Written Answers Nos. 390-400
390. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the degree if any to which rare bovine herds or sheep flocks are protected or otherwise encouraged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27397/21]
View answerI believe that it is important to ensure the preservation and protection of rare breed farm animals as a genetic resource for future generations and for the benefit of agriculture in general. The Rare Breeds measure in my Department's GLAS Scheme sets out to retain and, where possible, increase populations of specific rare breed animals (including bovines and ovines) to ensure their long-term protection and survival. The scheme encourages farmers to register with a relevant breed society and maintain registered purebred stock during the scheme's lifetime. Payment is made in arrears based on the monthly average livestock units of owned registered animals over the previous recording year. There are currently in the region of 870 herds availing of this measure.
Similarly, a grant is provided to encourage the maintenance of a number of herds of Kerry Cattle and the creation and maintenance of a sufficient reserve of purebred breeding stock in that regard. My Department also provides a small grant to assist organisations conserve and protect Irish rare breed farm animals.
In addition my Department facilitates rare breed conservation through the Genetic Resources Grant Aid Scheme (GRGAS) which has been in place since 1996. The Scheme has an annual call for projects aimed at supporting the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture. Funding has been provided for a diverse range of projects such as raising awareness and educating the general public in the importance of genetic resources, for participation in internationally recognised research and collaboration with European and other international partners in the field of animal genetic resources. The effects of the grant aid are far reaching and play a vitally important role in fulfilling Ireland's international obligations in relation to the conservation of animal genetic resources.
391. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if grant support is available for agricultural underpasses and bridges in cases in which there are road safety concerns for animals, pedestrians and vehicles particularly given the fact that the setback distances from the edge of roadways has been increased to six metres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27398/21]
View answerThere are a wide variety of items available under the suite of seven measures under TAMS II. To date, total expenditure under TAMS II, including transitional expenditure, has reached €285m with commitments made to scheme participants who have yet to draw down those commitments of approximately €153m
Over 39,800 applications have been approved under the scheme. All outstanding approvals issued represent potential outstanding liabilities for the Department and we must have a budget in place to pay these claims. It is not possible to consider adding additional items such as cattle underpasses to the comprehensive list of investment items already available under TAMS II.
Development of the interventions for the CAP Strategic Plan (2023-2027) is underway but no decision has been made yet in relation to the interventions to be included under the new Capital Investment Scheme for the CAP Strategic Plan (2023-2027).
392. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the location and entitlements leased by a person (details supplied) who had entitlements leased from a person given that they are not shown on either their herd number or the owners identification number; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27418/21]
View answerThe person named had eight entitlements leased in from a third party with a lease end date of 31st December 2020. When the lease expired, the entitlements reverted back to the third party. The person named was advised of this by the Department along with the options available to them.
The Department has received an application to renew this lease and transfer the entitlements back to the person named. Transfer of entitlements applications are being processed in the order in which they were received and this application will be processed in due course.
393. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of civil servant posts that were filled through open and internal panels, since April 2020, in his Department and the bodies under the aegis of his Department, by county and by month in tabular form. [27594/21]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine utilises Workforce Planning processes to identify all critical resource requirements to deliver its business goals. Workforce planning is a key tool to facilitate management of Department’s staffing needs, subject to the limits of the annual estimates process, budgetary constraints and approvals by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The Workforce Plan ensures a long-term, proactive and strategic plan by which my Department places the right people, with the right skills, in each location and Division. The attached document provides the assignment data as requested by the Deputy.
The question of staffing levels in the State Agencies under the aegis of the Department is an operational matter, generally delegated to the Agencies themselves and I will ask the Agencies to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
394. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the breakdown of local authority applications to her Department’s grant schemes since May 2019 to date in 2021, in tabular form; the reason for each funding application; the amount sought by each application; the amount awarded to each application; the successful or unsuccessful status of each application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27131/21]
View answerMy Department has provided, in Appendix 1, details of the specific funding streams available to Local Authorities to apply for in tabular form and the amount awarded under each scheme to Local Authorities in each of the years 2019 and to date in 2021. The amount that has been given by county is provided in the attached Excel document.
Details of all my Department’s programmes can be found on the Government of Ireland website, gov.ie.
My Department works closely in cooperation with Local Authorities, providing core funding including the following:
- LCDC Additional Staff Resources (payments by DRCD to Local Authorities) this relates to a funding contribution from this Department towards the cost of additional staff to support the community function in local authorities. It is expected that these posts will continue to support the Local Community Development Committee arrangements and the implementation of Local Economic and Community Plans in particular.
- DRCD partial funding to 10 local authorities to support the employment of Atlantic Economic Corridor Officers. Payments (€30,000 annually) are allocated on the basis of these Local Authorities being part of the Atlantic Economic Corridor. The local authorities in the AEC are – Donegal County Council, Leitrim County Council, Sligo County Council, Roscommon County Council, Mayo County Council, Galway County Council, Galway City Council, Clare County Council, Limerick City and County Council, Kerry County Council.
- The Department co-funds the employment costs of a Broadband Officer in each of the 31 LAs. The department supports broadband officers with a grant of €42,000 per local authority.
- Public Participation Networks (PPNs) 31 PPNs nationally, funding of up to €50,000 per annum has been allocated by the Department to each PPN. Their main function is to enable the public to take an active formal role in relevant policy making and oversight committees of the local authority, such as LCDCs and SPCs. This funding supports the ongoing operation and development of the network of 31 PPNs nationally.
395. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department under the CLÁR scheme or another scheme supports the provision of infrastructure and footpaths in a location (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27143/21]
View answerThe CLÁR Programme provides funding under a number of different Measures for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population over a defined period. Measure 1 of the Programme provides supports to make access to school or community facilities safer for children and adults. However, it does not typically provide funding for infrastructure in the type of location referred to by the Deputy.
Nonetheless, under my Department’s Local Improvement Scheme (LIS), Local Authorities can allocate up to 25% of their annual allocation of funding to improve "Amenity Roads" such as those serving the type of location referred to by the Deputy. On the 14th May last, I announced an allocation of €10.5 million for the Scheme for 2021.
Finally, the Department of Transport may be in a position to assist as part of the funding it provides for walking and cycling facilities through its Rural Active Travel Investment Programme.
396. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if it is her plan to increase the proposed funding of LIS roads and CLÁR projects in cases in which there are suitable projects on hand in local authorities at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27264/21]
View answerThe CLÁR programme provides funding for small-scale infrastructural projects in designated rural areas that have experienced significant levels of de-population in the past. Since the programme was relaunched in 2016, it has provided funding of almost €39 million for over 1,600 projects.
I launched the 2021 programme on 15th March and I was pleased to secure a 10% increase in funding bringing the allocation for 2021 to €5.5 million.
The Local Improvement Scheme or LIS is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas, which are not under the normal maintenance of the Local Authorities. There was no dedicated funding stream for a number of years until the scheme was re-launched in 2017. Since then, over €58 million has been allocated to deliver the scheme on over 2,300 roads, which have benefited over 10,000 residents and landowners.
I launched the 2021 LIS on Friday 14th May last and I was also pleased to secure a 5% increase in funding for that Scheme, bringing the funding available for this year to €10.5 million. I also indicated at the launch of the Scheme that, subject to budget availability, I am exploring the potential to allocate further funding for the Local Improvement Scheme later this year.
397. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if a schedule will be provided of IT and email security costs incurred over the past five years to date; and the contractor engaged to deliver the services and or system. [27284/21]
View answerMy Department's ICT services are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).
I have been informed that the OGCIO implements a security-by-design and defence-in-depth approach to cyber security. The OGCIO continues to operate and monitor all relevant systems to the highest levels, and is closely engaged with experts in the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to ensure that best practice is implemented as it relates to all aspects of Cybersecurity.
For operational and security reasons, the OGCIO has been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise these efforts. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose information which might assist criminals to identify potential vulnerabilities in any Department's cybersecurity arrangements. Therefore no details can be disclosed in relation to cyber security tools and services.
398. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if her Department is fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements, the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to her Department’s IT infrastructure including Article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 Annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27345/21]
View answerAs part of its day to day operations, and in order to carry out tasks required in the course of the performance of our functions, my Department holds personal data for a range of purposes.
My Department is committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all its data subjects in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018. My Department has a Data Protection Policy in place and a Data Protection Officer as required by Article 37 of the GDPR. Any processing of personal data is performed in compliance with the principles relating to processing under the GDPR.
In relation to ICT in particular, my Department's ICT services are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).
I have been assured that the services provided by the OGCIO are fully compliant with the requirements of the GDPR. In reference to Article 29 of the GDPR in particular, I am also assured that the OGCIO, as a data processor, has taken all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised access to personal data through the use of appropriate security processes and controls. These processes and controls include the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, compliance, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services; and the ability to restore the availability and access to Personal Data in a timely manner in the event of a cybersecurity, physical or technical incident.
I understand that the OGCIO has adopted a defence-in-depth security strategy, which is achieved by utilisation of people, processes, and technology to support the implementation of ICT security services. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and the OGCIO works to continually enhance and strengthen ICT security to mitigate against emerging threats, risks, vulnerabilities and cybersecurity issues. In addition to deploying perimeter security measures, such as intrusion protection systems, software vulnerabilities are managed by maintaining up-to-date versions and aggressively deploying updates and patches to endpoints and applications as they become available.
The OGCIO has employed a policy of least privilege security principle. IT staff are only assigned security roles with levels of access which are essential to perform the tasks and duties associated with their functions. The allocation and usage of privileged user accounts is reviewed and monitored.
The OGCIO has developed an Information Security Management System (ISMS) aligned with the industry security standard ISO27001. This ISMS provides an overall governance framework for information security and sets out security policies, objectives, management oversight, practices and governance and ensures continual improvement of information security management. The OGCIO is on track to getting ISO 27001 certified in Q4 of 2021/Q1 2022.
399. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if any state or semi state bodies which report to her Department are fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements and the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to their IT infrastructure including article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27364/21]
View answerThe agencies under my Department's aegis are Water Safety Ireland (WSI), Pobal, the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) and the Western Development Commission (WDC).
As part of their day-to-day operations, and in order to carry out tasks required in the course of the performance of their functions those agencies hold personal data for a range of purposes.
Those agencies are committed to protecting the rights and privacy of all its data subjects in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018.
Each agency under my Department's aegis has a Data Protection Policy in place and a Data Protection Officer, as required by Article 37 of the GDPR. Any processing of personal data is performed in compliance with the principles relating to processing under the GDPR.
Water safety Ireland (WSI), Pobal, and the Charities Regulator (CRA) have confirmed compliance with GDPR EU requirements and the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to their IT infrastructure including article 29 of GDPR.
The EU Network and Information Security Directive applies to Operators of Essential Services, as identified by DCCAE, and Digital Service Providers. The WDC has not been identified as an Operator of Essential Services and is not a Digital Service Provider. However, the WDC engages continuously with its IT partners to protect against cyber threats.
Finally, the WDC is not certified to the ISO 27001 Standard. However, having reviewed Annex 9 in full, they are satisfied that their IT security policy addresses the criteria laid out in it. Furthermore, their IT support provider, who manages our IT infrastructure is IS027001 certified.
400. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of civil servant posts that were filled through open and internal panels, since April 2020, in her Department and the bodies under the aegis of her Department, by county and by month in tabular form. [27602/21]
View answerThe Department of Rural and Community Development was established on 19th July 2017 to provide a renewed and consolidated focus on rural and community development in Ireland.
I can confirm that Table A shows the number of civil servant posts filled through open and internal panels since April 2020 in the Department of Rural and Community Development:
Table A
|
Position |
Open/Internal |
County |
Month |
|
AO |
Open |
Dublin |
April 2020 |
|
AO |
Open |
Dublin |
June 2020 |
|
PO |
Open |
Mayo |
August 2020 |
|
TCO |
Open |
Mayo |
August 2020 |
|
TCO |
Open |
Mayo |
August 2020 |
|
AP |
Open |
Dublin |
October 2020 |
|
CO |
Open |
Dublin |
November 2020 |
|
EO |
Open |
Dublin |
January 2021 |
|
AO |
Open |
Dublin |
February 2021 |
|
AP |
Open |
Dublin |
February 2021 |
|
EO |
Internal |
Mayo |
April 2021 |
|
Assistant Secretary |
Open |
Dublin |
May 2021 |
The four bodies under the aegis of the department have not filled any posts with civil servants since April 2020.
Please note, the recruitment for the four agencies is a matter for the relevant boards and management of those agencies as they are independent entities.
