Written Answers Nos. 231-250
231. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the number of follow-up calls made to incoming passengers on a weekly basis since 7 December 2020; and the number of calls which were successfully answered on a weekly basis in tabular form. [2114/21]
View answerThe following table provides the total number of calls and the total number of successful calls made to incoming passengers on a weekly basis from 7th of December 2020 to 3rd of January 2021 inclusive. Where a passenger cannot be reached at first, further call attempts may be made.
Numbers of follow up calls made to passengers
|
Week commencing |
Number of follow up calls made to passengers |
Number of successful follow up calls to passengers |
|
7th December |
9,253 |
3,675 |
|
14th December |
9,375 |
4,041 |
|
21st December |
4,144 |
2,530 |
|
28th December |
5,769 |
2,992 |
232. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health the number of residential addiction-related stabilisation, step down recovery beds in CHO3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2119/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
233. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Health if funding will be made available for the recruitment of an additional full-time consultant orthopaedic surgeon for Croom Orthopaedic Hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2120/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
234. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 333 of 16 December 2020, the status of the proposed reimbursement of Dupilumab for the treatment of atopic eczema; if the HSE drugs group January 2021 meeting has taken place to date; if so, if a decision on reimbursement was taken at the meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2128/21]
View answerThe HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medicines under the community drug schemes, in accordance with the provisions of the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013; therefore, the matter has been referred to the HSE for reply to the Deputy.
235. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health the additional measures that will be implemented to restrict travel into this State during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2136/21]
View answerAll passengers arriving to the State are required to complete a COVID-19 Passenger Locator form. The form is used for contact tracing and to support a system of engagements with arriving passengers including the targeting of public health messaging by SMS and email.
Ireland has adopted the EU traffic light approach to international travel. Different levels of public health advice apply depending on whether the region of departure is classified by the ECDC as Green, Orange, Red or Grey.
More stringent measures have recently been implemented in response to the detection of new variants of SARS-Cov-2 in Great Britain and South Africa. A ban on passenger travel between Great Britain and Ireland was in effect from 21 December to 8 January, and additional restrictions placed on travellers arriving from South Africa.
Since 9 January, passengers arriving from Great Britain or South Africa have been legally required to present evidence of a negative pre-departure PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival. Failure to do so is an offence with penalties of up to €2,500 and up to six months imprisonment or both.
Following arrival, passengers arriving from these countries continue to be advised to self-isolate for 14 days and to contact a GP to arrange a test to be taken after day 5. The result of this test does not lead to disapplication of the advice to self-isolate for the full 14 days.
The government has decided that from 16 January, the pre-departure test requirement will be extended to passengers arriving to Ireland from all countries. The government is gives continuing consideration to policy on international travel, informed by public health advice and the work of the senior officials group on travel.
236. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if the present restrictions on travel within this State are applicable to persons who are ordinarily resident outside the jurisdiction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2137/21]
View answerThe Health Act 1947 (Section 31A – Temporary Restrictions) (Covid-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 (SI No. 701 of 2020) provide that a person may not leave their place of residence without reasonable excuse. The regulations define place of residence for people resident in the State and people not ordinarily resident in the State. In relation to a person who is not ordinarily resident in the State, the regulations define place of residence as the premises in the State, if any, at which he or she is currently residing, whether on a permanent or temporary basis.
238. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the reason for the six month delay in commencing the recruitment process for a Secretary General in his Department particularly in the middle of a pandemic; the circumstances which led to the recent appointment of an interim Secretary General when there was an acting Secretary General already in post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2149/21]
View answerFollowing the reassignment of the Department's former Secretary General to a newly established Government Department in July 2020, action was immediately taken to appoint an experienced senior official from the Department of Health as Acting Secretary General. This has ensured that the Department has been in a position to properly fulfil its role in relation to the management of the response to the pandemic over recent months. The decision to appointing a person on an acting basis was made at that time pending further consideration on how the post should be filled on a substantive basis.
Government has now decided that an Interim Secretary General should be appointed until the completion of an open competition run by the Top Level Appointments Committee to fill the post for a five year term. That competition is underway and is expected to be completed in the early months of this year.
239. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Health if essential workers (details supplied) will be prioritised along with other front-line workers in the vaccine roll-out programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2151/21]
View answerVaccine allocation is a matter for my Department and further information is available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/39038-provisional-vaccine-allocation-groups/
The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is the responsibility of the HSE.
The aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to ensure, over time, that vaccine will become available to vaccinate all of those for whom the vaccine is indicated. Given that there will be initially limited vaccines available, it will take some time for all to receive those vaccines and that has necessitated an allocation strategy to ensure that those most at risk of death and serious illness receive the vaccine first.
The priority is to first vaccinate and protect directly the most vulnerable amongst us, that is, those most likely to have a poor outcome if they contract the virus. The priority is to directly use vaccines to save lives and reduce serious illness, hence the focus on the over 65 year old cohort in long term residential care facilities, and healthcare workers in frontline services often caring for the most vulnerable.
All of the groups will be covered as further vaccine supplies become available and the immunisation programme is rolled out nationally.
The evidence will be kept under review and the allocation groups may be updated, where necessary, in light of new evidence.
240. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1940/21]
View answerIn relation to peat extraction, my Department has no involvement in its regulation. This is a planning process under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and an Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) license process, under the remit of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment.
Regarding the future use of peat moss in the horticulture sector, on 7th September 2020, my colleague Malcolm Noonan T.D., Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, published a report on the review of the use of Peat Moss in the Horticultural Industry. The review report was prepared by an inter-agency working group following on from the submissions from stakeholders.
After the publication of this report, Minister Noonan proposed the establishment of a working group to include representatives from relevant Government Departments and State Agencies, Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations and industry stakeholders under an independent chairperson to examine the issues identified during the review. In this respect the working group will address the key issues raised in the report itself, including future use of peat by the horticulture sector. The position of Chair for the Independent Working Group was advertised and the closing date for receipt of the applications was 23rd November 2020. Once the Chair is in place, membership of the working group can be established.
In addition to these developments, my Department is actively looking at alternatives to peat and has funded two research projects to date. It has also recently sought further research be conducted here to explore alternatives to peat based growing media for horticultural production in this area in its latest Research Call for 2021. These must be available, affordable and sustainable and meet quality as well as environmental requirements.
241. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when outstanding GLAS payments will be made to a farmer (details supplied) in County Galway; if the delay in payments is as a result of a problem with his Department’s IT system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1942/21]
View answerThe person named was approved into GLAS 1 with a contract commencement date of 1st October 2015 and has received all payments in respect of scheme years 2015 - 2018.
Administrative checks involving a number of sections within the Department take place on all GLAS claims. All cases must clear validation checks before payment can issue.
An issue arose in relation to the commonage action which has delayed the processing of GLAS payments for this case. Department officials are currently working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible so that outstanding payments can be processed.
GLAS payments are continuing on a weekly basis as applications pass all validation checks.
242. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will permit local gardeners to provide commercial gardening services during the current Covid-19 level 5 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1952/21]
View answerFor public health reasons, the Government has advised that people should stay at home except in a number of limited situations, including if they are travelling to and from work where the work is considered to be an essential service. Those essential service providers are listed on the Government website Gov.ie. Those specifically dealing with the agriculture and horticulture sector sector can be viewed at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/#agriculture-horticulture-forestry-fishing-animal-welfare-and-related-services.
Definitions of essential services in sectors are based on expert advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) and are kept under ongoing review by that group, with the over-riding consideration being the protection of public health in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
It is a matter for each company/individual to assess, based on the current published information, whether they are involved in providing any of the essential services currently permitted.
243. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason coursing events which had been allowed take place during the run-up to Christmas 2020 due to its inclusion on an approved list of permitted sports are no longer permitted. [1974/21]
View answerHare coursing is regulated under the Greyhound Industry Act, 1958 chiefly by the Irish Coursing Club (ICC), subject to the general control and direction of Rásaíocht Con Éireann. Hare coursing is managed and regulated by the ICC. Hares can only be collected for coursing by clubs affiliated to the ICC, in accordance with the terms of two licences granted by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The matter to which the Deputy refers is the subject of ongoing court proceedings.
244. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on a matter regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2031/21]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware in December 2020, I announced record funding of €3.2 million to 101 animal welfare organisations throughout the country. This included an award of €15,000 to ISPCA Limerick who submitted an application in summer 2020.
Following the announcement of the funding allocation, the ISPCA advised the Department that they were not assigning an officer to the Limerick area in 2021. The allocated funding has been repaid to my Department.
245. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 332 of 8 October 2020 and 438 of 16 April 2019, when he plans to introduce a voluntary farm building relocation scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2047/21]
View answerMy Department continues to monitor the situation in relation to the flooding of farmland in general and farmyards where it arises.
A study to determine the feasibility of any future once-off targeted scheme for Voluntary Farm Building Relocation is being undertaken. My Department has evaluated a range of at-risk farmyards, impacted by flooding, to see if any alternative remedial works can be undertaken to protect farm buildings at risk of flooding and is currently considering this evaluation.
246. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to address the concerns of farmers with land within the catchment of Lough Funshinagh, County Roscommon; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2067/21]
View answerThe Arterial Drainage Acts of 1945 and 1995 provide the Office of Public Works with powers for drainage and improvement of agricultural land and the undertaking of localised flood defence schemes to reduce flood risk. As such, any request for flood relief should be made to the Office of Public Works.
In relation to possible implications in relation to payments made by my Department under the Basic Payment Scheme, my officials have been in contact with applicants as queries have arisen in relation to the eligibility of the land in question. My officials will continue to deal with such queries on a case-by-case basis.
247. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the main policy initiatives undertaken by his Department since 27 June 2020; and his main priorities for 2021. [2078/21]
View answerSince publication of the Programme for Government in June 2020, my Department has been progressing the 161 actions identified in the "Agriculture, Food and the Marine" chapter, as well as actions in other chapters for which it has shared responsibility. I have had regular briefings with my Department’s Management Board on priority actions and progress.
One of the main policy initiatives currently under way is the process to develop a new agrifood strategy to 2030. The agrifood sector has been well served over the last 20 years by having a series of stakeholder-led strategies to guide its development. The Programme for Government has committed to an ambitious blueprint for the industry for the years ahead, adding value sustainably in the agrifood sector into the future, and supporting primary producers and employment in rural Ireland. There is also a commitment to ensure that, in addition to growing international markets and value-added export as a key priority, a strategic focus of the strategy will be on environmental protection, reversing biodiversity decline and developing additional market opportunities for primary producers. A 2030 Strategy Stakeholder Committee, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Tom Arnold, is continuing its work with a view to publishing the strategy later this year.
My main priorities for 2021 include:
- managing the outcome of Brexit, particularly the implications of the Agreement for the fisheries sector, and building a new trading relationship for our agrifood sector with Great Britain;
- representing Irish interests in the current reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and development of Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan;
- addressing environmental sustainability issues including climate, biodiversity and water quality;
- continuing to provide appropriate supports to primary producers; and
- the ongoing development of the agrifood sector generally, including trade, food safety and animal health and welfare issues.
248. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the new policy on the islands will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2061/21]
View answer250. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the islands report will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1999/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 248 and 250 together.
Prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic my Department had been engaged in a process of consultation with island communities in relation to the development of a new Islands Policy. This consultation was carried out through structured public meetings on the islands. The consultation process had to be temporarily suspended due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and to avoid health risks both for the island communities and Departmental officials.
The consultation process was re-commenced through an on-line format in the final quarter of 2020 and will conclude shortly. The Department will also consult with other key stakeholders such as Government Departments and Local Authorities through an on-line approach.
In the meantime, arrangements are being made to convene a meeting in the coming weeks of the Inter-Departmental Committee which was established to oversee the development of the Islands Policy.
The Committee will review progress to date and consider the main messages which have emerged from the consultation process. The scope and structure for the drafting of the new policy will also be agreed at that meeting, and the final phases of the consultation process involving discussions with individual Departments will be mapped out.
I envisage that the new Islands Policy will be published in the second half of this year. The policy will be a significant milestone for our offshore islands and will include recommendations to support a cross-Departmental approach to the future development of the islands.
249. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when the new policy on rural development will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2062/21]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, my Department has been working on a new Rural Development Policy as a successor to the Action Plan for Rural Development. The new policy will be forward looking and ambitious, reflecting a whole-of-Government commitment to rural Ireland. It will have a five year horizon, and will seek to strengthen the resilience of our rural communities and economies, including in response to the impact of COVID-19.
The pandemic has emphasised the interdependence between rural and urban areas and that strong, vibrant rural communities are vital to enhancing our national wellbeing and realising a sustainable and inclusive recovery where no-one is left behind.
In developing the new policy, my Department has carried out a wide range of consultations with key stakeholders, including Government Departments, State Agencies, rural groups, young people and the wider public. The insights and views captured through this extensive process have helped to identify the issues that matter most to people living and working in rural Ireland.
In addition, further consultation was carried out to ensure that the impact of the COVID pandemic on rural areas has been appropriately considered and will be reflected in the policy.
The policy is currently in the final stages of drafting and I hope to bring it to Government for approval shortly, prior to publication.
