Written Answers Nos. 176-196
176. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason for the delay in farm payments for persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48319/19]
View answerThe person named submitted a 2019 Basic Payment Scheme/Areas of Natural Constraints schemes application on 16 April 2019. EU Regulations governing the administration of these schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks, including, in some cases, Ground Eligibility inspections, be completed before any payments issue.
The application of the person named was selected for a Ground Eligibility inspection. The outcome of this inspection is currently being finalised with the intention of issuing any payment due as soon as possible. In the event that any queries arise, officials in my Department will be in contact with the person named.
177. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of new grading machines used as part of the recent trial at a company (details supplied) in operation across other European countries and the length of time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48324/19]
View answerTwo VBS 2000 machines were used in the trial carried out at Slaney Foods as follows:
- The existing classification machine (VBS2000) currently authorised for classification.
- A second VBS2000 classification machine, installed for the purposes of the trial and fitted with the modified technology - a new digital camera and LED lights.
As outlined in the recently published report, automated beef grading equipment is also approved for use in several other Member States.
178. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a GLAS payment for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48336/19]
View answerThe person named was approved into the GLAS 1 scheme with a contract commencement date of 1 October 2015 and has received payment for scheme years 2015 - 2018.
The 2019 advance payment has not been made in this case as the application did not pass the GLAS pre-payment validations due to a validity issue with a claim for the Planting a Grove of Native Trees action.
A GLAS official has contacted the applicant directly to advise what they need to do to resolve this issue. Once this issue is resolved and the application clears all validations, the 2019 Advance payment will be processed.
179. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of TB reactor animals in each of the years 2013 to 2018 and to date in 2019, by dairy cow, suckler cow, bull, steer or heifer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48337/19]
View answerI have attached tables showing the number of TB reactor animals disclosed for the years 2013 to 2018 and to date in 2019. This data has been extracted from the Animal Health Computer System. A breakdown is given by four different Herd Types, Dairy, Suckler, Beef and Other (other relates to mixed enterprises) along with each animal type Cow, Bull, Heifer, Steer and Calf.
The total number of reactors in the tables for each year varies slightly from the official statistics. This arises because the official statistics are taken at a point in time yearly in early February and some processing may occur after this time which is not reflected in the official statistics.
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2013
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
5,525 |
44 |
1,048 |
558 |
113 |
7,288 |
|
Suckler |
3,682 |
102 |
1,250 |
918 |
206 |
6,158 |
|
Beef |
242 |
7 |
373 |
1,039 |
16 |
1,677 |
|
Other |
243 |
7 |
179 |
119 |
8 |
556 |
|
Total per animal type |
9,692 |
160 |
2,850 |
2,634 |
343 |
15,679 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2014
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
5,404 |
43 |
1,203 |
521 |
396 |
7,567 |
|
Suckler |
3,679 |
107 |
1,448 |
996 |
260 |
6,490 |
|
Beef |
245 |
10 |
312 |
944 |
99 |
1,610 |
|
Other |
211 |
4 |
153 |
77 |
18 |
463 |
|
Total per animal type |
9,539 |
164 |
3,116 |
2,538 |
773 |
16,130 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2015
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
5,055 |
31 |
1,282 |
412 |
225 |
7,005 |
|
Suckler |
3,356 |
74 |
1,535 |
1,102 |
237 |
6,304 |
|
Beef |
226 |
7 |
362 |
1,043 |
8 |
1,645 |
|
Other |
202 |
2 |
124 |
55 |
19 |
402 |
|
Total per animal type |
8,839 |
114 |
3,303 |
2,612 |
489 |
15,356 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2016
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
6,675 |
40 |
1,539 |
558 |
146 |
8,958 |
|
Suckler |
3,321 |
88 |
1,384 |
1,003 |
239 |
6,035 |
|
Beef |
269 |
4 |
389 |
928 |
12 |
1,602 |
|
Other |
118 |
3 |
163 |
74 |
7 |
365 |
|
Total per animal type |
10,383 |
135 |
3,475 |
2,563 |
404 |
16,960 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2017
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
6,388 |
8 |
1,506 |
492 |
170 |
8,564 |
|
Suckler |
3,636 |
49 |
1,595 |
1,062 |
265 |
6,607 |
|
Beef |
335 |
6 |
547 |
917 |
20 |
1,825 |
|
Other |
117 |
1 |
131 |
87 |
13 |
349 |
|
Total per animal type |
10,476 |
64 |
3,779 |
2,558 |
468 |
17,345 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2018
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
7,182 |
10 |
1,329 |
453 |
200 |
9,174 |
|
Suckler |
3,408 |
41 |
1,274 |
931 |
379 |
6,033 |
|
Beef |
251 |
0 |
587 |
1,082 |
17 |
1,937 |
|
Other |
103 |
1 |
148 |
148 |
3 |
403 |
|
Total per animal type |
10,944 |
52 |
3,338 |
2,614 |
599 |
17,547 |
Breakdown Table TB Reactors Year 2019 to date
|
Herd Type |
Cow |
Bull |
Heifer |
Steer |
Calf |
Total per herd type |
|
Dairy |
5,916 |
9 |
1,014 |
541 |
202 |
7,682 |
|
Suckler |
2,942 |
24 |
1,243 |
854 |
200 |
5,263 |
|
Beef |
194 |
3 |
404 |
823 |
47 |
1,471 |
|
Other |
108 |
0 |
103 |
95 |
4 |
310 |
|
Total per animal type |
9,160 |
36 |
2,764 |
2,313 |
453 |
14,726 |
180. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if greyhounds require a licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48371/19]
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.
Greyhounds are subject to statutory dog licensing provisions similar to any other breed of dog as provided for in the Control of Dogs Act 1986 (as amended in 1992). Where multiple numbers of dogs are maintained on a premises, a kennel licence in respect of all the dogs can be obtained at a cost of €400.
181. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which his Department deals with a farm TB breakdown when animals that have failed the skin test but pass both the blood test and the post-mortem analysis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48379/19]
View answerIn the circumstances outlined by the Deputy, typically the animals would be deemed reactors and the holding would remain restricted.
A TB reactor is an animal that reacts to the TB skin test or blood test. Both tests are employed to maximise the efficacy of the TB eradication scheme. As in testing for any disease in any animal, there are a wide range of factors that impact on tests. These include duration of infection, level of immune response, age of animal, virulence of infection, settings of test, etc. Individual infected animals will react to various different tests in slightly different ways. This is normal and to be expected.
Less than 1 in 5,000 skin reactors are false reactors. Being able to see, with the naked eye, evidence of infection in animals after death is typically possible in approximately one third of reactors. This is not a verification of the skin test as it is a poorer test than the skin test.
My Department has produced leaflets and videos to explain how the tests work and what to expect from them. These are available on my Departments website at https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/animalhealthwelfare/diseasecontrol/bovinetb/tbleafletsandvideos/.
182. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the funding beef farm enterprises will exclusively receive in each scheme in 2019 both pillar one and two and schemes outside the RDP; the amount this funding equates to per animal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48399/19]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to him as soon as it is available.
The Irish Government has provided significant financial support to the beef sector over the past number of years through national funding and the rural development programme.
The Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) provides Irish beef farmers with up to €300 million in funding over the current Rural Development Programme (RDP) and provides a high degree of important performance data to beef farmers to drive efficiency through facilitating better decision making.
My Department has rolled out a range of other schemes from which beef farmers benefit, as part of the €4 billion RDP including GLAS, ANCs and Knowledge Transfer Groups. Suckler farmers also benefit, of course, from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) and Greening payments under CAP Pillar I.
In 2019, a further €20 million of exchequer funding was made available through the Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme, to encourage farmers to measure the weaning efficiency of their suckler cows.
And, of course, the Beef Exceptional Aid Measure (BEAM) has provided temporary exceptional adjustment aid to farmers in the beef sector in Ireland subject to the conditions set out in EU Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1132.
BEAM is funded by a combination of EU aid and Exchequer support, provided in light of the difficult circumstances that Irish beef farmers have been facing as a result of the market volatility and uncertainty. Over 34,500 farmers had applied for BEAM at its closing date of 20 September, representing potential commitments of almost €78 million.
In recognition of the important income support role played by the ANC scheme, the total allocation for the scheme has been increased by €48m over the last two budgets (€25m in Budget 2018 and €23m in Budget 2019). In both 2018 and 2019, payment rates in the scheme were increased, with a targeting of increases corresponding to the different level of constraint in the different categories of land in the scheme.
In Budget 2020, I have provided almost €85 million in targeted schemes to support sustainable beef farming. This includes almost €45 million for the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP), and a further €40 million for targeted supports. I intend to consult with stakeholders as to the use of these funds.
In addition, in the event of a No-Deal Brexit, my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform confirmed in Budget 2020 that a Brexit contingency fund of €650 million will be available to support our most vulnerable sectors, to be activated in tranches as the full impacts emerge. €110 million will be made available through my Department in the first tranche, of which €85 million will be provided in immediate supports for beef farmers. This will, of course, be supplemented by any exceptional aid provided from the EU under the CMO regulation.
183. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 350 of 8 October 2019, the progress in relation to outstanding payments under the REP scheme in the case of a person (details supplied). [48450/19]
View answerOfficials in my Department have completed the review of this case and have written to the person named earlier this week with the outcome of this review.
184. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the factors taken into account by his Department when giving technical approval for an afforestation licence; the evaluation process used in respect of such an application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48517/19]
View answerMy Department manages the licensing process for four distinct forestry operations;
1. Afforestation;
2. Forest road works;
3. Aerial fertilisation;
4. Tree felling.
Applications for the first three operations must be made through a registered forester. Applicants do not require a forester to apply for a tree felling licence. My Department uses an online application system, to which foresters have access. The system contains extensive mapping layers enabling the location for the proposed site, along with other spatial information.
Reference Material and Guidelines
The application process is underpinned by various reference documents, which combined with information circulars are available on my Department’s website. The main document is the Forestry Standards Manual. This manual complements, and should be read in conjunction with, Land Types for Afforestation, Environmental Requirements for Afforestation, Irish National Forest Standard, the Code of Best Forest Practice – Ireland, Standards for Felling and Reforestation and other guidance published by my Department.
Required Documentation
Certain documentation, depending on the licence required, must be submitted with the application. An application form, site location map, certified species map and biodiversity maps are inter alia required for afforestation. Other documents will be required, registered foresters will be familiar with the requirements for the application.
Procedures
The application is submitted, and administrative officials will check to ensure it is complete. The application will be advertised on my Department’s website and submissions from interested parties invited. At the same time, it is forwarded to a Forestry District Inspector and where required, the application is referred to certain prescribed bodies. The prescribed bodies include statutory consultees such as the local authority, National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Inland Fisheries Ireland and/or An Taisce. 30 days is provided for public consultation and no decision may issue before that time. Where NPWS is consulted, that time is extended to a minimum of eight weeks.
If built heritage or archaeological monuments are recorded or found within or proximate to a proposed site, the application will be referred to my Department’s Archaeologists so that the site can be assessed in conjunction with the National Monuments Service.
Upon receiving the application, the District Inspector may decide that further information such as revised maps, submission of a Natura Impact Assessment, hydrological report or a soil report is required. The applicant and their registered forester will be advised by letter of what information is being sought.
The District Inspector will desk assess the application and may carry out a field assessment where risk analysis selects the application or where the inspector’s own knowledge will deem a field inspection necessary. All forestry licence applications undergo Appropriate Assessment (AA) screening.
I acknowledge that changes made to internal Appropriate Assessment Procedures (AAP) has resulted in delays to many files. These are beyond my Department’s control as we are obliged to implement changes to AAP that were required following important Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decisions and their subsequent interpretation by the Forestry Appeals Committee and others.
Currently, we are amending the AA procedure in order to introduce a robust and workable system which will address the issues now faced. Introducing this system involves the recruitment of additional ecological expertise and changes in procedures for the forestry inspectorate. My Department recently advertised for additional ecologists and we also have access to external ecological support, which will be supplemented in due course. Inspectors have already undergone training and will receive appropriate support in delivering these new procedures. A categorisation of files affected by these requirements is also underway in order to best assess further action needed and by whom.
Notwithstanding that this has led to a temporary disruption in issuing afforestation licences, the Deputy should be aware that the sector has approximately 3,200 hectares of approvals issued this year which are shovel-ready and yet to be planted.
If the site is greater than 50ha, or 2km for a forest road, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required. This will enable an Environmental Impact Assessment to be carried out. Where an application is less than these areas/lengths, that is sub-threshold, an EIS may also be required. This will be in situations where the proposed development is likely to have a significant environmental impact.
When the inspector is satisfied with the assessment of the application, recommendations will be provided. These recommendations will form part of the decision on the application, which will be issued to the applicant and their registered forester. The decision will also issue to any individual who made a submission on the application. The decision provides for 28 days in which to make an appeal, to the independent Forestry Appeals Committee. During that time, no forestry operations may take place.
Other Considerations
Apart from possible environmental impacts, the application will be assessed against other criteria, such as silvicultural requirements, the social impacts of the application and the local landscape. The application, where appropriate, must meet certain silvicultural standards. Tree felling licences may require a harvest plan and the application must consider the careful management of harvesting operations to minimise the potential effect on the surrounding area.
185. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the changes in the attribution of flights to Ireland that had previously been reported to another country in the scheme as mentioned on page 27 of the SEAI 2018 Report, Energy-Related CO2 Emissions in Ireland 2005-2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48289/19]
View answer186. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the increase in aviation emissions by carbon tonne that occurred as a result of the changes in the attribution of flights to Ireland that had previously been reported to another country in the scheme as mentioned on page 27 of the SEAI 2018 Report, Energy-Related CO2 Emissions in Ireland 2005-2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48290/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 185 and 186 together.
I refer to the reply to Question No 525 of 19 November 2019.
The SEAI report referred to notes that emissions attributed to aviation in the EU ETS recorded in Ireland increased by 23% between 2015 and 2016, and indicates that this was mainly due to increased traffic but also due to some changes in the attribution of flights to Ireland that had previously been reported to another country in the EU ETS.
I am advised by the EPA that the most significant change to the aircraft operators assigned to Ireland occurred in 2015 when a new commercial operator (Norwegian Airlines Ireland) received an Irish Air Operator Certificate and was therefore attributed to Ireland. Emissions attributed to this operator in 2015 were 114,468 tonnes CO2 and in 2016 were 960,025 tonnes CO2.
187. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the number of times he has met with insurance companies and Insurance Ireland since 1 January 2016; the date of each meeting; the persons or bodies he met with; the purpose of each meeting in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48297/19]
View answerI have not met with Insurance Ireland or other insurance companies since becoming Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
188. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will provide time for a special debate in Dáil Éireann in advance of signing contracts in respect of the national broadband plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48313/19]
View answer190. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to contact and or follow-up the groups that made submissions to the mapping consultation that closed on 30 September 2019 in the context of the NBP and intervention areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48428/19]
View answer191. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will address a matter regarding state aid (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48436/19]
View answer192. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the material changes to the intervention area since the mapping exercise commenced; the number of premises added to the intervention area; the number of premises removed from the intervention area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48437/19]
View answer193. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the breakdown of premises removed from the intervention area by operator type, that is, fixed line, cable, mobile, fixed wireless and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48438/19]
View answer194. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there has been a minimum number of premises for the project discussed and or set between his Department and a company (details supplied); if so, the figure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48439/19]
View answer195. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his plans to sign-off on the national broadband contract plan ahead of the current mapping exercise being completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48440/19]
View answer196. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the NBP will be set as a fixed-cost project; if it is future-proofed to account for inflation, overruns and or unforeseen obstacles and or costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48441/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 190 to 196, inclusive, together.
The National Broadband Plan (NBP) has been debated extensively in the Dáil, as recently as 23 October 2019. As a State intervention, the NBP must comply with the requirements scheduling of the European Commission’s Guidelines on the application of State aid rules for broadband networks. The Guidelines require, amongst other things, that Member States carry out a detailed mapping exercise to identify as far as reasonably possible those areas where intervention Dáil business is required.
Since July 2013, the Department has engaged in an extensive process of mapping broadband availability in Ireland in order to identify premises requiring State intervention. The mapping exercise has been supported by a number of public consultations which have elicited significant response from industry and the public. The most significant changes to the NBP Map took place in 2017. The Department added a further 84,500 premises to the Intervention Area where commercial investment plans previously provided to the Department had failed to materialise. The update also removed 300,000 premises from the intervention area on the basis of what was then a planned infrastructure build, that eir entered into a Commitment Agreement in respect of.
Having consulted with industry on an ongoing basis, my Department recently conducted a final public consultation to close the mapping exercise in advance of the award of the NBP contract. Over 180 submissions were received from a variety of stakeholders, including 30 from large and small commercial telecommunications operators, with the remainder from local authority broadband officers and members of the public.
Following evaluation of the submissions and receipt of a positive State aid decision on 15 November, responses have been issued to the submissions from the commercial operators. Having evaluated the submissions received, approximately 38,000 premises were removed from the intervention area as commercial operators provided evidence that these premises can now access a high speed broadband service from an existing network. These premises relate to network deployment detailed in submissions received from eir and SIRO, that were evaluated as meeting the assessment criteria published by the Department.
In addition, approximately 37,000 premises originally identified as being served by commercial operators have now been included in the intervention area matter for the NBP, as commercial operators plans to serve these premises have not materialised. The map has also been updated for approximately an additional 2,000 premises identified in the latest Ordinance Survey Ireland data. The final Intervention Area now covers 537,596 premises.
The NBP contract, which was signed on 18 November, provides that the future proofed high speed broadband network to be deployed by National Broadband Ireland will also pass and connect new premises built in the intervention area over the next 25 years. While a download speed threshold of 30Mbps applied in the mapping process as a requirement, the tender submitted by National Broadband Ireland committed to a network that will initially provide services of 150Mbps to the majority of homes and up to 1Gbps to heavy data users and Small and Medium size Enterprises. There will be an upgrade pathway for the 150Mbps broadband product for consumers to 300Mbps by year 6 of the rollout and to 500Mbps by year 10. The 1Gbps product for businesses will also upgrade to 2Gbps by year 11.
These commitments are reflected in the NBP contract and will ensure that people living and working in rural areas, will have access to a similar quality of broadband service to people living and working in urban areas. The maximum possible investment by the State under the National Broadband Plan is capped at €2.977 billion over 25 years. This includes €480m for contingency costs and €354m in VAT.
189. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on the future of the television licence fee system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48344/19]
View answerThe Government has accepted the recommendations of the Working Group on the Future Funding of Public Service Broadcasting that the TV licence be put out to public tender. The Government has also agreed that an amendment to give effect to this decision be introduced at the Committee stage of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill, 2019. That legislation completed Second Stage in the Dáil in October 2019. The contract for TV licence collection will be for a period of 5 years in order to make it feasible for the successful tenderer to invest in the database and collection improvements. At the end of the contract period, the licence fee will be replaced by a device-independent charge to support public service content.
