieved WEELABEX certification.
While repair and re-use of WEEE is already well developed in Ireland, particularly in the social economy sector, the key to re-use organisations developing further is access to quality product, a fact acknowledged in the Irish WEEE legislation. Our legislation provides for such access in a co-ordinated and efficient manner for approved re-use organisations, who under our domestic WEEE Regulations now have a legal right to access WEEE from producer’s designated collection hubs.
There are a number of key social, economic and environmental benefits to be gained from the development of a strong re-use marketplace in Ireland and re-use of WEEE is consistent with EU and Irish strategies, policies and directives towards a more sustainable future and circular economy. I am satisfied that we have created the appropriate regulatory environment to facilitate WEEE re-use and look forward to working with all stakeholders who wish to play a full and active role in realising the potential of this market.
264. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to set down in tabular form the details of all pension top-ups paid in respect of chief executives of semi-State companies under the aegis of his Department, including the name of the organisation, the name of the chief executive, the amount of the top-up, the date of payment and whether the top-up was approved by his Department, in each of the years 2011 to 2016 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35882/16]
View answerI can confirm that there have been no pension top-ups paid to the Chief Executive of any semi-State Company under the aegis of my Department for the years in question.
Pensions are negotiated on a case by case basis between the relevant company and the CEO as part of their contract, in accordance with the Guidelines on contracts, remuneration and other conditions of Chief Executives and senior management of State Bodies, subject to statutory provision for the approval of remuneration and terms by Ministers and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
265. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide the necessary resources and support to both Clare County Council and Limerick County Council to enable these local authorities to enter a joint venture in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland to introduce a tourist route along the Shannon and Fergus estuaries in counties Clare and Limerick as a spur off the Wild Atlantic Way, with the necessary signage, a website with a direct link to the Wild Atlantic Way website (details supplied) and marketing function; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35521/16]
View answerMy Department's role in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of national tourism policy. It is not directly involved in the management or development of individual tourism projects, such as the Wild Atlantic Way, which is an operational matter for Fáilte Ireland.
I have accordingly referred the Deputy's question to Fáilte Ireland for attention and direct reply to the Deputy. If you have not heard from Fáilte Ireland within ten working days, please contact my private office.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
266. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to set out in tabular form the total number of tests taken and the total number of fails for truck licences at each of the driving test centres in County Tipperary, that is, Nenagh, Thurles, Tipperary town and Clonmel, individually by centre and by tester, unnamed, for each of the years 2011 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35529/16]
View answerThe operation of the driver testing service is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, and I have no role in these matters.
I have therefore referred the Question to the Authority for direct reply.
I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.
The referred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
267. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 42 of 2 November 2016 to set out the amount of moneys to be allocated to the sports capital grant for 2017. [35547/16]
View answerThe Sports Capital Programme (SCP) is the Government's primary vehicle to support the development of sports facilities and the purchase of sports equipment. The most recent rounds of the programme were in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
Following the conclusion of the 2017 Estimates discussions, a total of €52 m has been provided for sports capital projects. This will meet all existing commitments under previous rounds of the Sports Capital and Local Authority Swimming Pool Programme, and also allow for a new round of the Sports Capital Programme.
The new round will be open for applications by January at the latest. The new Programme will include a revised online portal which will make the process more user-friendly. Other supports will include a comprehensive written guide and video guides. Based on previous rounds of the programme, the assessment process takes a number of months to complete so I expect that actual final grant allocations will be announced some time during Summer 2017. All other relevant details of the new round will be announced shortly including the relevant closing dates.
