Wednesday, 30 Sep 2020

Written Answers Nos. 282-290

Food Industry

Questions (282)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

282. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a national food ombudsman will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27615/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to:

Ensure fairness, equity, and transparency in the food chain by establishing a new authority called the National Food Ombudsman (NFO) to enforce the Unfair Trading Practices Directive. This new authority will enforce EU-wide rules on prohibited unfair trading practices in the food supply chain and will have powers to enforce this Directive, penalising those who breach regulations. The NFO will have a specific role in analysing and reporting on price and market data in Ireland.

Directive (EU) No. 2019/633, the Unfair Trading Practices (UTP Directive), must be transposed into Irish law by 1 May 2021. This can be done by way of a Statutory Instrument, but any measures that extend beyond the minimum harmonisation requirements of the UTP Directive will require primary legislation.

Therefore, I propose to adopt a two-step approach to this commitment.  

Firstly, my officials are currently drafting a proposal for a Statutory Instrument to directly transpose the UTP Directive as it stands.  Secondly, the legal requirements for the establishment of a new Office of a Food Ombudsman are also being considered, including the requirement for primary legislation in order to give that Office additional powers going beyond those in the UTP Directive.

Aquaculture Licences

Questions (283)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

283. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the timeline and method by which he plans to implement the recommendations of the Independent Aquaculture Licensing Review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27616/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The Independent Review of Aquaculture Licensing was commissioned in 2016 and the Report of the Group and was submitted to my Department in May 2017.

The Review Group carried out a detailed examination of the existing aquaculture licensing process, undertook comprehensive stakeholder consultation and looked at comparative national and international consent systems to determine best practice for managing a complex licensing process in a transparent, environmentally appropriate and legally robust manner.

Since receiving the report of the review group, my Department has engaged in detailed consideration of the recommendations set out in the report with a view to their implementation, having regard to the legislative, environmental, technical and public interest issues that arise. My Department has also engaged closely with industry representatives and relevant State agencies.

As all industry stakeholders and the EU Commission have, for different reasons, identified the elimination of the licensing backlog as the overriding priority in the reform of the licensing system, my Department’s response to date has focused on this issue while continuing to have regard to the other recommendations in the report.

I can confirm that the aquaculture licensing backlog in respect of shellfish aquaculture has now effectively been eliminated as an issue affecting the industry.  In the case of finfish, my Department has taken concrete steps to address the backlog in finfish licensing applications and these measures have intensified significantly in 2020.

Farm Safety

Questions (284)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

284. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a farm safety scheme will be introduced with increased funding for health and safety equipment under TAMS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27617/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Farm safety remains a top priority for me, my Department and the Government and my colleague Minister of State Martin Heydon has been given direct responsibility for this area in my Department.

The indicative allocation for the TAMS II scheme over the course of the Rural Development Programme is €395 million. To date, €243 million has been paid across all the available schemes and we estimate that we have committed an additional €130m to scheme participants which they have yet to draw down.

However there are a wide range of Farm Safety related investments which are grant-aided under the suite of seven TAMS measures. These are included under the - Animal Welfare, Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme, Organic Capital Investment Scheme, Tillage Capital Investment Scheme and the Young Farmers Capital Investment Scheme. Grant aid of approximately €5.5m has been incurred on specific Farm safety investments in TAMS II since the scheme opened in 2015.

In addition ‘Health and Safety’ guidelines are included in all ‘Building Specifications,’ drawn up by the Department for the construction of agricultural buildings and structures.  The guidelines give advice on best practice and legislation. All animal housing and slurry storage facilities constructed under TAMS II include a range of health and safety related elements that create a safer working environment on farms. Approximately €54 million has been spent on animal housing under the Animal Welfare Safety and Nutrient Storage Scheme since 2016 under TAMS II.  

 It is also a requirement that all farmers applying for grant-aid under the TAMS II schemes have completed a minimum of a half-day course on farm safety before they can draw down funding.  This course has now been completed in over 16,000 applications for payment under TAMS II.

Animal Diseases

Questions (285)

Carol Nolan

Question:

285. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of measures in place to detect and prevent the emergence of African swine fever in the pig sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27629/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

African swine fever (ASF), a disease of pigs and wild boar continues to pose a threat to the Irish pig sector and my Department implements a range of risk mitigation measures to prevent an incursion of the disease in Ireland.  Ireland is free of the disease.  It should be noted that the disease does not pose a threat to humans and meat is safe to eat.

Since 2018, in light of the continuously evolving international disease situation, my Department has engaged in a comprehensive disease awareness programme for farmers, stakeholders, vets, and the general public.

The risk factors relevant to the introduction of ASF to Ireland relate to the movement of pigs, pig products including food, equipment/clothing and persons from  areas affected with ASF being introduced onto Irish pig farms. The Department continues to highlight these risk factors for a incursion of ASF to pig owners through the media including the press and social media including most recently recording an ASF podcast for the Teagasc website. Furthermore, my Department also has a contingency plan in place in order to effectively deal with any potential outbreak of ASF in Ireland. This includes the carrying out of checks for illegal food products at ports and airports in conjunction with Revenue using a targeted, risk-based approach. A food detector dog is used in addition to manual checks and scanning equipment at Dublin airport.  

The risk of an incursion of African Swine Fever in Ireland can be reduced through the practice of effective biosecurity at farm level. If consistently applied, biosecurity measures will  help  prevent disease, whether exotic to or endemic in Ireland, from entering a farm and from spreading within a farm. My Department is currently finalising a strategy on National Farm Biosecurity which will emphasise the importance of  good biosecurity in protecting and improving animal health and welfare as well as ensuring good public health, through reduced antimicrobial usage, reduced transmission of zoonotic disease and improved environmental health. The strategy also provides a road-map that will hopefully ensure that good farm biosecurity is consistently practiced by all farmers at all times, and not just in the face of an immediate risk of a disease outbreak.

The international disease situation is continuously monitored and updates are issued to stakeholders when necessary such as for example to inform them of the recent cases of ASF in wild boar in Germany. The EU has legislation to control outbreaks of the disease and places specific restrictions on the movement of live pigs and pig products from affected areas to free Member States such as Ireland and the trade of wild boar between EU Member States is prohibited in order to reduce this risk.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (286)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

286. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount expended on access to online and hardcopy media publications since May 2020 to date; and the breakdown of online and hard copy subscriptions including the publications that his Department subscribes to. [27634/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department purchases online and media publications in compliance with procurement guidelines and it avails of the Office of Government Procurement framework agreements.  Since the onset of the current crisis, the provision of publications is regularly reviewed, with the suspension of some print copies and the migration to increased digital access. All expenditure is monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that value for money is being achieved.

The total expenditure by my Department on access to newspapers, periodicals, magazines and subscriptions to online media content since May 2020 to date is €7,132.

The breakdown of online and hard copy subscriptions is set out in the attached table.

Title	Hardcopy, Online or Both
Agra Facts	Online
Analysing Agriculture	Online
Business and Finance	Both
Dairy Industry Newsletter	Both
Data Protection Ireland	Both
Ends Europe	Online
Farmers Weekly	Both
Financial Times	Both
Fishing News	Hardcopy
Forestry Journal	Both
Harvard Business Review	Both
Holstein International	Hardcopy
Horticulture Connected	Both
Industrial Relations News	Both
Inshore Ireland	Hardcopy
Intrafish	Both
Irish Business Post	Online
Irish Examiner	Both
Irish Farmers Journal	Both
Irish Independent	Both
Irish Skipper	Hardcopy
Irish Times	Both
Marine Times	Hardcopy
New Scientist	Online
OceanFocus (incorporating InshoreIreland)	Online
Phoenix Magazine	Online
Poultry World	Hardcopy
Sporting Press	Hardcopy
The Bar Review of Ireland	Hardcopy
The Currency	Online
The Economist	Both
The Field	Hardcopy
The Star	Hardcopy
The Times (UK)	Online
The Vegetable Farmer	Both
Timber Trades Journal	Online

Departmental Contracts

Questions (287)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

287. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has engaged a third-party company in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020 to conduct media monitoring and or provide reports on media coverage of his Department; if so, the costs of same; and the companies engaged. [27652/20]

Written answers

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine

My Department availed of media monitoring services from Kantar Media and Truehawk Media during the period in question. The expenditure, excluding VAT, for this service was €9,253.51 in 2017,  €13,791.44 in 2018, €21,701.37 in 2019 and €11,200 to date in 2020.

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (288, 290)

Matt Carthy

Question:

288. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands the amount spent on media monitoring services by her Department; if the role is provided by private contract operators or in-house services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27571/20]

Catherine Murphy

Question:

290. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands if she has engaged a third-party company in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020 to conduct media monitoring and or provide reports on media coverage of her Department; if so, the costs of same; and the companies engaged. [27655/20]

Written answers

Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands

I propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 290 together.

My Department was established on July 19th 2017 and did not use a third-party contractor for media monitoring until 2018, when a service provider was sourced through an Office of Government Procurement framework arrangement.

Information regarding the ongoing costs of the service are set out in the table below.

Year	Company providing media monitoring service	Amount
2018	Kantar	€7,180.75
2019	Kantar	€12,130.29
2020 (YTD)	Kantar	€9,259.16
	Total	€28,570.20

Departmental Expenditure

Questions (289)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

289. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands the amount expended on access to online and hardcopy media publications since May 2020 to date; and the breakdown of online and hard copy subscriptions including the publications that her Department subscribes to. [27637/20]

Written answers

Minister for Community and Rural Development and the Islands

From May 2020 to date, my Department has spent €791.62 for access to various online and hardcopy media publications, as detailed below.

Online subscriptions

Irish Farmer's Journal

Irish Independent

Irish Times

Hard copy subscriptions

Farmer’s Journal

Northern Standard

Phoenix

Anglo Celt

The Irish Times

Irish Daily Mail

Irish Independent

Question No. 290 answered with Question No. 288.