Written Answers Nos. 2528-2546
2529. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his Department will publish a plan and funding scheme for schools and colleges to provide access to land on which students can grow their own food as detailed in the Programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19889/21]
View answerThe commitment in the Programme for Government is that "we will encourage schools and colleges to provide access to land where students can grow their own food".
Great benefits can derive for communities, including our schools, through promoting access to healthy food and a shared learning of food production and of the environment in which we live.
The Deputy will be aware no doubt of the Incredible Edibles initiative run by Agri-Aware, a private Irish agri-food educational body. It is established as a charitable trust funded by the Irish farming and agri-food industry and is sponsored by a number of private and public organisations including my Department and State Bodies under my remit. Incredible Edibles is a healthy eating initiative for Primary School pupils. It encourages schools across the country to get busy growing carrots, lettuce, potatoes, strawberries, turnips and herbs. Schools are supplied with grow packs containing everything they need to grow a feast of healthy foods. Accompanying measures such as curriculum linked activity sheets, a log book, a growing planner and videos are available on the website. Everything that is needed to learn about where food comes from and the importance of fruit, vegetables and potatoes is also available to download.
The Deputy may also be aware of the EU School Scheme incorporating both the School Fruit and Vegetables Scheme (implemented in Ireland as Food Dudes) and the School Milk Scheme (as Moo Crew), both involving the distribution of ready to eat fresh fruit, vegetables and drinking milk to school children over the school year. My Department has policy oversight for the implementation of that scheme.
I am a great supporter of these school-based schemes and recently announced the launch of new educational videos to schools featuring sporting heroes who are strong role models for children in terms of encouraging the promotion of a healthy eating lifestyle as part of a balanced diet.
I understand that my colleague, the Minister for Education,Norma Foley in terms of the remit of her Department over such matters, supports the use of school facilities for recreational and community use, subject to the agreement of the owner of the property and taking into consideration the needs of the school, staff and students. Officials of my Department will be engaging with colleagues in that Department on this cross cutting commitment to explore options on how the commitment can be best be achieved.
2530. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2049 of 24 March 2021, if he will respond concisely in relation to the afforestation level he expects his Department will achieve for 2021; if he has a clear position or understanding on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19901/21]
View answer2531. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason his Department issued only four afforestation licences for the week ending 15 March 2021 given that 9,600 hectares are stuck in his Department’s system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19902/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 2530 and 2531 together.
The Deputy will be aware that as part of the Government’s Climate Action Plan 2019, the annual target of 8,000ha of new afforestation has been set and that is our aim. I would strongly encourage those that have approval to plant afforestation, to arrange planting and once planted, to enjoy the generous annual premiums, available under the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme. However, I note that all forestry schemes are voluntary and therefore the level of planting is dependant on landowners who have received approval already for 4,500 hectares actualising their licences and those landowners who will receive approval this year to proceed to plant also.
The Forestry Dashboard for week ending 19th March, noted that a total of 15 forestry licences issued – one tree felling licence, four afforestation and 10 for forest road works. In addition to this, seven licences that had been remitted to my Department following appeal to the Forestry Appeals Committee (FAC) were reissued. This was clearly an outlier week relative to every other week to date this year.
The average number of licences issuing year to date is 65 new licences every week. In Quarter 1, this year, afforestation licences are up 18% (in hectares), road licences are up 147% (in km) and felling up 56% (in m3 ) when compared to same quarter last year.
We are still committed to meeting our target of 4,500 new licences for 2021 and it is essential that we do so. There will be weeks within the year when the figures fluctuate, and it is important to keep the focus on the high-level targets for the year which are needed for the sector to continue to develop.
There are factors that can influence the figures and, in the month of March, the impact on the high-level figures is because Coillte now have almost all their licensing requirements already issued for 2021.
As for private forestry licences, we are continuing to aim to improve output, mindful of the additional resources deployed in recent months. The Working Groups under Project Woodland continue to meet and engagement has been positive. Working Group 4 – Process Improvement will be looking at licensing processes, including the forestry regulation process; environmental reports and assessments; and training courses as part of their remit. I look forward to further updates on the progress of these groups and the Project as a whole.
2532. Deputy Matt Shanahan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will support the implementation of a new BEAM scheme (details supplied) given predicted oversupply of beef product in the meat sector here due to international factors relating to Covid-19 restrictions and increased output in the dairy sector here as pursued by Teagasc; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19966/21]
View answerThe nature of all markets is that the price will fluctuate especially in the case of market disturbance, as has been evidenced during the COVID-19 crisis and also the prolonged uncertainty surrounding Brexit. My Department continuously monitors the market situation for beef and other agri-food commodities, with a view to responding to crisis situations where possible.
A good example of such a response is the €50 million funding provided for the Beef Finishers Payment (BFP) under the COVID-19 temporary state aid framework. The Beef Finishers Payment (BFP) provided support for beef finishers who were most affected by the market disturbance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
My Department and I are working to ensure that business and services to farmers can continue, keeping food and other processing facilities operational, ensuring that payments and commercial activities that are necessary to protect farm incomes can continue. In addition, my Department continues to monitor the broader context and specifically any market impact of COVID-19.
On a wider level, my Department provides a range of financial aids to support beef farm incomes and to support economic and environmental efficiency. The core support for the beef sector under the current RDP is the €300 Million Beef Data and Genomics Programme. In addition to this support, over the last two years, over €200 million of additional supports were made available specifically to the beef sector, including the BEAM and BEEP schemes in 2019 and the Beef Finishers Payment and BEEP-S in 2020. In addition, the Beef Sector Efficiency Pilot with allocation of €45 million has been launched recently. I have also, for the first time, secured €6m in funding to promote our world-class suckler brand abroad.
In relation to the market situation in 2021, the week 14 (commencing 05/04/21) R3 Steer price is 10.5% above last year's price, while year to date slaughter is 11.7% down on the same period in 2020. Further details are available on my Department's website at the following link:
gov.ie - Meat Market Reports (www.gov.ie)
2534. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the pilot scheme entitled the general employment permit for horticulture workers, meat processing operatives and dairy farm assistants is to be reinstated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20015/21]
View answerResponsibility for both policy and operational matters relating to work permits is with my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD. However, our Departments do liaise on matters relating to the agriculture sector. The pilot scheme introduced in 2018 for a limited quota of employment permits on horticulture and dairy farms and in meat processing was as a result of an acute shortage of labour in those specific areas. This was at a time when the Irish economy was at or near full employment and sufficient labour could also not be sourced from within the European Economic Area (EEA).
While I am aware that finding sufficient labour continues to be challenging for parts of the agri-food sector, it is unlikely that the scheme will be reinstated, given the large numbers of unemployed individuals both here in Ireland and across the EEA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment permits are only considered when all other potential sources of labour have been shown to be unsuccessful.
2535. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to recruit seasonal horticulture workers, meat processing operatives and dairy farm assistants to tackle the current labour shortage in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20016/21]
View answerThe agri-food sector can be labour intensive, producing, processing and distributing food requires the work and expertise of many different people in many different roles. In addition, the demand for labour is often seasonal. Tackling labour shortages requires a multi-faceted approach and all parts of the sector need to plan their labour requirements.
Where shortages occur, employers can avail of the services of the Department of Social Protection (DSP), namely Intreo and EURES. My Department, along with Teagasc and the IFA, worked with DSP last year on the ‘Help2Harvest’ campaign to fill vacancies on horticulture farms and I am glad to see that this collaboration has continued this year.
A dedicated Help2Harvest 2021 online jobs fair takes place on 22nd April. The #Help2Harvest2021 Jobs Day aims to assist employers to recruit jobseekers for seasonal and permanent horticultural roles in Ireland. The platform being used for the event is provided by the European Commission, as part of the EURES social mobility programme, and will be targeted at Irish and European job seekers. In relation to dairy farm labour, the People in Dairy Action Plan set out six key areas for action to improve the attraction and retention of labour. I am informed that Teagasc have recently allocated additional resources to drive the implementation of the actions in that report. A further key area that the agriculture sector must continue to investigate is the role of automation and new equipment and technology and I note that this features prominently in the draft Agri-Food Strategy 2030, currently out for public consultation. I know that the pilot employment permit scheme introduced in 2018 for some parts of the agri-food sector was also an important tool for filling labour shortages. However, while there are high levels of unemployed people seeking work both here at home and across the European Economic Area as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this option is not viable. Employment permits are only considered when all other potential sources of labour have been shown to be unsuccessful.
2536. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of tree felling licences that have been approved since June 2020; the number of these licences that were for Coillte; the number that were for private growers; the average time between the submission of the licence and approval for both Coillte licences and private licences; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20054/21]
View answerI am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and the timber industry and considerable efforts have been made to address them. Significant additional resources have been recruited and training, information and guidance has been provided to both Departmental staff and registered foresters and, as a result, we have seen gains in terms of output.
The introduction of Project Woodland, recently launched by Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry, is our strategy for resolving the licensing issues. This new structure aims to ensure that the current backlog is addressed. The Project involves a review and refresh of our processes and procedures and includes outside stakeholder participation to bring an independent perspective. It is a task-driven process, with clear deliverable and milestones.
A target to issue 4,500 licences in 2021 has been set which is a 75% increase on 2020. The number of private and Coillte tree felling licences issued since June 2020 and the average time to decision is in the table below.
I remain confident that the changes presented under the Project Woodland structure to processes within my Department will bear fruit, particularly to give confidence to all applicants that they can receive a timely decision on their forestry licence application.
|
June 2020 - March 2021 |
No. Issued |
Avg. time to issue |
|
Private Felling |
700 |
11 months |
|
Coillte Felling |
877 |
8.5 months |
2537. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when an updated national strategic plan for sustainable aquaculture development will be published. [20057/21]
View answerMy Department published Ireland's first National Strategic Plan for Sustainable Aquaculture Development in 2015. The Plan is a requirement of the Common Fisheries Policy and each Member State prepared similar plans aligned with the 2013 EU Strategic Guidelines for the Sustainable Development of EU Aquaculture. These plans were intended to cover the period up to 2020, so that they further aligned with the programming period for the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
Over the course of the past year, the European Commission has been preparing an update of its 2013 Guidelines. In order to ensure that Member States' National Strategic Plans continue to be aligned with and support implementation of the EU Guidelines and also to align National Strategic Plans with the new European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund for the 2021-27 period, Member States have been working on new National Strategic Plans.
My Department has been working closely with Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Marine Institute in preparing the new Plan and has engaged with a broad range of stakeholders to obtain their views and input to the draft Plan. A Strategic Environmental Assessment of the draft Plan is also ongoing. In due course a full Public Consultation will be undertaken. I expect that the new Plan will be published later this year.
2538. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce an amendment to section 49 of the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006 to ensure that the final report of a complaints officer as part of the complaints procedure of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority is made available to the complainant and the authority. [20069/21]
View answerThere would be three main sets of issues that would need to be considered in relation to this matter namely: the interests of fair procedures and transparency; data protection and privacy; and any other relevant legal aspects.
Taking these into account, I will reflect generally on the issue raised by the Deputy.
2539. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if the detailed design phase as recommended on page 46 of the final quay wall peer review report has commenced in relation to the Ros a Mhíl deepwater quay project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20107/21]
View answerThe Fishery Harbour Centres Act 1968 established the concept of fishery harbours in the State and invested their management in the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine took over responsibility for the Fishery Harbour Centres (FHCs) in October 2007. Ros an Mhíl is one of six Fishery Harbour Centres, the others are located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth and Killybegs.
Funding is made available on an annual basis by my Department to the FHCs, including Ros an Mhíl, via the Fishery Harbour and Coastal Infrastructure Development Programme. A phased programme for the infrastructural development of Ros an Mhíl FHC has been progressed over the last number of years, which has seen a significant investment. In total, approx €31.6m has been invested in capital developments at Ros an Mhíl FHC between 2000 and 2020.
The possibility of a deep-water berthing project at Ros an Mhíl FHC has been mooted for some time and no decision has been made to invest in its development. Any decision to decide to proceed to a detailed design phase of this project would be predicated on an overall decision to proceed with the project as a whole.
As is the case with all developments in the six Fishery Harbour Centres generally, any future decision with regard to formally initiating this project in Ros an Mhíl FHC, will only be considered on the basis of available exchequer funding and competing national priorities.
2540. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount in euro and the number of persons who were in arrears for their harbour dues (details supplied) in each of the years 2010 to 2020, in tabular form. [20154/21]
View answerMy Department owns, manages and maintains the six State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl. Charges for the use of the facilities at each of the six Fishery Harbour Centres are set out in secondary legislation by means of the Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates and Charges) Order 2012 (S.I. No. 214 of 2012) which came into effect on the 1st July 2012. Income from these charges, rental income and other miscellaneous fees and charges pay for the day to day operational costs of the Fishery Harbour Centres.
All overdue debt is systematically monitored and followed up by the Department, and procedures, (including the institution of legal proceedings) are in place to pursue recovery of all outstanding debt.
Details of greater than 30 day debt across the six Fishery Harbour Centres is set out in the attached table.
2541. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount in euro and the number of persons who received a discount on their harbour bill (details supplied) in each of the years 2010 to 2020, in tabular form. [20155/21]
View answerMy Department owns, manages and maintains the six State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres, located at Castletownbere, Dingle, Dunmore East, Howth, Killybegs and Ros An Mhíl. The Fishery Harbour Centres (Rates and Charges) Order 2012 (214 of 2012), which came into effect on 1st July 2012, sets out the fee schedule for the use of the facilities at each of the six Fishery Harbour Centres. Different rates apply according to the type of service provided.
As the rates and charges applicable in respect of services are prescribed in the Rates and Charges Order referred to above, there is no provision in the Order for discounts to be applied in respect of any rate or charge.
2542. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if Coillte receive preferential treatment when applying to the forest service licence system in relation to the provision of site-specific harvesting plans and replanting plans for its individual sites (details supplied); if so, his views on whether this is an anticompetitive practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20184/21]
View answerThe control of tree felling is regulated under the Forestry Act, 2014 and the Forestry Regulations, 2017 (SI number 191/2017).
The provision of a harvest plan at application stage is not a legal requirement. However, applicants are encouraged to include them with their licence application. Where not provided at application stage, the Department often subsequently requires a harvest plan or other information about the felling so that the Department can satisfy itself that that the project will not have an adverse effect on the environment.
All application documentation for applications received since 11th January this year is now available in my Department’s Forestry Licence Viewer (FLV). Documentation in relation to the assessment of these applications will be available in the FLV at the time of decision.
Every application for a forestry licence is assessed on its own merits and in combination with other plans or projects in the area and so other information including an NIS may also be required to fully assess the proposed operations.
Decisions on Coillte felling applications are subject to the same assessment, puiblic consultation and appeals process as decisions on private sector applications.
2543. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a forestry plantation application by a person (details supplied) will be processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20223/21]
View answerAn application for the Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme was submitted on behalf of the person named in January 2020 and has been referred to my Department’s Ecology Unit. The impact of any forestry operations on nearby designated sites and the surrounding area, must be carefully considered before deciding on the application.
The application has been assigned to an ecologist and work on the ecological assessment is underway. Notwithstanding that an Appropriate Assessment Pre-Screening Report was submitted by the registered forester on behalf of the applicant, further information relating to the application may be required to complete the ecological assessment.
If there are no requests for further information, I expect that the ecologist will complete work on the application within the next two months. The application will then be returned to the forestry inspector, who will complete the assessment of the application and if all is in order, issue their recommendations. These recommendations will form part of the decision, which will be sent to the person named and their registered forester, when available.
2544. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the action being taken to deal with the lengthy delays for those applying for forestry felling licences (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20253/21]
View answer2545. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the current process for felling licences; the number of ecologists employed in the section; his plans to increase the number of staff in that area to deal with the long delays for ecology reports for applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20269/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 2544 and 2545 together.
I am aware of the issues facing the forestry sector and the timber industry and considerable efforts have been made to address them. The Department has invested heavily in both ecologist and forestry Inspector resources over the last 18 months in order to meet the needs of the licencing system. We now have 21 full-time equivalent ecologists where previously we had one just 18 months ago. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the licencing output with, for example, almost three million m3 of felling licences issuing from last October to January. The total number of tree felling licences issued to end March this year is up 53% on last year, by timber volumes licensed, and up by 15% on felling licences issued. In total in 2021, my Department has issued 564 tree felling licences.
We acknowledge that the progress that has been made needs to be improved and sustained. Consequently, we are implementing internal changes to improve output including training, increased assistance to ecologists in the preparation of files, improved IT resources for ecologists and other system improvements. In addition, we are engagement intensively with the sector who also have a role to play by is focusing on improvement in the quality and consistency of applications and subsequent information including NISs.
Through Project Woodland, there is now a dedicated working group around the Backlog and establishing KPIs and a separate working group is charged with examining our internal processes that includes an end-to-end review of systems to ensure that they are made more efficient and are environmentally robust. We are recruiting project management and systems analyst expertise to assist in this process.
Overall we have set ourselves a target to issue 4,500 licences in 2021 which is a 75% increase on 2020.
I remain hopeful and confident that the changes presented under the Project Woodland structure to processes within my Department will bear fruit, particularly to give confidence to all applicants that they can receive a timely decision on their forestry licence application.
2546. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has examined recent reports of suppliers in the dairy industry using price mechanisms to limit the supply of milk; his views on whether this may be in contravention of EU regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20272/21]
View answerI am aware of reports of a processor in the dairy industry stating its intention to introduce temporary measures to manage milk supplies during the peak production months from 2022. However, determination of pricing and supply mechanisms is a commercial matter for processors and suppliers, in which I as Minister,have no role.
The impact of peak milk production, which has been managed to date through co-operation in the dairy industry, is nonetheless an issue on which I would encourage all processors to engage with their suppliers. It is vital that this engagement takes place in advance of the yearly dairy breeding season in order to allow suppliers to plan their milk production accordingly.
Whilst milk production in Ireland has increased significantly since the removal of milk quotas in 2015, the rate of increase has reduced in recent years. It is important that processors and their suppliers work together to ensure that the Irish dairy sector can effectively manage the next stage in the development of a sustainable Irish dairy sector.
