Written Answers Nos. 252-262
252. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if consideration will be given to commissioning an independent analysis of the benefits of onland closed containment systems for fish farms in view of the risks to the environment from marine-based salmon farms. [7491/17]
View answerIreland’s National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development, published in 2015, proposes 24 actions to drive the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector and grow production in the sector by 45,000 tonnes by 2023. The Plan targets a 30% increase in production derived from onshore close containment recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). Considerable international developmental effort is being put into land based RAS systems. A number of technological challenges need to be overcome to make RAS economically viable. The National Strategic Plan identified the need for additional applied research and development to improve the performance of RAS in terms of reduced water usage, more effective treatment of return water in terms of key enrichment parameters, reduction of energy usage in water pumping and treatment, improvement of system reliability to avoid stock losses and animal welfare and disease management issues.
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) funded a 2015 study by the Irish Salmon Growers Association entitled ‘Potential for Land Based Salmon Growout in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) in Ireland’. The report describes in detail all technical aspects of RAS production and system design and operations. It also covers important biological aspects of land based salmon production. The Report states that its main aim is to assess the viability of land based salmon production in RAS under Irish conditions. This includes detailed information of capital expenditure and operational costs as well as the market situation for salmon. The report concludes that the capital cost of setting up a large scale RAS unit is very high and that there are still technical difficulties to be overcome to achieve reliability in land based facilities.
As part of my Department’s €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme, a new Aquaculture ‘Knowledge Gateway Scheme’ was launched in 2016. I have provided BIM with a budget of €8.2 million for that Scheme over the course of the Programme. In close collaboration with aquaculture enterprises and researchers, the Scheme aims to develop knowledge, innovation and technology in the aquaculture sector to ensure its sustainable development. An important part of the focus of the Scheme will be the applied research and development on RAS identified in the National Strategic Plan. This may take the form of applied research undertaken by BIM on behalf of the sector, but BIM will also welcome applications from universities or other public research institutions.
To incentivise the establishment of RAS aquaculture enterprises, I recently increased grant rates for RAS projects under the EMFF Sustainable Aquaculture Scheme to the maximum possible 50% rate. The Scheme supports the capital cost of establishing, modernising and improving aquaculture sites. This 50% support rate recognises the higher capital costs associated with RAS developments and can greatly assist in enhancing the viability of such enterprises.
253. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number and value of penalties imposed on farmers under the basic farm payment scheme in County Cork in 2015 and 2016. [7496/17]
View answerThe 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.
The deferred reply under Standing Order 42A was forwarded to the Deputy.
254. 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. [7502/17]
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% advance payment for 2016 has been processed and payment has issued to the person named. The balancing 15% payment for 2016 will be processed in due course according to the regulatory requirements.
255. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on reports that the green certificate course is being discontinued for the 2017-18 academic year; the steps he is taking to ensure that Teagasc will provide a comprehensive syllabus in 2017 and thereafter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7550/17]
View answerThe adult Green Cert is delivered on a part-time and distance education basis by Teagasc education staff. Enrolments trebled in the period 2014 to 2016 - from 500 in a typical year to over 1,500 - arising from the education requirements of the Young Farmers Scheme and National Reserve, which required successful applicants to hold a Green Cert or equivalent in order to qualify for payment.
It was agreed that Teagasc could appoint 70 temporary education officers to rapidly expand the number of available places. 7 temporary administrators were also approved to address the huge volume of course administration that arose from the unprecedented demand. The staffing arrangements implemented to date helped Teagasc enrol 4,500 Green Cert learners since 2014.
I understand that Teagasc continue to experience strong demand for the adult Green Cert from people who have registered an interest with Teagasc in completing a future course. It is not known what proportion of that demand will materialise into formal applications in due course. However, Teagasc are actively considering a range of resource options to address projected demand on a phased basis from 2017 to 2019.
I am pleased to confirm that Teagasc’s request for 15 new temporary teaching posts was recently approved. I understand that Teagasc intend to deploy a substantial number of these posts to alleviate acute demand pressure points in the Northwest and Northeast. Overall Teagasc would hope to offer up to 1,000 Green Cert places at a number of locations in 2017, and therefore my understanding is that there is no question of the green cert being discontinued in the current academic year.
256. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a farming query in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7576/17]
View answerTo be eligible under the TAMS II scheme of investments an applicant has to have overall ownership or a valid lease for the site of investment works. An applicant who wants to erect a grant aided fence must have full ownership/lease of the land where the proposed fence is planned for. In the case of a commonage, a farmer or shareholder does not own a defined area of land, he/she typically holds a defined fraction of the total undivided area. However, all shareholders on a commonage have use of the commonage. Therefore, since the Department cannot clearly identify the owner of a defined area, commonage cannot be deemed eligible under this scheme.
257. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the closing of Shelbourne Park on certain dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7726/17]
View answerBord na gCon is a commercial state body, established in 1958, under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958, chiefly to control greyhound racing and to improve and develop the greyhound industry. Bord na gCon is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
The matter of closing Shelbourne Park on the various dates referred to by the Deputy is an operational matter for Bord na gCon.
258. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rationale for young qualified farmers, less than 25 years of age, being prevented from availing of the 6% grant for fencing and so on available under the TAMS programme, due to the fact they hold a herd number for a period in excess of five years with the grant reduced to 40% for such applicants; if same will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7737/17]
View answerTAMS is funded under Ireland's Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020. The relevant EU Regulation governing Rural Development states that applicants wishing to qualify for the higher rate of aid for capital investment must be set-up for the first time within five years of the date of receipt of an application for aid. This requirement is reflected in the Terms and Conditions of the Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme of TAMS II.
Younger farmers who do not meet this five year eligibility requirement are prioritised under the other TAMS II measures where they can avail of grant aid at the rate of 40%.
259. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7744/17]
View answerI was pleased to announce the launch of the “Agriculture Cashflow Support Loan Scheme” on 31st January. 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, which was developed in co-operation with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI), makes €150 million available to farmers throughout Ireland at interest rates of 2.95%.
Distributed through AIB, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank, the Scheme provides 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. I can confirm that the loans are for amounts up to €150,000 for up to six years. The loans are flexible with interest only facilities of up to three years. However normal lending criteria apply and the terms and conditions of each individual loan are agreed between the financial institutions and the applicants according to their individual circumstances.
For information, the Credit Review Office provides an independent review process for SMEs, sole traders and farm enterprises that have had requests for credit refused or had existing credit facilities reduced or withdrawn.
260. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timeframe for the granting of an EPA licence to a person (details supplied). [7479/17]
View answerThe Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment seeks to promote environmental protection through putting in place the fiscal policy and statutory frameworks within which the Department and its agencies operate. The Environmental Protection Agency was established as an independent body to, inter alia, monitor the quality of the environment and to ensure overall compliance with environmental protection legislation.
The legislation passed by the Oireachtas to establish the EPA provides that the Agency is entirely independent of the Minister in the exercise of its functions. I am therefore constrained by the provisions of Sections 79(3) and 86(5)* of the Environmental Protection Agency Acts from becoming involved in any way with the licensing of installations under the EPA Acts or in the control of installations so licensed.
I would therefore encourage the correspondent on behalf of the piggery to contact the EPA directly at 053 9160600. Further information on the licensing process can be found on the EPA website at http://www.epa.ie/licensing/.
261. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will address the persistent lack of progress in the provision of broadband to a location (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, to date, two companies have cited lack of broadband provision as the primary reason the site was not chosen as the location for their business; the action he will take to prevent further decline in companies locating to Inishowen by targeting any prohibitive costs involved in rolling out broadband to specific sites in the region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7495/17]
View answerThe Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP) aims to ensure that every citizen and business has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State led intervention in areas where commercial services have not been fully demonstrated.
This commitment by Government to deliver the NBP has also served as a catalyst for industry in bringing forward investment in new infrastructure in towns, villages and rural areas of Ireland. Currently, approximately 1.4m premises in Ireland can get high speed broadband from commercial service providers and investment by the telecoms sector is continuing to expand this footprint.
The Broadband Intervention Strategy sets out a detailed service specification that the State-funded network must be capable of delivering high-quality, high speed broadband of at least 30 megabits per second download and 6 megabits upload to all citizens, be capable of providing for higher performance in the future so as to keep pace with consumer demand and ensure the availability of high quality wholesale services to allow retail competition to develop.
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 Department continues to monitor the commercial deployment plans in the BLUE area to ensure that those services are delivered.
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 Donegal. Individuals can check whether their premises is in a BLUE or an AMBER area by scrolling through the map online or entering their Eircode. The Department also has a dedicated mailbox and anyone with a query in relation to the Map should email the Department, quoting their Eircode, to broadband@dcenr.gov.ie. Based on information provided by commercial operators and represented on our broadband map, coverage in this area is mixed. 65% of the area of Lisfannon Business Park in Lisfannon, Buncrana, Co Donegal falls within the BLUE area i.e. within the commercial operator(s) coverage area. The remaining 35%, falls within the AMBER area and will be covered by the State Intervention.
A formal procurement process is in train to select a company or companies who will roll-out a new high speed broadband network within the State Intervention Area. My Department will shortly update the High Speed Broadband map to finalise the Intervention Area for the Procurement process, taking into account industry investments that have not materialised in Blue areas, together with new industry investments within the proposed State Intervention Area, along with concrete and credible commitments by industry for further new investments within the Intervention Area.
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. Intensive dialogue with bidders is continuing and the three bidders have indicated that they are proposing a predominantly fibre-to-the-home solution. This provides for a future proofed solution for the 25 years of the contract and beyond. A fibre-to-the-home solution means that householders and businesses may get speeds not just of 30 Megabits per second but much higher, potentially up to 1000 Megabits per second.
The timeframe for 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. 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.
Insofar as the issue of cost is concerned, this network will be made available to service providers on a wholesale basis and it is the intention that the wholesale prices for comparable services within the intervention area will be no more than the average published wholesale prices that prevail in other more competitive areas of the country or, in the absence of such published prices, prices already set or approved by the Regulator, ComReg.
The Programme for Government also commits to measures to assist in the rollout of the network once a contract is awarded.
In this regard, I and Minister Humphreys established a Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce in July 2016. The findings of this Taskforce recommend practical actions that can be taken to remove barriers to and improve mobile phone and broadband access in Ireland. The Taskforce report is available at the following link: http://www.dccae.gov.ie/communications/en-ie/Pages/Publication/Report-of-the-Mobile-Phone-and-Broadband-Taskforce.aspx.
Minister Humphreys has established two regional action groups, working with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Offices and other relevant agencies to unlock barriers to investment in mobile and broadband services. Since July, there has been significant progress made in discussions with the key stakeholders including local authority management representation, Government Departments and State agencies, as well as interaction with ComReg and telecoms operators.
I have signed Regulations allowing ComReg to proceed with the allocation of spectrum in the 3.6GHz band, in early 2017. This will provide an 86% increase in total spectrum available for mobile and fixed wireless services. I have also secured €8m for RTE which will allow it to free up the 700MHz spectrum band, to provide enhanced mobile services.
These investments should assist in significantly improving the coverage and quality of broadband and mobile voice and data services throughout the country.
262. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when he will next meet the director general and board of RTE; the issues that are likely to form the agenda of that meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7582/17]
View answerAs a matter of course I, as Minister, meet, from time to time, with the Boards and CEOs of bodies under the aegis of my Department. I can confirm that I have a meeting scheduled with the Chair and CEO of RTÉ next week. As is general with such meetings, there is no set agenda for discussion.
