Written Answers Nos. 1109-1127
1109. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2005 of 24 March 2021, if the Forestry Service inspectorate has any authority outside that outlined on the maps issued; if the inspectorate has any authority over land that is not forestry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21145/21]
View answerAll Forestry Inspectors in the Department are authorised officers under the Forestry Act 2014. The powers of authorised officers are laid down in Section 24 of the Forestry Act 2014. These powers include examining any lands to which the authorised officers have reasonable grounds for believing that the relevant statutory provisions apply.
1110. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2006 of 24 March 2021, the procedures the Forestry Service inspectorate must undertake before notifying the landowner and forestry company of suspending or cancelling a licence; the person or body that issues final authority on any licences that have been cancelled or suspended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21146/21]
View answerDistrict Inspectors may recommend suspension of a licence having regard to all the circumstances of the case, including non-compliance with any conditions. The decision to suspend a licence is made at administrative level.
Any such decision may be appealed to the Forestry Appeals Committee.
1111. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2008 of 24 March 2021, the cost of the various reports on aspects of forestry issued by Council for Forest Research and Development over the past five years; the bodies or consultants that were used to produce these reports in the timeframe; the expenditure on reports compiled by the Council in the same period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21147/21]
View answerThe COFORD Council does not have a budget or make payments to beneficiaries. However, on a case-by-case basis, the Department does provide funding to facilitate the work of individual COFORD working groups during each council term where specific needs are identified as being necessary for their work. Individual members of the COFORD Council, except those who are there as representataives of state bodies, also receive an annual stipend. This information has now been compiled below and is stated below;
2016
In 2016, the Department provided funding to working groups for the preparation and/or printing of the following reports, with a total cost of €34,759.50.
- All Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 2016-2035.
- COFORD connect notes.
- Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy.
2017
In 2017, the Department provided funding to working groups for the preparation and/or printing of the following reports, with a total cost of €40,609.56.
- Wood Supply and Demand on the Island of Ireland to 2025.
- Mobilising Irelands Forest Resource – meeting the challenges.
- COFORD Connects notes.
- Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy, review of policy and implementation.
2018
In 2018, the Department provided funding to working groups for the preparation and/or printing of the following reports, with a total cost of €75,024.73.
- Mobilising Irelands Forest Resource - Meeting the Challenges.
- Longer Term Forest Research.
- Forest Land Availability Implementation Group Report.
- Species Mixtures in Irish Forests.
- COFORD Connects notes.
2019
In 2019, the Department provided funding to working groups for the preparation and/or printing of the following reports, with a total cost of €6,249.88
- COFORD Forest Policy Review Group Report on ‘Forests, products and people - Ireland’s forest policy – a renewed vision, review of policy and implementation.
2020
In 2020, the Department provided funding for the preparation and/or printing of the following reports, with a total cost of €45,812.73
- Work to update the All Ireland Roundwood Production Forecast 2016-2035 out to 2040.
- The providers of services funded by these allocations listed from 2016-2020 were
- Ranelagh Print Bureau
- The Icon Group
- Silvalytics
- Drima Marketing.
- Arrow Print Management
- Commercial Forestry Services
- Henry Philips
- Alistair Pfeifer
- Mick Keane
- William Lorn Mason
1112. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question Nos. 2011 and 2012 of 24 March 2021, if any licence that was appealed and went to the Forestry Appeals Committee has been either set aside, cancelled or sent back to the Forestry Service due to the fact that a Forestry Service inspectorate had carried out the screening process and was not carried out by a qualified ecologist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21148/21]
View answerI understand the FAC has never cancelled, set-aside or remitted a licence on the grounds that a Forestry Inspector rather than an ecologist carried out the screening.
To assist in screening for appropriate assessment, Forestry Inspectors use a Standard Operational Procedures document and other documents produced with ecologist input.
1113. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 269 of 11 March 2021, the name of the two senior inspectors listed; the number of ecologists who are directly employed by his Department; the grade of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21149/21]
View answerThe two Senior Inspectors are Fergus Moore, Senior Inspector, Head of Forest Sector Development Division and Seamus Dunne, Senior Inspector, Head of Forestry Inspectorate Division.
Within Forestry in the Department, there are nine permanent ecologists. The Head of Ecology is at Forestry Inspector Grade 1 level, one ecologist is at Ecologist Grade 3 level and seven are at Assistant Agricultural Inspector (ecologist) grade.
In total, 21 full-time equivalent ecologists are working on forestry matters.
1114. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 269 of 11 March 2021, the number of the 32 grade three forestry inspectors listed in 2020 who are dealing with forestry licence applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21150/21]
View answerThere are currently 27 Forestry Inspectors Grade 3 who, amongst their duties, carry out work on licensing of files. This includes work associated with the licencing of forest road applications, afforestation applications and felling applications.
1115. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 269 of 11 March 2021, the breakdown of the exact running costs of the Forestry Service in 2018, 2019 and 2020; the details of travel and subsistence payments, office rental, office supplies, IT and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21151/21]
View answerThe Department has forestry personnel deployed to buildings all over the country, often shared with other Department personnel or indeed personnel from other Departments. Therefore, it is not possible to provide information on costs for the items requested for forestry personnel, separate to those for the entire Department.
The travel and subsistence costs for 2018 to 2020 for the three forestry divisions are outlined below.
|
Year |
TOTAL |
|
2018 |
€393,878.37 |
|
2019 |
€433,370.99 |
|
2020 |
€383,624.36 |
|
Total |
€1,210,873.72 |
1116. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a submission made in August 2012 by the NPWS (details supplied) regarding forestry licence applications was acted upon once received by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21152/21]
View answerI understand that the submission referred to from NPWS in 2012 was made to a sub-group of the COFORD Council called the COFORD Council Land Available Working Group. The purpose of the submission was to highlight to participants in the group the obligations under EU and national law when considering afforestation.
The paper usefully documented requirements in 2012. There was, and continues to be, ongoing engagement between the Department and the NPWS around environmental protection, especially in relation to requirements around the Habitats and Birds Directives and how to incorporate these into forestry licensing. The paper in itself did not provide new information to the Department.
1117. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way the project manager for the woodland project was selected; the qualifying criteria needed to fill the role; if the new project manager will be focusing on two roles; if not, if they will they have to dedicate all of their time to the new role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21153/21]
View answerProject Woodland, under the leadership of Minister of State Hackett who has responsibility for forestry, is an initiative to tackle issues in forestry in Ireland and to promote and encourage woodland creation. It involves four different Working Groups reporting to Minister of State Hackett through a Project Manager and a Project Board. The Project Board is being chaired by the Secretary General.
The Working Groups are working concurrently focusing on different areas. The first one is concentrating on the backlog, the second on a vision for forestry, the third on devising a fit for purpose organisational structure and communication, and the fourth on streamlining the licensing process for the future.
Each Working Group is made up of stakeholders drawn from the Forestry Policy Group and is chaired by an independent, experienced outsider. All Groups have met several times already and the Project Manager has updated the Project Board on the outcomes from those meetings, with good progress being made and plans for meeting the milestones and objectives of the Groups being put in place. These groups are supported, as appropriate, by resources within my Department.
In keeping with the recommendations in the Jo O'Hara report, the Department is recruiting a specific project management expert to assist on the implementation of the project. This person has been recruited externally under an existing contract and is scheduled to start with the Department in early May. This is a full-time role dedicated entirely to the implementation of Project Woodland with the person being based in my Department.
I am committed, along with Minister Hackett, to the success of Project Woodland and all appropriate resources across the Department will be in place to ensure that it can be delivered for the benefit of the forestry sector and society.
1118. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will consider putting in place a top-up payment on grant schemes to reflect the additional costs that disabled farmers incur in meeting the terms of the schemes in view of the fact that 13% of farmers have a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21193/21]
View answerMy Department is very conscious of ensuring access to services for farmers that have a disability, and aims to ensure that the needs of all its customers, including people with disabilities are met and that the rights of equal treatment are upheld in the delivery of services. In this regard, there are two Access Officers appointed who are responsible for providing or arranging for assistance and guidance to persons with disabilities accessing services provided by the Department. In addition, Department officials are available in all regions to help customers who have questions or concerns on any scheme operated by the Department.
Our website has been redesigned to comply with the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and National Disability Authority (NDA) guidelines and this includes ensuring content is at a suitable reading comprehension level. The on-line self-service options have been developed in a manner which means that customers are not obliged to visit an office and can complete their submissions from home, at a time and pace that suits them. The Department also operates phone helplines for customers that prefer to access our services in this manner and there is also an option for a customer to nominate a representative, such as a family member, to liaise with us on their behalf.
The majority of schemes run by the Department are co-funded by the European Union. In designing schemes included in our Rural Development Programme (RDP) which falls under the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the approval of these schemes by the European Commission was contingent on Ireland satisfying a range of what are termed 'ex ante conditionalities'. As part of this process, the Commission was required to confirm the involvement in the RDP consultation process of bodies responsible for the promotion of equal treatment across a range of areas, including disability. This requirement was also reflected in the membership of the RDP Monitoring Committee which was established in order to monitor the implementation of the schemes included in the RDP.
While the range of schemes administered by my Department do not contain specific top up payments, in the last Budget, I secured an important support for disabled farmers with the introduction of Accelerated Capital Allowances for farm safety equipment. This change to the capital allowance treatment of certain farm safety equipment and adaptive equipment for farmers with disabilities places a particular emphasis on supporting those who have suffered life-changing injuries as a result of incidents on farms. With an annual budget of €5m, eligible equipment includes modified controls and seating for farm vehicles as well as access lifts, hoists and wheelchair docking stations.
1119. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of afforestation, road and felling licence applications received by county; the number of decisions issued by county; the number of applications awaiting a decision by county in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21196/21]
View answer1120. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the licensing output for forestry licences in quarter 1 2021 and to date in 2021; the way in which this compares against the stated target of issuing 4,500 licences in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21197/21]
View answer1121. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which the total and average monthly forestry licensing output for 2021 to date compares to average monthly output in each of the years 2015 to 2020, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21198/21]
View answer1122. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the average waiting time for an afforestation licence in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21199/21]
View answer1131. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of new forestry planted by county in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21303/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1119, 1120, 1121, 1122 and 1131 together.
The Department makes available a selection of forestry statistics on the Department’s pages of the Government of Ireland website, gov.ie. A Forestry Dashboard is circulated weekly and provides details of outputs for that week, month, and year to date.
Data on afforestation, forest roads and felling licences broken down by county is being prepared and will be forwarded to the Deputy.
Note: Quality data is only available from 26th April 2016 for afforestation and forest road applications and from 24th May 2017 for private tree felling licences, unless otherwise indicated below.
To 23rd April, the number of licences issued this year issued is 1,012. I expect this output to continue to increase over the coming quarters, to achieve the target of 4,500 licences for the year.
|
Scheme |
Licences |
Area (ha)/ Length (m) |
Volume (m3) |
|
Felling |
600 |
6,429.53 |
1,897,711.50 |
|
Afforestation |
203 |
1,788.96 |
|
|
Roads |
209 |
89,448 |
|
|
Total licences |
1,012 |
|
|
The Department publishes monthly reports of licensing and other outputs on the Department’s website and those reports are available from 2016. Therefore, the average monthly output of forestry licences in each of the years from 2016 to date is provided below.
The total number of licences issued per month is indicated in the table below for the years 2016 to end March, 2021
Average number of licences issued per month for the year indicated.
|
2016 |
236 |
|
2017 |
131 |
|
2018 |
137 |
|
2019 |
148 |
|
2020 |
72 |
|
2021 |
95 |
Average time in months from date advertised to date of decision is indicated below.
The amount of new forestry planted by county, from 2015 to 2020 in hectares is below.
1123. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will lift the restrictions and allow farmers selling at marts to attend at the mart for the sale given that many farmers do not have access to proper broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21200/21]
View answerSince the outbreak of COVID-19, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has worked closely with representatives of the marts to ensure that their operations could continue. I commend mart staff, management and their farmer customers for the resilience and co-operation that they have shown and the speed with which they have adapted to these circumstances, ultimately to keep people safe.
Under the current COVID-19 restrictions, mart sales rings are closed in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 being spread when people are present in an area together. The Department continues to monitor the situation, and to adapt measures applied to marts in line with public health guidelines. We must continue to act responsibly to limit the spread of the disease. We must adhere to the public health guidelines, therefore, marts will remain online for the time being.
Livestock marts have systems in place to conduct online auctions and are continuing to operate. Cattle throughput from 1st January to 14th March 2021 was at 94% of the comparable period in 2020 (310,804 versus 329,807 head). Sheep throughput in the same period was at 100% of the comparable period for 2020 (172,272 v 172,250 head).
Online sales reach a much higher number of farmers and agents than in-person sales do. Marts are reporting good clearance rates and robust prices.
On 1st March, I launched the Marts ICT Infrastructure Scheme 2021. Livestock marts can apply to my Department for a grant to a maximum of €5,000 to cover 50% of expenditure by a mart on necessary ICT infrastructure. Further information is available at gov.ie - Livestock Mart Licence Application (www.gov.ie).
I look forward to marts being able to welcome back thier customers around the ring when it is safe to do so.
1124. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of funding of the €1.8 billion allocated to his Department announced in Budget 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21261/21]
View answerA total of €1.826 billion was allocated to my Department in Budget 2021. The following table summarises the breakdown of the allocation across the Department’s voted expenditure programmes.
|
Programme Expenditure |
Current |
Capital |
Total |
|
|
€000 |
€000 |
€000 |
|
A. Food Safety, Animal & Plant Health & Animal Welfare |
305,527 |
17,446 |
322,973 |
|
B. Farm/ Sector Supports & Controls |
761,748 |
175,340 |
937,088 |
|
C. Policy & Strategy |
355,420 |
42,861 |
398,281 |
|
D. Seafood Sector |
104,130 |
63,646 |
167,776 |
|
Gross Total |
1,526,825 |
299,293 |
1,826,118 |
|
E. Appropriations-in-Aid |
363,789 |
- |
363,789 |
|
Net Total |
1,163,036 |
299,293 |
1,462,329 |
The full breakdown of expenditure by Subhead for the Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Vote 30) is set out in the published Revised Estimates Volume, which can be found at the following link:
gov.ie - The Revised Estimates Volumes for the Public Service (www.gov.ie)
1125. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason commonage lands and lands containing heather are excluded from the proposed results based environment agriculture pilot programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21262/21]
View answer1130. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if it will be ensured that commonage land and land with heather is included as being eligible for payments under the results-based environment-agri pilot project scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21280/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1125 and 1130 together.
The Results Based Environment Agri Pilot Project (REAP) is an ambitious environmental project designed to test the results based approach on a variety of farm types. The project will feed into the development of the next national agri-environment scheme to follow on from GLAS. Similar to the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) projects, REAP is designed to focus on key learning objectives.
The REAP scorecard based system has been developed to assess the sustainability of agricultural grasslands and is not designed to assess other habitat types such as those typically found on commonages and lands containing heather. It is a targeted measure for farmers not currently particpating in other agri-environment schemes.
The REAP project is a short-term transitional measure which uses additional funding I secured in the budget for farmers for this year. This necessitated a quick turnaround on scheme design in order to have the scheme launched, the actions complete by the farmer and money paid to the participating farmers by the end of the year. We are on track to achieve this currently but it is an extremely tight timeframe.
It should be noted that several EIP projects are testing measures/scorecards on these types of land and it is important to avoid duplicating the work of the other projects. For example, EIPs such as the Hen Harrier Project, Pearl Mussel Project, the North Connemara Locally Led Agri-environmental Scheme, A Sustainable Agricultural Plan for the MacGillycuddy Reeks, Sustainable Uplands Agri-environment Scheme SUAS, Inishowen Upland Farmers Project as well as the Blackstairs Farming Futures (BFF) Sustainable Farming Project include these land types.
The commonage action is also being under taken by 9,000 farmers in the GLAS scheme, including those in Tranches 1 and 2 of the scheme who have opted to extend their GLAS contracts and for an additional year in 2021.
I am committed to supporting the long term sustainability of upland hill and commonage farming. These farmers contribute massively in terms of biodiversity and ensuring we have balanced regional development. I, and the rest of the Government, unashamedly support these farmers and will continue to do so in the next CAP.
1126. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which the €79 million for agri-environmental pilot measures in the 2021 budget is being spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21276/21]
View answerI secured an additional €79 million, including €23 million carbon tax, in Budget 2021 to support action in the area of biodiversity, climate, environment and health and safety, all the while supporting farm incomes.
My intention is to allocate the funding as follows:
- Re-opening of the organic farming scheme €5m,
- Straw Incorporation measure (SIM) €10m,
- Agri-environment training for farmers €10m,
- REAP – Results based environment-agri pilot projects €10m,
- Soil sampling €10m,
- Farm Environmental Study €5m,
- TAMS environment €20m,
- Rewetting EIP – €3m,
- Continuous Professional Development for advisors €1m,
- Health and safety initiatives under EIP-AGRI €1m,
- Biodiversity actions for farmers and communities €1.25m and
- Peatland rejuvenation €3m.
EU approval is required and my Department has submitted the tenth amendment to the Rural Development Programme (RDP) to the European Commission for its approval, after which the final allocation of the €79 million funding will be decided.
1127. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the rationale for selecting farmers based on either the lowest stocking rate for farmers with less than 140kg N/ha stocking rate or farmers with greater than 140kg N/ha stocking rate for the results-based environment-agri pilot project scheme; if he will provide a response to the criticism from farming organisations that this approach excludes the vast majority of medium intensity farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21277/21]
View answerThe Results Based Environment Agri Pilot Project (REAP) is designed to test the results based concept in the broadest possible range of farming conditions. Ranking and selection of applicants will only take place if the project is oversubscribed. In this event, two separate groups will be identified based on their stocking levels, one with less than 140kg N/ha stocking rate and one for farmers with greater than 140kg N/ha stocking. This is to ensure that the two score cards developed can be tested on the appropriate enterprise types.
The Low Input Grassland scorecard has been designed to be largely suited to extensive farmer and the Multi-Species Ley has been designed with medium intensive farmers in mind. Hence, the need for two groups. It is important to note that these groups themselves are not in direct competition with each other, but will be used to ensure we get a proportionate uptake from each group to test the aforementioned score cards.
Applicants will then be ranked against other applicants within their group on their water status, proportion of Natura levels and proportion of ANC levels. Consideration may also be given to ensuring a sufficient geographical spread.
Stocking rates are not a criteria in this process once the applicant has been allocated to their appropriate group and thus no farmers are excluded due to stocking rate. Further details on this project are available on the Department’s section of the Government website.
I want the REAP pilot to support farmers of all size and scale. By carrying out actions on 10ha of land, it means that both larger and smaller farmers can benefit from.
