Written Answers Nos. 615-629
615. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of hectares of forestry that were planted since 2011, by year; and the number of hectares he anticipates being planted in 2017. [3768/17]
View answerThe total area of new forests for which grants were paid during the period 2011 - 2016 is as follows:
|
Year |
Hectares |
|
2011 |
6,653 |
|
2012 |
6,652 |
|
2013 |
6,252 |
|
2014 |
6,156 |
|
2015 |
6,293 |
|
2016 |
6,500 |
The planting target for 2017, as set out in the Forestry Programme 2014 - 2020, is 7,140 hectares.
616. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the audit system for the Origin Green scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3770/17]
View answerOrigin Green is a voluntary sustainability programme operated by Bord Bia, under which food manufacturers develop plans setting out clear measurable targets, in line with the Origin Green Sustainability Charter, in key areas such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation, water management, biodiversity, community initiatives and health and nutrition. The sustainability plans are individual to each company. Each plan is verified by SGS, an independent third party which was awarded a contract by Bord Bia following a tender process. SGS assess the individual plans against what is in the Charter and subsequently verify the annual progress report from the Origin Green member company against what was in their individual plan. SGS have the capacity to conduct on-site visits as appropriate.
Currently 225 food companies are fully verified Origin Green members. These companies have submitted sustainability plans that have been scrutinised by SGS. As verified members they are now required to deliver on the targets in their individual plans. Some 155 further companies have submitted sustainability plans which are at assessment stage.
617. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the Exchequer ultimately covers the cost of potential defaults under the new agri-loan credit fund for unsecured loans to be provided via a company (details supplied); if any calculations have been carried out by the Government and the company to estimate the default costs it may give rise to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3846/17]
View answerI am pleased to announce the launch of the “Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme” today. One of my priorities has been to address the impact of the change in the sterling exchange rate and lower commodity prices in some sectors, which have caused cash flow difficulties for farmers. The Scheme was developed in co-operation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), which has confirmed that AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank will distribute the loans, making €150 million available to farmers throughout Ireland at low-cost interest rates of 2.95%. It will provide farmers with a low cost, flexible source of working capital and will allow them to pay down more expensive forms of short-term debt, ensuring the ongoing financial sustainability of viable farming enterprises.
This Scheme is supported by €25 million being provided by the Department, including €11 million in EU ‘exceptional adjustment aid’. Working with the partner financial institutions, SBCI uses the public money to leverage the total of €150 million, enabling them (along with COSME, the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs) to provide the guarantee required to underpin the loan’s flexibility, and lower the cost of the loans. The SBCI has undertaken extensive research, due diligence and analysis during the design of the Scheme.
618. Deputy Michael D'Arcy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will receive the remainder of their single farm payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3744/17]
View answerAn application under the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 4th May 2016. During validation of the application, a query arose in relation to some of the land declared. The query has now been resolved and a supplementary payment for the amount outstanding will issue in the near future to the nominated bank account of the person named.
619. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a farm payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3746/17]
View answerThe person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received full entitlements in respect of the 2015 scheme year.
The 85% payment for 2016 has been processed and payment has issued to the person named.
620. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a GLAS payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3787/17]
View answerThe person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 January 2016.
The first payment due to the person named is in respect of the 2016 scheme year. During the 2016 prepayment checks an issue was identified with one of the parcels claimed for Low Input Permanent Pasture action. Department officials have examined this issue and resolved it. The application will now be re-run through the validation checks with a view to making payment at the earliest opportunity.
621. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an oral hearing in the case of a person (details supplied) is due to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3789/17]
View answerThe Agriculture Appeals Office has confirmed that the person named lodged an appeal in relation to 2015 National Reserve and Young Farmers Scheme. The Appeals legislation was amended in December 2016 to allow such appeals to be dealt with by the Agriculture Appeals Office. Documentation in relation to the Young Farmers Scheme has been received and the documentation relating to the National Reserve is expected to be received shortly, on receipt of which the file will be assigned to an Appeals Officer. The person named will then be contacted to arrange an oral hearing at a location and time convenient to them.
622. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the next payment run for GLAS applicants is being made to persons who have not yet received their payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3792/17]
View answerThe most recent GLAS payment run was made at the end of last week in respect of the 2016 scheme year. The table outlines the number of participants paid on this run for both GLAS 1 and GLAS 2 and the value of the payments that issued.
|
Numbers on Pay run |
Value - € |
|
|
GLAS 1 |
636 |
€2,337,235 |
|
GLAS 2 |
526 |
€1,844,943 |
|
Total |
1,162 |
€4,182,178 |
Payment runs will be made on an ongoing basis as applications successfully complete all required prepayment checks.
623. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of staff currently employed in the GLAS section of his Department. [3793/17]
View answerWithin my Department there are 26 staff assigned to administering the operation of the GLAS scheme which includes processing of all GLAS applications and payments, all policy matters associated with the Scheme and financial control and management of the Scheme. In addition there are 30 inspectorate staff carrying out inspections for GLAS as part of their duties.
624. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of investment that was made in computer IT software to facilitate the GLAS scheme and its payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3794/17]
View answerIn the context of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2015 - 2020 the Department has delivered over twenty new schemes that were supported by IT capability in the last two years. In the first two years of the current RDP my Department has already implemented substantially more RDP schemes than were implemented over the entire ten year lifetime of the previous RDP programme. This rate of delivery would not have been possible without the availability of high quality complex IT software systems to support the business units in operating these schemes. Since 2014 my Department has adopted a policy of implementing fully digital end-to-end support for all but the smallest of schemes.
The Department is delivering the vast majority of these schemes by enhancing the capability of its Generic Claims Processing System (GCPS) with support from its Geospatial Information System (GIS), Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) and Agriculture Field Inspection and Testing System (AFIT). This approach has been very successful in delivering schemes and was particularly effective in the implementation of the application submission process for GLAS where the Department used available datasets to identify the appropriate actions to be carried out on holdings.
The GCPS system currently supports the various GLAS, TAMS II, Knowledge Transfer and Organic Farming Schemes in addition to the AEOS and TAMS I schemes under the previous Rural Development Plan.
My Department has an excellent record in the delivery of high quality IT systems. In that respect my Department is ahead of the rest of our European partners.
In the period from 2014 to date a total of €7,540,383.30 has been spent in the development, maintenance and enhancement of the GCPS software. A specific figure is not assigned to any one particular scheme, which the software supports, as much of the functionality operates across schemes. Specific costs can however be associated with GLAS for the work carried out on GIS and AFIT. Details of expenditure (including VAT) by year in the period 2014-2016 is detailed in the table 1 below.
Table 1 – Breakdown of expenditure on the GLAS Schemes
|
Year |
GCPS (*) - € |
AFIT (RDP Related Work) - € |
AFIT (RDP Related Work) - € |
|
2014 |
1,688,432.88 |
160,000 |
|
|
2015 |
2,551,309.67 |
68,732.00 |
160,000 |
|
2016 |
3,300,640.65 |
168,123 |
200,000 |
|
TOTAL |
7,540,383.30 |
236,855.00 |
520,000 |
* The GCPS system also provides support for other schemes such as TAMS, Knowledge Transfer and On-farm Investment Schemes
625. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons who have received their payment to date under the GLAS. [3795/17]
View answerThe table below sets out the number of farmers and the value of payments in respect of the 2016 Scheme year that have issued to date for both GLAS 1 and GLAS 2.
|
- |
Numbers Paid |
Amount |
|
GLAS 1 |
19,862 |
€70,770,486.57 |
|
GLAS 2 |
8,663 |
€30,718,576.69 |
|
Total |
28,525 |
€101,489,063.26 |
626. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of compensation payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3803/17]
View answerThe primary compensation scheme for farmers whose herds are affected by TB is the On-Farm Market Valuation Scheme under which compensation is payable for cattle removed as reactors. Entitlement to compensation is conditional on Herdowners/Keepers complying with the provisions of national/EU legislative requirements and controls. In relation to the herdowner in question, my Department has received the results of further testing carried out on his holding. This together with additional information that the herdowner has recently submitted, to address a number of management issues identified on his holding, are currently being assessed. Any compensation due will issue on completion of that assessment.
627. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a farm payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3807/17]
View answerThe person named commenced their AEOS contract on 1st September 2011. Payment has issued for the 2011-2015 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 take place. As all AEOS 2 participants will be receiving their final payments under the scheme, re-checks on payments made for all scheme years must be completed before final payment can be processed. Officials are working through these files and payment will be made as soon as possible.
628. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a GLAS payment in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3810/17]
View answerThe person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received full entitlements in respect of the 2015 scheme year.
The 85% payment for 2016 has been processed and payment has issued to the person named.
629. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when respective GLAS payments will be made to persons (details supplied) in view of the fact that their payments were due in October 2016; if he will intervene to ensure payments are processed by the end of January 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3821/17]
View answerThe persons named were approved into GLAS 2 with a contract commencement date of 1 January 2016.
The first payment due to the persons named is in respect of the 2016 scheme year. During the 2016 prepayment checking process, issues were identified with the commonage action for both of these applications. Department officials are examining these issues with a view to resolving and further processing the application for payment at the earliest opportunity.
