Written Answers Nos. 1032-1049
1032. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to research conducted by the HSE to ascertain the prevalence of sickle cell disease in the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16774/18]
View answerAs this question relates to a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for a direct reply.
1033. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the system the HSE has in place to enable it to deal with persons living with sickle cell disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16775/18]
View answerAs this question relates to a service issue it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for a direct reply.
1034. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on outpatient waiting lists in each of the years 1999 to 2010, in tabular form. [16776/18]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
1035. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Health the number of persons on inpatient waiting lists in each of the years 1999 to 2010, in tabular form. [16777/18]
View answerIn relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
1036. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Health if the imposition of the €80 charge on sufferers of haemochromatosis will be reconsidered in view of the impact it is having on persons requiring venesection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16778/18]
View answerThe Health Act 1970 (as amended) provides that all people ordinarily resident in Ireland are entitled, subject to certain charges, to public in-patient hospital services including consultant services and to public out-patient hospital services. Under Section 52 of the Health Act 1970, as amended by Section 12 of the Health (Amendment) Act 2013, a person who has been referred to a hospital for an in-patient service, including that provided on a day case basis, will have to pay the statutory daily charge, currently €80 per day, up to a maximum of €800 per year. On this basis, where venesection is classed as a day case procedure and is not carried out in an out-patient setting, the public in-patient charge applies.
My Department is currently considering the issue of the application of the public in-patient charge of €80 for venesection in Acute Hospitals as well as broader issues in relation to the treatment of patients with Hereditary Haemochromatosis.
1039. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Health the status of an operation for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16819/18]
View answerUnder the Health Act 2004, the Health Service Executive (HSE) is required to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. Section 6 of the HSE Governance Act 2013 bars the Minister for Health from directing the HSE to provide a treatment or a personal service to any individual or to confer eligibility on any individual.
The National Waiting List Management Policy, a standardised approach to managing scheduled care treatment for in-patient, day case and planned procedures, January 2014, has been developed to ensure that all administrative, managerial and clinical staff follow an agreed national minimum standard for the management and administration of waiting lists for scheduled care. This policy, which has been adopted by the HSE, sets out the processes that hospitals are to implement to manage waiting lists.
In relation to the particular query raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.
1040. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps his Department will take in view of renewed calls to ban hare coursing and hare hunting following a warning from wildlife experts that the Irish hare is in trouble, with dwindling numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15999/18]
View answerCoursing is regulated under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), subject to the general control of Bord na gCon.
The ICC is committed to maintaining high standards in the sport of coursing, and it actively promotes the protection and conservation of the Irish hare. The ICC has assured my Department that it has extensive systems and practices in place to underpin the welfare of hares and greyhounds involved in coursing and also that it goes to great lengths to ensure the highest standards of welfare are adhered to.
Coursing operates in a highly regulated environment coupled with a comprehensive set of rules directly applied by the ICC. It operates under a licence from the Minister of Culture, Heritage & the Gaeltacht, issued annually with a total of 26 conditions. These include a variety of measures, including a requirement that a qualified veterinarian attends at all coursing meetings to report on the health of the hares, a prohibition on the coursing of hares more than once in the same day, a prohibition on the coursing of sick or pregnant hares and a requirement that hares be released back into the wild during daylight hours.
The ICC undertakes a range of actions to address issues related to health and welfare. Coursing clubs are required to comply fully with directives, instructions and guidance notes issued by the ICC in all matters relating to the capture, keeping in captivity, tagging, marking, coursing and release of hares, and the muzzling of greyhounds.
A monitoring committee on coursing is in place, comprising officials from my Department, the ICC and the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), to monitor developments in coursing and in that regard the situation is kept under constant review to ensure that coursing is run in a well controlled and responsible manner in the interests of both hares and greyhounds.
The committee meets after each coursing season to review the outcome of all coursing meetings, having particular regard to hare and greyhound welfare.
I believe that it is critically important that those involved in coursing operate in accordance with the regulatory framework and that the welfare of both hares and greyhounds is at the forefront at all times. I have no plans at present to alter this arrangement.
1041. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the report that wind farm developers (details supplied) forecast they will make a €100 million profit from a €25 million investment in wind energy over a four-year period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15002/18]
View answer1042. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the report that developers (details supplied) forecast they will make a €100 million profit from a €25 million investment in wind energy over a four-year period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15017/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1041 and 1042 together.
Coillte was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act, 1988 and day-to-day operational matters are the responsibility of the company.
I am aware of the press announcement by Coillte, on 22 March 2018, of a process to explore investor interest in acquiring Coillte’s 50% stake in each of its joint venture wind farms at Raheenleagh, Cloosh Valley and Castlepook and a 25% stake in Sliabh Bawn was noted. As a shareholder, I had given my approval to Coillte to explore the sale of these assets given the current positive market conditions. This approval was given together with the other shareholder, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Any final decision on sales will be a matter for the Board of Coillte and will require the approval of the shareholding Ministers.
1043. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when farmers will receive the balance of GLAS payments due since December 2017. [14942/18]
View answerBalancing Payments for the GLAS scheme can only commence when the Member State has verified that all eligibility conditions have been met. This is a requirement in the relevant EU Payment Regulations and is a long-standing EU audit requirement.
DAFM is currently under-taking the required level of inspections required to facilitate the balancing payments and is working to have this completed by mid-May. It is anticipated that GLAS balancing payments will then commence in mid-May.
I would encourage any GLAS applicant with outstanding obligations, such as the submission of a Nutrient Management Plan or a Commonage Management Plan to speak to their advisor and ensure that this work is completed as a priority. Without the submission of all the required information, these applicants will be ineligible for their balancing payment.
1044. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the need to assign disadvantaged status to lands owned by a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be examined in view of the fact the land is poor and unsuitable for intensive farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14969/18]
View answerIn line with requirements under EU regulation, land to be deemed as eligible under the Areas of Natural Constraint (ANC) Scheme is being reviewed and designated using a set list of bio-physical criteria such as soil drainage, texture and slope.
My Department has commenced work on this project, and relevant technical experts are currently working on analysing the data in relation to the new criteria. Once this process is complete, the data will provide the basis for the identification of eligible areas in the ANC Scheme from 2019 onwards.
In order to progress this work, my Department is in on-going communication with the EU Commission in relation to the accepted parameters and technical aspects of this project. Any change to the ANC scheme on foot of this process will require formal agreement with the EU Commission via an amendment of Ireland's Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020.
1045. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an agri-environment options scheme, AEOS, payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14997/18]
View answerThe person named is a participant in the AEOS3 scheme which commenced on 1 May 2013 and is due to complete participation on 31 December 2018. All payments have issued in respect of the 2013 to 2016 scheme years.
In 2017 the application was subject to inspection. The results of this inspection are currently being finalised and the 2017 payment will issue shortly.
1046. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 433 of 17 October 2017, if a response was received by his Department in respect of an aquaculture licence for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15029/18]
View answerMy Department received an application for an Aquaculture Licence from the person referred to by the Deputy in June 2017.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department discovered an error of a technical nature with this application. I can confirm that this error has now been addressed by the applicant.
The application is currently being assessed by my Department in accordance with the applicable legislation and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further pending the conclusion of that process.
1047. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons waiting for GLAS payments; the number of part payments issued; and his plans to have the outstanding payments processed. [15061/18]
View answer1074. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of 2017 GLAS payments outstanding to farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15770/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1047 and 1074 together.
As of 12 April, 46,835 participants have received a 2017 advance payment. This represents over 98% of all eligible applicants. There will be another payment run this week also.
Of the remaining cases, the majority are the responsibility of the applicant and the payment is delayed due to the applicant not meeting his or her obligations under the scheme. I would encourage all applicants to ensure that any outstanding issues are resolved in order to allow the Department to make the payment.
The remaining cases after these are those which require individual attention from my Department and which we are working through to finalise as quickly as possible. This attention is usually required to make an amendment to the payment to reflect a change request from the applicant for e.g. withdrawing or amending an action or an eligible parcel under the scheme.
1048. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to review rules setting the minimum and maximum agricultural activity for commonage in view of these rules impacting on the most economically challenged families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15138/18]
View answerThe legal requirements on agricultural activity with regard to eligibility of land, including commonage, are established in EU Regulation 1307/2013. My Department issued written guidelines concerning land eligibility in the booklet 'A guide to Land Eligibility Direct Payment Schemes', which was circulated to farmers in 2015. This booklet is also available on my Department's website: www.agriculture.gov.ie. The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) terms and conditions 2018 refer to the requirement to have “activity throughout the parcel”. These documented rules with regard to activity are required since 2015 and will continue to be required in 2018.
1049. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a person (details supplied) will receive a knowledge transfer payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15143/18]
View answerKnowledge Transfer is one of a suite of measures included under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and involves the formation of knowledge transfer groups across the beef, dairy, equine, sheep, tillage and poultry sectors.
The person named is a primary participant in the Knowledge Transfer Beef Programme. A reimbursement of €750 per annum is due to farmer participants who complete all scheme commitments in each year of the three year programme.
In Year One of the programme participants were required to attend KT Group meetings and complete a Farm Improvement Plan with their group facilitator. The Animal Health Measures of the Farm Improvement Plan is completed with a private veterinary practitioner.
The person named attended three of the five meetings required under the programme and did not avail of the opportunity to attend a KT Event in lieu of one of the required meetings. Under the terms and conditions of the programme this non-compliance entails a payment reduction of 60%.
The person named also did not meet the scheme requirement to complete the Animal Health Measures by the deadline of 23rd August, 2018. This incurs a payment reduction of 30%.
Thus the payment to the person named is subject to a total reduction of 90%. Payment runs in respect of Year One are ongoing and it is expected that payment will issue to the person named shortly.
