Tuesday, 16 Jan 2018

Written Answers Nos. 1224-1245

Basic Payment Scheme Payments

Questions (1224)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1224. 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. [1610/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

A 2017 Transfer of Entitlements application was received by my Department requesting the Transfer of Entitlements from the second person named to the first person named. My Department has been in contact with the persons named and is currently resolving issues pertaining to a 2016 Transfer of Entitlements application which will allow the 2017 Transfer to be processed. This will enable payment to issue under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme as soon as possible.

The first person named also submitted an application under the 2017 Young Farmers Scheme. My Department is awaiting the return of requested documentation to finalise this application.

Herd Number Applications

Questions (1225)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1225. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application for a herd number by a person (details suppled); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1612/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

As per my previous response to Questions Nos. 428 of 21 November 2017 and 196 of 12 December 2017, the original application for a herd number was received on 10th November 2017 and a farm inspection carried out on 13th November 2017; additional documentation was requested at that time. Once the applicant supplies the Regional Veterinary Office with the additional documentation required the application process will proceed. To date the Regional Veterinary Office has not received any further documentation.

Agri-Environment Options Scheme Applications

Questions (1226)

Tom Neville

Question:

1226. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 476 of 28 November 2017, the status of an application for an Agri-Environment Options Scheme, AEOS, payment submitted by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1660/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

As outlined in my reply of 28 November 2017 to a previous question in relation to this case, a decision on payments under AEOS was issued by letter to the person named on 24 August 2016. The person named did not avail of the review procedure outlined at the time.

However, I did undertake to have the correspondence submitted by you with that question reviewed by my Department and that a response would issue to the person named shortly thereafter.

A review of the file was undertaken and a response upholding the original decision was issued to the person named on 30 November 2017. That decision was that all payments made under the Non-productive Capital Investment actions should be recouped and that the person named should be excluded from the scheme for 2 years. 

The person named was also offered the opportunity to appeal this decision to the Agricultural Appeals Office within three months of the date of the letter. This period will expire at the end of February 2018. 

Commonage Management Plans

Questions (1227)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

1227. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 174 of 16 November 2017, if his Department has appointed planners to an area (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1674/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Approved Commonage Advisors have been assigned to both parcels referred to and the shareholders concerned were notified in writing by my Department on 13 December 2017.

Basic Payment Scheme Payments

Questions (1228)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1228. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter regarding farm payments in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1679/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The person named submitted a 2017 Basic Payment/Areas of Natural Constraint Schemes application on 2 May 2017. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including in some cases remote sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue.

The application of the person named was selected for a remote sensing eligibility inspection. This inspection has now been processed and a minor over-declaration in area has been identified. The person named is being notified of the inspection findings today, 16th January 2018, and of the options available to them namely to accept the findings or to submit comments to the Remote Sensing Section of my Department for examination. On completion of this process, any payments due will issue to the nominated bank account of the person named.

In relation to the over-claim identified on the forestry land, which is only part of the land declared on the 2017 BPS application, this was determined during the remote sensing inspection process. The person named was notified, by the Forest Service of my Department, of both the specific area of the over-claim and the amount due to be recovered on 11th December 2017. The person named was also advised of their right to seek a review of this decision within 21 days of the date of that letter. 

The delay between the notification of the outcome of the remote sensing inspection and the notification of the over-declaration on the forestry land is as a result of outstanding issues on other land declared which were required to be resolved in order to finalise the inspection.

Basic Payment Scheme Applications

Questions (1229, 1230, 1231, 1233, 1234)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1229. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a payment to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1703/18]

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1230. 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. [1707/18]

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1231. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a farm payment for persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1711/18]

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1233. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter regarding farm payments in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1718/18]

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1234. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1719/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1229 to 1231, inclusive, and 1233 and 1234 together.

These questions relate to the illegal burning of land that was determined by my Department to have taken place during the period 1st March to 31st August 2017.

As outlined in a previous reply to the Deputy, my Department actively investigated incidents of illegal burning as the lands affected are deemed ineligible for the purposes of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

The persons named, who were notified by my Department about the burned land parcel(s) in question, have now submitted appeals. These appeals will be examined with a view to an early resolution. Should additional information be required, my Department will contact the persons named directly.

Basic Payment Scheme Applications

Questions (1232)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1232. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will address a matter regarding farm payments in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1716/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

This case relates to the illegal burning of land that was determined by my Department to have taken place during the period 1st March to 31st August 2017. 

As outlined in a previous reply to the Deputy, my Department actively investigated incidents of illegal burning as the lands affected are deemed ineligible for the purposes of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

The person named was notified by my Department on 4 December 2017 of the burned land parcels declared on his BPS application and the options available to him including the right to seek a review.  To date the person named has not requested a review in relation to this matter.

Questions Nos. 1233 and 1234 answered with Question No. 1229.

Agri-Environment Options Scheme Appeals

Questions (1235)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1235. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an appeal of a decision by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1741/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

A letter was issued to the person named on 28 August 2017 stating that, following a review, the decision to terminate the AEOS contract was upheld. The person named was offered the opportunity to appeal this decision to the Agricultural Appeals Office.

An appeal was received by the Agricultural Appeals Office on 6 October 2017. An Oral Hearing was requested had been scheduled for 31 January 2018 but the appellant subsequently cancelled this hearing and has indicated that they are unavailable to attend an Oral Hearing until February 2018. When the appeal process is concluded a decision will issue to the person named in writing.

GLAS Payments

Questions (1236)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

1236. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a Green, Low-carbon, Agri-Environment Scheme, GLAS, payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1745/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The above named was approved into GLAS 2 with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2016. Payments for the 2016 scheme year have been made for this case.

GLAS claims must clear the full set of validations before payment can issue. Department officials are working proactively to complete the checks to minimise delays in payments. Once this case clears validations the 2017 advance payment will be made. GLAS payments are being made on a weekly basis.

Regional Development Initiatives

Questions (1237)

Pat the Cope Gallagher

Question:

1237. Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made to date on the new Atlantic economic corridor, in particular the proposals relating to County Donegal; the proposals his Department is examining; the budgets earmarked for same; the timeframe for the delivery of the overall project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1758/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Atlantic Economic Corridor task force was established in March 2017 and will report to my colleague Minister Ring in the Department of Rural and Community Development.  The taskforce is chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, Sean Kyne T.D., and includes senior representatives from the business sector, Government Departments, other public bodies and third level institutions. 

With regard to the agri-food sector for the country as a whole, the Food Wise 2025 strategy includes more than 400 specific recommendations, spread across the cross-cutting themes of sustainability, innovation, human capital, market development and competitiveness as well as specific sectoral recommendations. 

The Government is strongly committed to the implementation of the Food Wise strategy. I will chair the ninth meeting of the Food Wise High Level Implementation Committee, including senior officials from relevant Departments and State agencies, next week on the 24th January 2018. 

TAMS Eligibility

Questions (1238)

Kevin O'Keeffe

Question:

1238. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to devise a mechanism whereby the purchase of a low emission slurry applicator machine is incorporated into future rollout of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme, TAMS, with special emphasis placed on agricultural contractors who have not qualified for previous TAMS schemes but are now required under legislation to have this specialised machinery to undertake their work. [1775/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

A condition of the EU co-funded TAMS II Measures is that recipients of grant aid are farmers. I have no plans to extend the Scheme to include agricultural contractors and am precluded by legislation from doing so.

Ministerial Meetings

Questions (1239)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

1239. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he last met the chief executive officer of an organisation (details supplied); when he will next meet the chief executive officer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1799/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Andrew Doyle, who has responsibility for the greyhound sector, has met Mr. Dollard, most recently at an information meeting given by Mr Dollard to members of the Oireachtas on the 29th November 2017. Senior officials within my Department have also met Mr Dollard on a number of occasions.

Fodder Crisis

Questions (1240)

Brendan Smith

Question:

1240. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce a fodder aid scheme in view of the serious difficulties facing many persons in areas such as counties Cavan and Monaghan in which there are fodder shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1804/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Weather conditions for much of last autumn and early winter were challenging for farmers, particularly in parts of the West/North West. This resulted in the earlier housing of stock and challenges for some farmers in terms of Fodder conservation. On foot of these challenges, I prioritised the payment of farm supports to assist farmers with cash flow. The European Commission agreed to my request, informed in part by the poor weather conditions of last autumn, for an advance payment of the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme and Agri-environment schemes. These payments commenced after the earliest date possible which was 15th October, and balancing payments issued in early December.

These payments together with those issued under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme, injected over €1.3 billion into the Irish rural economy by the end of last year and  are providing a very welcome boost for Irish farm families and will help to finance fodder purchase where necessary.

Last autumn as poor weather conditions continued, I then asked Teagasc to work locally in areas with fodder difficulties, supporting good budgeting for fodder supplies on farms over the winter ahead.

Furthermore, in order to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the issue of fodder availability in affected areas, I convened a fodder group chaired by Teagasc and comprising of all the main stakeholders including feed merchants and co-ops, banking, farm bodies etc.  The group held its first meeting in December and again on Monday of this week. The group's objective is to actively monitor the situation and to ensure co-ordinated expertise and guidance is available to affected farmers regarding their options. These may include sourcing alternative feed, reducing non-breeding stock numbers and ensuring they continue to carry out fodder budgeting. 

As outlined at the weekend, my Department is engaging with stakeholders, including through Fodder task force, with a view to providing a targeted contribution towards long-distance transport of fodder to those areas most impacted by the adverse weather. As the deputy can appreciate, fodder sale and purchase is a normal and significant trade between farms on an annual basis and it is important that any prudent measure brought forward is appropriately targeted to those most impacted whilst not impacting negatively on this trade.  

I would also stress that if a situation arises where the welfare of livestock is at risk, herdowners should contact the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Animal Welfare helpline or Regional Veterinary Office for support.

Basic Payment Scheme Data

Questions (1241)

Brendan Smith

Question:

1241. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of applicants under the Basic Payment Scheme 2017 and Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme 2017 paid to date in County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1805/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Payments under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme commenced on 16th October 2017 in respect of all clear applications. To date in excess of €1.153 bn has been paid to 122,229 applicants. This represents 98.9% of all eligible applications received.

In County Cavan under the Basic Payment Scheme, 4,671 applicants have been paid out of a total 4,725 eligible applicants. This represents 98.8% of applications received.

Payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme commenced in September 2017. To date in excess of €198m has been paid to almost 93,000 applicants.

Under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme 4,504 applicants out of a total of 4,761 eligible applications have been paid in County Cavan. This represents 94.6% of eligible applications received.

Basic Payment Scheme Data

Questions (1242)

Brendan Smith

Question:

1242. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of applicants under the Basic Payment Scheme 2017 and Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme 2017 paid to date in County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1806/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Payments under the 2017 Basic Payment Scheme commenced on 16th October 2017 in respect of all clear applications.  To date in excess of €1.153 bn has been paid to 122,229 applicants.  This represents 98.9% of all eligible applications received.

In County Monaghan under the Basic Payment Scheme, 3,952 applicants have been paid out of a total 3,968 eligible applicants.  This represents 99.6% of eligible applications received.

Payments under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme commenced in September 2017.  To date in excess of €198m has been paid to almost 93,000 applicants.

Under the Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme 3,769 applicants out of a total of 4,012 eligible applications have been paid in County Monaghan.  This represents 93.9% of eligible applications received.

Applications under both Schemes continue to be processed with payment runs taking place twice weekly.

GLAS Data

Questions (1243)

Brendan Smith

Question:

1243. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of applicants under the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Schemes, GLAS, due for payment in 2017 paid to date in County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1807/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

As of 11 January 2018, 80% of the eligible applicants from County Cavan have received a 2017 scheme year payment.

GLAS Data

Questions (1244)

Brendan Smith

Question:

1244. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the percentage of applicants under the Green, Low-Carbon, Agri-Environment Schemes, GLAS, due for payment in 2017 paid to date in County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1808/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

As of 11th January 2018, 83% of the eligible applicants from County Monaghan have received a 2017 scheme year payment.

Disability Act Employment Targets

Questions (1245)

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony

Question:

1245. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the proportion of employees in his Department or in organisations under its remit who are registered as disabled. [1849/18]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department is committed to providing the supports necessary to enable staff with disabilities to participate fully in the workplace. 

4.3 % of DAFM employees have declared a disability. Therefore my Department is in compliance with the Government target of 3% for the employment of people with a disability.