Written Answers Nos. 280-291
280. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the mobile plunge dipping of sheep (details supplied) is recognised here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17261/18]
View answerThe Sheep Welfare Scheme requires participants to undertake and complete two measurable and verifiable Sheep Welfare actions. Applicants must chose these actions from a menu of actions provided for under the scheme.
One of the actions which may be selected by a participant with lowland flocks is the prevention of flies (flystrike control). Under this action participants must incorporate a flystrike programme for the prevention of flies during the months of flystrike and this must incorporate a mechanical means for the prevention of flies. This mechanical means is in addition to any chemical control that may be used by the participant.
The practice of plunge dipping, either by means of a fixed handling and dipping facility, or by means of a mobile dipping unit, is a recognised process in the overall management of a sheep flock. Plunge dipping is considered to be a chemical control for the purposes of the Sheep Welfare Scheme and participants would be required to also have in place a mechanical means for the prevention of flies in order to satisfy their obligations under the scheme.
Any chemical treatment for the control of flystrike must be recorded. Records must then be retained and made available for inspection if required.
281. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeframe for finalising a veterinary health certificate with the general administration of quality, supervision and quarantine, AQSIQ, for Irish beef access to China; when an inspection visit by the Chinese certification and accreditation administration to approve individual processing plants for export will take place in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17267/18]
View answer282. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made on receiving access for Irish meat products such as beef, lamb and pigmeat to China; the remaining stages in the approval process outstanding; and the approximate timetable for all stages to be completed and full access granted. [17268/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 282 together.
I was delighted to announce the opening of the Chinese beef market earlier this week. The first three beef plants were approved and listed on CNCA’s website on Monday, April 16th. A further five plants are in the final stages of approval. This approval is a huge achievement for my Department. Getting to this stage has involved a huge joined-up effort across Government, my Department and State agencies, with strong engagement with the Chinese authorities on meeting their detailed requirements.
My Department has, in conjunction with industry, been working for some time towards ensuring that trade with China can commence and run smoothly. There remain a number of technical requirements which must be satisfied before beef trade can commence. It is expected that these requirements will take a number of weeks to complete. In addition, the approved plants will have to deal with their own technicalities including testing requirements. However, I expect that the trade will commence this summer.
Ireland has already had access to the Chinese market for pigmeat for more than 10 years. Trade has increased considerably from 2,440 tonnes in 2010 to around 65,000 tonnes in 2017 with the value of these exports increasing from around €2 million to over €100 million over the same period. China is now the second largest destination for our pigmeat exports after the United Kingdom.
In relation to sheepmeat access a detailed questionnaire was submitted to AQSIQ in 2014. However, AQSIQ policy meant that the Chinese authorities would only consider market access for one species at a time. Now that the process for beef market access is coming to a close, my Department hopes to be in a position to renew negotiations towards sheepmeat market access.
283. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average age of a farmer in Ireland; the average EU age in this regard; and the number of farmers by age group (details supplied) in tabular form. [17269/18]
View answerThe CSO's 2013 Farm Structures Survey indicated that approximately 37,700 (27%) of Irish farmers are aged over 65 years and 8,200 (6%) are aged under 35 years. The full age breakdown as published by the CSO is:
|
2013 |
Number of Farmers |
% |
|
< 35 |
8,200 |
6% |
|
35 - 44 |
22,800 |
16% |
|
45 - 54 |
34,800 |
25% |
|
55 - 64 |
35,600 |
26% |
|
> 65 |
37,700 |
27% |
|
Total |
139,100 |
100% |
Source: Farm Structures Survey, 2013, CSO.
Eurostat data for 2013 showed that 31% of all EU farm holders were aged over 65 years and 6% are aged under 35 years. The full age breakdown as published by Eurostat is:
|
2013 |
Number of Farm Managers |
% |
|
< 35 |
651,540 |
6% |
|
35 - 44 |
1,652,510 |
15% |
|
45 - 54 |
2,486,970 |
23% |
|
55 - 64 |
2,681,560 |
25% |
|
> 65 |
3,365,690 |
31% |
|
Total |
10,838,270 |
100% |
Source: Eurostat
284. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons in receipt of GLAS 1, 2 and 3 who have received the 2017 balancing payment by county in tabular form; the number of persons who have passed all payment approval checks and are awaiting the 2017 balancing payment; the number of GLAS recipients who have yet to receive the 2017 balancing payment by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17270/18]
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.
285. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of persons in receipt of the sheep welfare scheme payment who have received the 2017 balancing payment by county in tabular form; the number of persons who have passed all payment approval checks and are awaiting the 2017 balancing payment; the number of sheep welfare recipients who have yet to receive the 2017 balancing payment by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17271/18]
View answerAs balancing payments under the Sheep Welfare Scheme have not yet commenced, the information requested by the Deputy is not yet available.
Balancing payments are due to commence shortly and the information requested will be forwarded to the Deputy directly as soon as payments are finalised and the information is available.
286. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of approved persons who have applied to the knowledge transfer group scheme in the beef, sheep, dairy, tillage, equine and poultry sectors; the targeted number of groups formed; the number of groups finalised to date; the number of payments that have issued to each sector in each year of the rural development programme, RDP, to date; the budget allocation for the knowledge transfer group scheme under the 2014-2020 RDP; the amount expended to date in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17272/18]
View answerThe statistics requested in this Parliamentary Question are currently being compiled and will be forwarded shortly.
287. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the reopening of the horticulture investment scheme; the amount of funding allocated; and the anticipated number of participants that will sign up. [17273/18]
View answerI recognise the very severe impact that storm Emma has had on the Horticultural sector, in particular on soft fruit and amenity plant producers.
As an exceptional measure in response to the storm, Minister of State with responsibility for the Horticulture sector, Andrew Doyle, TD and I directed officials to re-open the 2018 Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector. This competitive grant aid scheme supports capital investments in specialised horticultural equipment and buildings that contribute to at least one of the scheme’s four objectives namely to: improve the quality of output, facilitate environmentally friendly practices, improve working conditions and promote diversification of production. The grant aid covers all areas of the horticultural industry; field vegetables, mushrooms, protected crops, nursery crops, soft fruit/apples, cut foliage, Christmas trees, bulbs and bee-keeping.
The re-opening of this scheme is targeted towards the soft fruit and amenity plant sectors in particular and approvals will be limited to growers that are proposing investments in response to damage caused by Storm Emma. This targeted measure will give these growers a window of opportunity to apply for grant aid to assist their business to recover from the effects of the storm. €0.5 million has been identified for this purpose.
I believe the ability of the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Commercial Horticulture Sector to react to evolving situations is a key strength in supporting Ireland’s highly dynamic horticulture sector. In 2017, just over €4.8 million was paid out supporting investment in excess of €12 million across the horticultural sector to include the soft fruit sector. The targeted re-opening of the Scheme is effective immediately, and the closing date for applications is Friday 27th April.
288. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of participants in the fodder transport scheme to date by county in tabular from. [17274/18]
View answerTo date a total of 45 applications have been received under the Fodder Transport Support Measure 2018.
The county breakdown of applications is -
|
County |
Number of Applications |
|
Clare |
16 |
|
Donegal |
12 |
|
Galway |
1 |
|
Leitrim |
1 |
|
Longford |
1 |
|
Mayo |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
8 |
|
Sligo |
2 |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
45 |
289. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the draft EU Directive COM(2018) 173; and if his Department has carried out an analysis of the proposal. [17275/18]
View answer290. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on strengthening provisions at EU Council level in view of the fact that the draft EU Directive COM(2018) 173 applies to only SME suppliers; and his further views on whether a more encompassing approach to combatting unfair trading practices needs to be applicable to all groups in the food supply chain regardless of their size. [17276/18]
View answer291. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on Article 4 with respect to the draft EU Directive COM(2018) 173 final that each member state shall designate a public authority to enforce the prohibitions laid down in Article 3 at national level which would have the power to issue fines for breaches of the new regulations; and his plans in this regard here in relation to an existing or new State body. [17277/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 289 to 291, inclusive, together.
I welcome the publication of the proposal for a Directive on Unfair Trading Practices(UTPs) in business to business relationships in the food supply chain. The Commission proposal seeks to protect the weakest links in the supply chain, farmers and small and medium sized food companies. The ambition is not to cover all UTPs but to address unfair UTPs which have a clear negative impact on the food supply chain. These include establishing a minimum standard of protection across the EU, including the banning of late payments for perishable food products (maximum of 30 days), last minute order cancellations for perishable food, unilateral or retroactive changes to contracts and forcing the supplier to pay for wasted product. Other measures are only permitted if agreed in advance by both parties including, for example, the return of unsold food products to a supplier and so called ‘hello’ money.
The Commission proposal was first discussed at the Agriculture Council this week (16 April), with a positive reaction from most Member States. I welcomed the publication of the proposal, and outlined my preliminary views on the matter:
It is clear the issue of unfair trading practices is a crucial issue for the agri-food sector as a whole. The relative bargaining power of operators along the supply chain is a matter of concern for many farmers and SMEs. Indeed some of our industry representatives have indicated, it is an issue for larger companies and cooperatives as well.
Up to 20 Member States have specific unfair trading practice rules. Ireland is among those Member States. However, as a nation that exports more than 80% of its agri food output, Ireland favours a regulatory framework at EU level. We believe that some commonality in the framework would contribute to the more effective functioning of the single market.
On the other hand, many Member States have done very good work in this area in recent years. It seems clear that these Member States would prefer that any common minimum unfair trading practice standard introduced across the EU should complement existing national measures and not compete with them.
My officials are analysing the detail of the proposed directive from an agriculture and food perspective, in coordination with stakeholders and particularly with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, which has lead responsibility for the Grocery Goods Regulations introduced in 2016. These regulations aim to ensure that commercial dealings in the grocery sector are fair, sustainable and operate in the interests of jobs, consumers and sustainable safe food.
Following on from that consultation process, I look forward to engaging constructively with the Commission, the Parliament, the Presidency and the Council on this significant issue in the coming months.
