Written Answers Nos. 414-427
414. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assistance his Department can provide for the development of a wildlife rehabilitation hospital and visitor centre in Fingal in view of the fact that such rescue centres are in operation throughout the UK. [51779/17]
View answerMy Department has provided funding to organisations involved in protecting animal welfare since 1995 in order to enable these organisations provide a valuable service in the area of animal welfare. Applications for funding from animal welfare organisations are assessed by my Department and awards made on the basis of certain criteria, including the level and type of assistance provided by the organisation in the delivery of care and welfare services to animals and the level of funding raised by organisations from other sources to support welfare activities.
In December 2016 funding of €2,480,500 was provided to 137 animal welfare organisations throughout the country. An advertisement was placed in the national press in on 6 July 2017 inviting applications for the 2017 year. These are currently being processed and an announcement on funding levels is expected in December. If the Deputy is aware of any organisation that wishes to apply for funding in the next round they should ask them to contact my Department with a view to discussing requirements. In this instance, it would be appropriate for my Department to consult with the National Park and Wildlife Service in the event of a future application.
415. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51794/17]
View answerThe person named submitted two 2017 Transfer of Entitlement applications to my Department seeking the transfer of entitlements by lease as transferor.
There is an issue with one of the transfers which is currently being resolved. My Department is in the process of resolving this issue which will facilitate payments under the Basic Payment scheme as soon as possible.
416. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that the Teagasc portal is able to accept nutrient management plans for his Department from private practice GLAS planners; the number of times the system has failed to allow this over the past six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51826/17]
View answerThe Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) submission portal is operated by Teagasc on behalf of the Department. While the Department monitors the rate of NMP uploads to the system on a daily basis, we do not maintain detailed statistics on the operation of the system. However, I am satisfied that it has functioned as we would expect as evidenced by the fact that as of December 4th, 33,598 NMPs have been successfully submitted through the system.
However, there are still 3,085 outstanding NMPs which is preventing the payment of future GLAS money to these participants. I would urge all participants and planners to ensure that the outstanding NMPs are submitted without further delay to ensure GLAS payments can issue to the participants concerned.
417. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason a person (details supplied) received €25 for ewes under the sheep welfare scheme in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51842/17]
View answerThe Department has conducted a review of this applicant's reference number of ewes for the purposes of the Sheep Welfare Scheme. On foot of this review, this applicant's reference number will now be increased from 25 to 50. The Department will be in contact directly with the applicant to notify them of this increase.
The balancing payment for the increased reference number will issue in due course.
418. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of freedom of information requests received by his Department to date in 2017; the number that were fully or partially granted; and the number of requests that were refused. [51844/17]
View answerAs of 30 November, my Department has received 368 requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. Data in respect of these FOI requests are set out in the following table. Full or partial refusals were based on the exemptions in the Act.
|
Number of FOI Requests |
Granted |
Part Granted |
Refused |
Withdrawn/Responded to outside of FOI |
Transferred |
Being processed |
|
368 |
108 |
96 |
49 |
46 |
8 |
61 |
419. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of freedom of information requests received by his Department to date in 2017; the number for which the period of consideration was completed within four weeks of receipt of the request; and the number for which the period of consideration was extended by up to four weeks in view of the fact that the necessary resources to complete the request within the original timeframe were not available, in tabular form. [51861/17]
View answerAs of 30 November 2017, my Department received 368 requests under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, of which 307 are finalised and the remaining 61 are currently being processed in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 14 of the FOI Act allows the standard 4 week time limit for dealing with requests to be extended only in certain very limited circumstances, as follows:
- where the request relates to such a number of records that compliance with the standard 4 week time period is not reasonably possible, or
- where the number of other FOI requests relating to the particular record(s) sought or to information corresponding to that to which the request relates, are such that compliance with the standard 4 week time period is not reasonably possible.
My Department availed of these provisions in the case of eight FoI requests, as set out in the following table.
|
Number of FOI Requests Received |
No. of requests where Section 14 Extension was applied |
|
368 |
8 |
420. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the outcome of discussions he has had on the need to protect the progress made in the development of an all-island animal health plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52020/17]
View answerThere is ongoing, close co-operation between my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland, including through dedicated working groups established as part of the All-Island Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Action Plan by the North/South Ministerial Council. The working groups focus on critical issues such as disease control, animal identification and movement, cross-border communication, data sharing and the development of joint initiatives on animal welfare.
In October 2016 I chaired the most recent meeting of the North South Ministerial Council on agriculture. Together with Michelle McIlveen, then Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, we welcomed the continuing work on the delivery of the Action Plan and, in the context of Brexit, looked forward to the continuation of practical and effective co-operation on animal health and welfare, and disease control in both jurisdictions, in order that the health and welfare of livestock is maintained at the highest level.
Since December 2016 I have hosted a number of all-island civic dialogue events to discuss the implications of Brexit across the agrifood sector. These events provide important opportunities to engage directly in detail with stakeholders on the implications of Brexit and the potential responses that will be required as the negotiations unfold. The need to maintain an all-island approach to animal health/disease issues has been consistently highlighted during these discussions.
421. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to expedite payments due to a person (details supplied) in respect of the single farm scheme and suckler cow scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52061/17]
View answerThe person named submitted an application under the Basic Payment Scheme on 20 March 2017. His application has been processed and all payments due under this scheme have issued.
Payment under BDGP in respect of the 2016 scheme year will issue in the coming days. Payments in respect of 2017 will commence mid December.
422. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the procedures that have been put in place to ensure that heavy medical waste is taken into consideration, so that persons living at home with high levels of medical waste products are protected from high charges under the pay-by-weight system for waste collection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51621/17]
View answer425. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the financial supports available to homeowners towards bin charges in circumstances where there are persons residing in the home who are elderly or have a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51428/17]
View answer430. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plan and timeframe to introduce certain exemptions for users of pay-by-weight waste collection services such as those persons who need to use incontinence pads on a daily basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51787/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 422, 425 and 430 together.
In line with the commitments set out in A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, published in 2012, and in the interest of encouraging further waste prevention and greater recycling, flat-rate fees for kerbside household waste collection are being phased out over the period autumn 2017 to autumn 2018, as customers contracts come up for renewal. The necessary regulatory steps have been put in place to give effect to this measure.
It is worth noting that this measure is not 'new' for about half of kerbside household waste customers, who are already on an incentivised usage pricing plan, i.e., a plan which contains a per lift or weight related fee.
As announced in mid-2017, mandatory per kilogramme 'pay by weight' charging is not being introduced. Allowing for a range of charging options, which encourage householders to reduce and separate their waste, provides flexibility to waste collectors to develop various service-price offerings that suit different household circumstances. Consequently, a pure kilogramme charge for waste collection may not be selected by some households. Instead, some households may use a 'per lift' type charge or a 'weight allowance' collection service.
An annual support of €75 will be introduced next year and made available for persons with lifelong or long-term medical incontinence. This will help people meet the average annual cost of disposal of medical incontinence products. My Department is in discussion with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive with a view to finalising the details and arrangements of the support as soon as possible, following further consultation with stakeholder groups.
423. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the way in which revenue generated from the television licence fee is spent. [51423/17]
View answerThe licence fee is distributed in accordance with Section 123 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to both RTÉ and TG4 in order to facilitate the pursuit of their public service objectives, which are also set out in the 2009 Act.
An Post pays the Department all TV licence revenues collected from direct sales of TV licences and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) pays a contribution in respect of free TV licences issued under the Household Benefits Scheme. The total receipts from An Post and DEASP in 2016 was €213.7m. The Department deducts commission payable to An Post for their agency role and 7% of the net receipts goes to the Broadcasting Fund, which is operated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). For 2016, TG4 received €9.2m from the licence fee monies and the remainder was paid to RTÉ.
The following table shows the distribution of licence fee monies for 2016.
|
2016 €M |
|
|
Total receipts |
213.7 |
|
An Post |
11.5 |
|
Broadcasting Fund |
13.7 |
|
TG4 |
9.2 |
|
RTÉ |
179.3 |
424. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of community radio stations operating during 2017; and the names of these stations. [51424/17]
View answerThe Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is responsible for the licensing of independent radio broadcasting services in Ireland, including the licensing of community broadcasters. I have no function in the licensing of broadcast services.
Further information about the number of Community Radio stations in Ireland can be found on the BAI website at http://www.bai.ie/en/broadcasters or by contacting their offices at 2-5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2 D02 XP29 Tel 01 6441200.
426. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the funding provided by his Department to each member of a group (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51432/17]
View answerIn the period since 2014, my Department provided funding under the BenefIT Programme to one of the entities listed in the Deputy's Question. The BenefIT Programme, which operated between 2008 and mid-2016, funded the provision of the basic digital skills training by community, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations to citizens to promote digital inclusion.
Details of the funding provided are set out in the following table.
|
Organisation |
Programme |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Irish Congress of Trade Unions |
BenefIT |
€42,950 |
€128,851 |
427. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 530 of 10 October 2017 and 626 of 13 October 2017, if a meeting with representatives of the company (details supplied) has taken place; if so, when; and if issues were discussed which are relevant to the role and functioning of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. [51456/17]
View answerThe meeting referred to has not yet taken place.
