Written Answers Nos. 158 - 174
158. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health his Department's timeframe for the refurbishment to the HSE owned property on Drogheda Street, Monasterevin, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44281/17]
View answer159. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the delays that prevented the completion of the refurbishment of the HSE owned property on Drogheda Street, Monasterevin, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44282/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together.
I understand that the HSE issued a reply directly to you on 6th October 2017 regarding this property.
160. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the progress on the primary care unit in Athy, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44283/17]
View answer161. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the timeframe for the primary care unit in Athy, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44284/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 160 and 161 together.
As the HSE has responsibility for the provision, along with the maintenance and operation of Primary Care Centres and other Primary Care facilities, the Executive has been asked to reply directly to the Deputy.
162. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Health the supports in place for a centre (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44285/17]
View answerAs this is a service matter I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
163. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44287/17]
View answerLyme disease (also known as Lyme borreliosis) is an infection caused by a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans by bites from ticks infected with the bacteria. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) of the HSE has extensive information concerning Lyme disease on its website www.hpsc.ie/a-z/vectorborne/lymedisease/.
Lyme borreliosis can be asymptomatic or have a range of clinical presentations. Current best advice is that diagnosis should be made only after careful examination of the patient's clinical history, physical findings, laboratory evidence and exposure risk evaluation. Exposure to ticks prior to disease manifestations is necessary for the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis. Since an awareness or recollection of a tick-bite is not always present, however, this should not exclude the diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis. Later stages require the use of antibody detection tests (or advanced DNA detection techniques). Testing for Lyme Disease is undertaken in most of the larger hospitals in Ireland. In undertaking Lyme testing, it is essential that the results are interpreted in the light of the clinical condition of the patient. If the result of this initial screen is equivocal, the patient's samples are referred to the U.K.'s Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL) Service of Public Health England Porton which uses a two-tier system recommended by American and European authorities. This involves a screening serological test followed by a confirmatory serological test.
Lyme disease can be very successfully treated using common antibiotics. These antibiotics are effective at clearing the rash and helping to prevent the development of complications. Antibiotics are generally given for up to three weeks. As testing in Ireland is confirmed by the RIPL there is no requirement to send samples to other facilities in the UK.
164. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the persons who currently work in the greyhound industry, in tabular form. [44107/17]
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 is a body corporate and a separate legal entity to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Accordingly, the information being requested by the Deputy has been forwarded to Bord na gCon for direct reply.
165. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to ensure that an ANC payment due to a person (details supplied) is issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44118/17]
View answerAn application under the 2017 Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) Scheme was received from the person named on 12 May 2017. Processing of this application is now completed and payment will issue directly to the nominated bank account of the person named shortly.
166. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to remove the 20% rule on planting unenclosed land and replace it with a system that assesses productivity and environmental suitability for forestry; the evidence used to calculate the 20% figure; and if other European countries have such a rule. [44126/17]
View answerIn 2010, a change was made in Ireland’s scheme rules that limited the amount of unenclosed land in any one afforestation application to 20%. Unenclosed land is usually found in upland areas and is generally less fertile than enclosed or improved land found at lower elevations. There is compelling evidence surrounding the difference in productivity of tree species planted on unenclosed and enclosed land. This measure became known as ‘the 20% rule’. The 20% rule had an effect on increasing the average production potential of sites being put forward for afforestation, as it stipulates that each site required 80% enclosed and improved land. It also acted as a means of reducing the amount of environmentally sensitive land being submitted, as much of the poorer land is environmentally sensitive.
To better inform the discussion on these issues, the Department produced two documents, the first related to productivity assessment informed by Teagasc research and the second related to environmental sensitivities following a consultation process.
The new Land Types for Afforestation document was launched in March 2016 and introduced a new approach to land classification for bare land. It is based on scientific work centred on the scoring of vegetation from a productivity perspective. The use of ground vegetation to assess the suitability of land is a long established method of assessing the suitability of sites for afforestation and as an aid to tree species selection. A range of indicator values has been derived for plants found in the UK and Ireland. There is a strong relationship between the combined R (Reaction) and N (Nitrogen) value and site productivity. Using this new system to evaluate site productivity, plants are given combined R+N values and are then weighted by their occurrence to get an overall plot average. Higher values are associated with more fertile sites. This new approach to classifying bare land for planting and the new Environmental Requirements launched in December 2016 are now being implemented.
Given that we are now successfully implementing the two documents referred to above, we now intend lifting the 20% rule. My Department is now engaging with the European Commission with the aim of removing the 20% rule and has met with DG ENVIRON and DG AGRI in December 2016. A final position has yet to be reached by the Commission and a further meeting with the Commission is scheduled for November 2017.
While I am not aware of all the rules of all Member States, each Member State that grant aids afforestation must apply minimum environmental requirements as set out in REGULATION (EU) No 1305/2013 on support for rural development and in the EU’s Guidelines for State aid in the agricultural and forestry sectors and in rural areas.
167. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers and non-farmers participating in planting schemes under the forest programme 2014 to 2020. [44127/17]
View answerMy Department publishes annual afforestation statistics which are available on its website. Those statistics include numbers of farmers and non-farmers who participate in afforestation each year. Those numbers are set out in the following table, for 2014 to 2016, which are the most recent available figures.
It should be noted that the non-farmer category is primarily made up of recently retired farmers or the family members of the landowner in question. On that basis I am satisfied that the vast bulk of the investment under the programme is delivered to, and remains in, rural Ireland.
|
Year |
Farmer |
Non-Farmer |
|
2014 |
950 |
49 |
|
2015 |
852 |
130 |
|
2016 |
652 |
357 |
168. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the criteria required for the leasing of agricultural land for solar panel use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44177/17]
View answerI welcomed the Minister for Finance’s announcement in the Budget to provide for the leasing of agricultural land for solar panels to be classified as qualifying agricultural activity for the purposes of specific Capital Acquisitions Tax and Capital Gains Tax reliefs. This initiative, which I sought in my annual agri-taxation Budget submission, is subject to the panels covering no more than 50 per cent of the total farm holding. It will support diversification, expand the generation of renewable energy and help tackle climate change.
Further detail on the measure will be provided in the Finance Bill.
169. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 167 of 4 October 2017, if there was a disease outbreak or other incident resulting in extensive fish mortalities at a site (details supplied) previous to the recent jellyfish strike; the date his Department and Inland Fisheries Ireland were notified of the disease outbreak or incident; the number of mortalities from this disease outbreak or incident; and the condition and number of the remaining fish at the time of the jellyfish strike. [44185/17]
View answerMy Department has been advised by the Marine Institute that the aquaculture site referred to by the Deputy experienced a disease outbreak in advance of the jellyfish strike.
On 21 September my Department received an inquiry from Inland Fisheries Ireland concerning large quantities of dead fish at the site referred to by the Deputy. Inquiries by my Department’s Marine Engineering Division indicated that substantial mortalities had occurred.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of mortalities may be commercially sensitive and is also under consideration by my Department as part of a statutory process. Therefore it would not be appropriate for me to comment further pending completion of this process.
170. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the compensation fund for biotoxin events in aquaculture provided by the State can be accessed for the recent mortalities through jellyfish strikes on salmon farms; and the extent, duration and rationale of the fund. [44186/17]
View answerIreland’s €240 million European Maritime and Fisheries Fund Operational Programme 2014-20 provides €29.6 million to support the sustainable development of the aquaculture sector, in accordance with the 2015 National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development. This includes a €2 million fund to aid mollusc farmers affected by suspension of harvesting of molluscs during periods of raised biotoxin levels.
In accordance with article 36 of the EMFF Regulation (508/2014), aid is available only for losses suffered by mollusc farmers arising from harvesting suspensions due to toxin-producing plankton that have persisted for more than 4 consecutive months. The loss resulting from the suspension must amount to more than 25% of the annual turnover of the business, calculated on the average turnover over the 3 preceding calendar years. Aid is prioritised for operators affected by the longest suspensions and is limited to a maximum total aid to all farmers of €500,000 per year. Bord Iascaigh Mhara administers the Scheme through targeted calls for applications in areas affected by closures lasting more than 4 months. It is a matter for BIM to determine if a call for applications is to be initiated. No calls have been initiated to date.
As the Scheme applies only to mollusc farmers, it is not available to salmon farmers for losses howsoever arising.
171. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) did not qualify for a single farm payment since inheriting a 30 acre farm in 2014. [44202/17]
View answerIn order to be eligible for an automatic allocation of entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme, a farmer must have been eligible to receive a direct payment under the 2013 Single Payment Scheme. The person named commenced farming under the herd as supplied in September 2014 and prior to this he held a separate herd number from 12 June 2012 until 31 August 2014. He did not hold payment entitlements under either of these herd numbers. As no Single Payment Scheme application was submitted by the person named in 2013 he does not hold an automatic allocation right for payment entitlements under the Basic Payment Scheme.
My Department has no record of having received an application to transfer payment entitlements or to transfer a payment entitlement allocation right by inheritance to the person named.
The person named has submitted applications under the 'young farmer' category of the 2017 National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme. My Department has requested the submission of additional documentation required to further process his applications. Once the relevant documentation has been received processing of the applications will be finalised and the person named will be notified in writing regarding his eligibility under these schemes.
172. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the issuing of a 2016 ANC payment to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44235/17]
View answerAn application under the 2016 ANC Scheme was received from the person named on 6 April 2016.
Under the 2016 ANC Scheme, eligible applicants were required to meet a minimum stocking density of 0.15 livestock units per eligible forage hectare for a retention period of seven consecutive months and to maintain an annual average of 0.15 livestock units calculated over the twelve months of the scheme year. In addition, Sheep farmers are required to comply with EU Regulation 21/2004 and return an annual count of the sheep numbers on their holding by 29 January 2016 via the annual Sheep Census. For the purpose of the ANC Scheme, applicants are given an extension on this requirement and must submit their return by 16 May.
Examination of my Department's records confirm that the Sheep Census return in respect of the person named was not returned within the permitted time period in 2016. This has resulted in no payment issuing under the 2016 ANC scheme.
The person named has been notified of this decision and of their right to appeal this decision to the Agriculture Appeals Office.
173. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his Department will release a report (details supplied) on the economic assessment of the potential of harness racing in Ireland which has been completed since February 2017; if this can now be released with a view to implementing its recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44259/17]
View answerThe Indecon report to review the Irish harness racing sector is being examined by officials within my Department and its recommendations are under active consideration.
174. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications under the 2017 national reserve and young farmers scheme; the number of applications processed to date if not yet finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44263/17]
View answerMy Department has received 1,339 applications under the 2017 National Reserve and 9,308 applications under the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme. Processing of applications is at an advanced stage. My Department continues to engage with a number of applicants where outstanding documentation is required to finalise their applications and my Department is focussed on maximising the number of applications that will be finalised for the first payment date.
Payment to successful applicants under both schemes is scheduled to commence in early December 2017 following the payment of the balancing payments under the Basic Payment Scheme. These balancing payments are due to commence on 1 December.
