Written Replies Nos. 672 to 686
672. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department or the agencies that report to his Department entered into any non-disclosure or confidentiality agreements with any organisation due to court action or a threatened court action; and if so, the persons or groups with which these agreements exist. [37621/16]
View answerIt is not possible to provide this information in the required time. I will forward it to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
673. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the transitional arrangements for pig farmers can be allowed to continue in the current format until the full review of the nitrates regulations in 2017 is completed (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37665/16]
View answerThe European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014 are the responsibility of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. The current arrangement negotiated with the Commission in Ireland’s action programme for Nitrates whereby the intensive sectors (Pig, Poultry and Mushroom composts) are allowed to apply manures in excess of crop requirement is due to expire at the end of the year. The arrangement was put in place in 2006 to assist the industry to comply with the regulations and has been moving the industry towards full compliance over the intervening 10 years.
In 2017, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, assisted by my Department will embark on a review of its Nitrates Action Programme with the European Commission, with a view to having in place by 2018, an agreed Nitrates Action Programme that will run from 2018 to 2021. In addition, a request for a new nitrates derogation will be submitted to the Commission as part of the review process.
Agreeing a new action programme and securing a derogation will be a significant objective for 2017. Although having been successful in all previous derogation requests, this review will be complicated by the recent EPA report on Water Quality 2012 – 2015. Previous reports all revealed an increase in water quality albeit a slow and gradual improvement. This report, however, at best reveals a stalling of this trend in improvement and at worst shows a slight deterioration in the water quality of certain types of water courses.
I understand that a full consultation process will be carried out as part of reviewing the action programme in early 2017 and all issues raised by stakeholders will be fully considered as part of this process.
674. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has considered introducing a carbon tax on beef and dairy products; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37666/16]
View answerThere is a whole of Government approach to climate policy as set out in the National Climate Policy Position. Officials from my Department work very closely with other Departments and in particular, with the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, which is the lead in this area and the matter of a carbon tax on beef and dairy products has not been considered.
Irish grass-based agricultural production is independently and internationally recognised as one of the most climate and resource efficient in the world. However, there are limited cost-effective abatement options available in respect of biological emissions and imposing carbon taxes on Irish beef and dairy products could have the effect of shifting production to other countries with less sustainable production systems.
My approach is to focus on driving down the emissions intensity of Irish production through the deployment of innovative and efficient practices at farm level combined with the practical application of emerging scientific knowledge.
675. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address an issue (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37667/16]
View answerI recently met with the Association of Farm Contractors in Ireland (FCI) to discuss the matters raised in their submission. The sustained period of lower commodity prices has caused cash flow difficulties for farmers in several sectors, which consequently affects service providers such as farm contractors. I have committed to working with all the stakeholders to address the issues involved and ensure that we continue to have a sustainable and resilient sector. As part of the recent Budget, I announced a “three pillar strategy” to alleviate the pressures of income volatility through lower cost finance, tax measures and farm payments.
While taxation policy is primarily the responsibility of the Minister for Finance, our two Departments continuously liaise on agri-taxation matters and I make an annual submission in advance of the Budget. I will ensure that the Department of Finance is informed of the various issues raised by FCI. Considerable progress was made in the recent budget, including the extension of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s accelerated capital allowance scheme for energy efficient equipment to non-incorporated businesses, and increased equity within the income tax system for the self-employed.
Hedge cutting controls are primarily a responsibility for the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs under the Wildlife Act.
You may be aware that last week I announced that the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) has invited banks and other lenders to take part in the "Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme". My Department and the SBCI have been working closely on the Scheme and the SBCI is targeting that the loans will be available in the market by the end of January 2017. I clarified at the meeting with FCI that these loans will be available to farmers or SMEs engaged in primary agricultural production.
676. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 209 of 16 November 2016, if the nominee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, to the board of Horse Racing Ireland, HRI, receives his or her salary from ICTU; if the salary of the nominee of ICTU is not paid by ICTU, the name of the person or the entity that pays the salary of the ICTU member and nominee of that body to the board of HRI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37751/16]
View answerHorse Racing Ireland (HRI) is a commercial state body established under the Horse and Greyhound Racing Act, 2001, and is responsible for the overall administration, promotion and development of the horse racing industry.
The matter raised by the Deputy is not a matter for my Department.
677. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the appointment of additional special advisers by him and Ministers of State in his Department. [37882/16]
View answerUnder the Special Advisors (Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine) Order 2016 two special advisors were appointed to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This was in line with Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act, 1997.
678. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there is anything prohibiting local councils from continuing to grant licences to small pay-by-bag domestic waste collectors while he is examining the future of pay-by-weight regulations following the suspension of their introduction by him earlier this year; and if he will consider the position of small pay-by-bag operators that currently operate in parts of rural Ireland when reviewing the pay-by-weight regulations. [37642/16]
View answerIt is widely recognised that there are difficulties associated with the collection of household waste in bags, including:
- littering caused by ripped bags;
- health and safety issues for collectors, where sharp objects are placed in bags;
- litter caused by fly-tipping on streets/areas, where bag collections take place;
- little or no segregation of recyclable or food waste; and
- inability to gather data on waste collected for statistical and environmental reporting purposes.
As a result of such issues, I am aware of at least one local authority which has already (through bye-laws) removed the option for householders to present household waste in bags for collection.
With the above in mind, a decision was taken in April 2015 to phase-out the use of bags for household waste collection, where ‘wheelie bins’ could be accommodated.
The Department, in consultation with local authorities, has set criteria to be applied nationally with a view to phasing out bags, with the exception of areas where it is not practical to use ‘wheelie bins’. Local authorities have been requested to designate areas as not being suitable for wheelie bin collections (i.e. designate areas which should remain on bag collections) and are working through this process.
In brief, the criteria for undertaking the exercise to designate ‘bag collection areas’ are as follows:
- No space within the boundary of the property (front, rear or side) to store 3 bins.
- Physical features which make it difficult to move a bin to the front edge of the property or nearest boundary for presentation, e.g. steep gradient and or steps (the advice of a Roads Engineer should be sought) or that would present an unreasonable difficulty.
- The area (e.g. street) is too narrow for a refuse collection vehicle to access properties and the nearest Designated Collection Point or suitable presentation point is greater than 100m from the property (again, the advice of a Roads Engineer should be sought on this issue).
- Where the Local Authority is notified of exceptional circumstances by a householder/resident and the Local Authority certifies same.
Many local authorities have now completed the process of designating areas where bag collections may continue, if applicable, and can be contacted for further information.
679. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the latest broadband development programme can deliver the much required service in all areas throughout the country, with particular reference to County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37736/16]
View answerThe National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to deliver high speed services to every city, town, village and individual premises in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of the NBP as a matter of priority. This is being achieved through a combination of commercial investment by the telecommunications sector and through a State intervention in those areas where commercial investment has not been fully demonstrated.
The Department is now in a formal procurement process to select a company or companies who will roll out a new high-speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area, comprising over 750,000 premises including approximately 20,300 premises in Co Kildare, covering 100,000km of road network and 96% of the land area of Ireland.
Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and the three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. Householders and businesses may get speeds not just of 30 megabits per second but potentially up to 1000 megabits per second with businesses potentially availing of symmetrical upload and download speeds.
Earlier this year, before I came into office, the Department announced that it would be June 2017 before contract(s) were awarded under the NBP. The bidders in the process have recently indicated that they may need more time to conclude the procurement process. The timing of each stage of the procurement continues to be dependent on a range of factors including the complexities that may be encountered by the procurement team and bidders, during the procurement process. Bidders need adequate time to prepare detailed proposals and their final formal bids. In addition, bidders need adequate time to get the relevant shareholder and funding approvals at key stages of the process. It is also important to ensure that risks in this multi-million euro procurement are carefully managed. I do not propose to comment any further on timelines at this juncture, given that discussions are on-going in the procurement process. I can assure the Deputy, however, that the procurement process is being intensively managed, to ensure an outcome that delivers a future-proofed network that serves homes and businesses across Ireland, for at least 25 years. The Government considers the NBP to be one of the most significant investments in rural Ireland for decades, and one that will transform society, akin to rural electrification in the last century.
During the Department's extensive stakeholder consultations in 2015, telecommunications service providers indicated a 3-5 year timeline to rollout a network of the scale envisaged under the NBP. As part of the competitive process, the Department will engage with winning bidder(s) on the best rollout 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 rollout plan. A prioritisation programme will be put in place in this regard, in consultation with the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. A detailed rollout plan for the network will be published once contract(s) are in place.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the rollout of the network once a contract is awarded. In this regard, Minister Humphreys is leading on the establishment of two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to help accelerate the broadband network build in rural Ireland, once a contract(s) has been awarded.
The High Speed Broadband Map, 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 providers are either currently delivering or have previously indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
- The areas marked AMBER on the High Speed Broadband Map represent the target areas for the State Intervention which are the subject of the current procurement process.
The map provides information on a county by county basis with a breakdown of coverage across the townlands in every county including County Kildare. Members of the public can view whether their premises in Kildare are in the BLUE or AMBER area by accessing the High Speed Broadband Map and entering their Eircode.
I would encourage citizens in County Kildare who cannot access high speed broadband services to contact my Department directly at broadband@dccae.gov.ie, quoting their address and Eircode, and giving details of providers they have contacted with a view to obtaining services. This information will assist my Department to keep track of progress in those areas so that high speed broadband solutions can be found in parallel with the State Intervention high speed broadband network roll-out.
680. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide the performance output of energy generated by Mount Lucas Wind Farm, County Offaly. [36876/16]
View answerThe Single Electricity Market (SEM) is the wholesale electricity market for the island of Ireland since 2007. The Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Single Electricity Market) Act, 2007 provides the legal framework for the establishment, operation and regulation of the SEM. The market is designed to provide for the least cost source of electricity generation to meet customer demand at any one time across the island, while also maximising the long-term sustainability and reliability of the market.
The SEM is regulated by the SEM Committee while the operation and administration of the SEM is managed by the Single Electricity Market Operator. The Single Electricity Market Operator (SEMO) is a joint venture between the transmission system operator for Ireland, EirGrid plc., and the System Operator for Northern Ireland Limited, (SONI). SEMO is licensed and regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation in Ireland and its counterpart in Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator. I have no function in the day-to-day operational matters of the CER, of the SEM Operator or of the SEM Committee.
Data in regard to the generation of electricity by wind on an individual wind farm basis is made publicly available on the website of the Single Electricity Market Operator through a log in facility at the following link www.sem-o.com, but should the Deputy have a specific query, for example relating to a particular period or time, the Single Electricity Market Operator has advised me that it would be happy to assist the Deputy should he contact it directly.
681. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will appoint the final Government appointee to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; the timeframe for the appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36877/16]
View answer682. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will appoint the final Government appointee to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; if not, the reasons for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36878/16]
View answer684. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the vetting process or assessment criteria for appointees to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; if conflicts of interest are taken into account; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36880/16]
View answer686. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will publicly advertise for the position on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, for which the Government has an appointee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36882/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 681, 682, 684 and 686 together.
Appointments to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) are made by Government, on my nomination as Minister, in accordance with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2009. There is currently one vacancy on the Authority.
In addition to appointments to the BAI, the Government, on my nomination, makes appointments to two BAI statutory committees, namely the Contract Awards Committee and the Compliance Committee. There is currently one vacancy on each of these Committees with a further vacancy due to arise on the Compliance Committee in January.
The 3 current vacancies, as well as the upcoming vacancy, will be filled in accordance with the provisions of the 2009 Act and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards published in November 2014. In line with the Guidelines, the vacancies have been publically advertised on the websites of the Public Appointments Service (PAS), the BAI and my own Department. The closing date for applications is 8 December 2016 after which applications will be assessed and a shortlist provided to me for consideration. It is my intention to bring my nominations to Government as soon as possible after the shortlist is provided to me.
The assessment criteria in each case are detailed in the public advertisements. Candidates must in all cases confirm that they do not have any conflicts of interest which would likely interfere with their ability to play a full part on the Authority or relevant Committee.
683. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there are currently any complaints lodged with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that cannot be assessed, answered or adjudicated on in view of the fact that the final Government appointee has not been selected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36879/16]
View answer685. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of times members of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland have had to remove themselves from assessing, answering or adjudicating on a complaint due to a conflict of interest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36881/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 683 and 685 together.
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is an independent body established under the Broadcasting Act 2009. The activities of the Board and the statutory committees, namely the Contract Awards Committee and Compliance Committee, are operational in nature and not matters in which I, as Minister, have any function.
