Seán Sherlock
Question:37. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of funding Coillte has been allocated for 2021 and 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38492/21]
View answerCoillte Teoranta
Questions (37)
Written answers
Coillte is a private commercial company established under the Forestry Act 1988 which operates in forestry and related activities and does not receive funding from the Exchequer by way of subvention or grant-in-aid. It has not been allocated funding under the Department's estimate process for 2021, nor will it for 2022. The Forestry Act provides among other things. that a principal object of the company is to carry on the business of forestry and related activities on a commercial basis
Coillte's Annual Report illustrated a solid financial performance in 2020 with the company succeeding in keeping wood and wood products moving in a challenging year, doubling and tripling visitor number to forest sites due a renewed interest in the outdoors and reforesting over 9,000 hectares.
While we do not fund Coillte, they may apply under certain Department funded schemes from time to time, in accordance with EU State-Aid rules. These include grants for afforestation and for approved applications under forestry support schemes aiming at improving the resilience and environmental value of forest ecosystems, such as the Native Woodland Conservation and the Woodland Improvement Schemes.
Furthermore, under the Coillte Nature initiative to create native woodlands and restore habitats in order to enhance ecosystem services, my Department intends to fund a pilot scheme for the establishment of native woodlands on cutaway industrial bogs. Coillte are currently partnering with Bord na Mona on this project and we expect to receive an application for this work in the very near future.
I also believe that Coillte can play a role in other afforestation initiatives under the Government's ambitions plans for climate action. I have asked them to consider what role they could play and to come forward with ideas for increasing new afforestation and I expect to hear from them soon on this.
Agriculture Industry
Questions (38)
Bernard Durkan
Question:38. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the extent to which he foresees the continued viability for the agri-food business notwithstanding the meeting of carbon reduction targets; his proposals for mutual coexistence of one with the other; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38179/21]
View answerWritten answers
The continued viability and sustainability of the agri-food sector is compatible with the requirement that the sector must contribute to our national climate targets.
The need to improve sustainability in all its forms – economic, environmental and social - has been at the core of the deliberations of the Stakeholder Committee established to develop a new 10-year Strategy for the agri-food sector. The Deputy will be aware that a draft of this Strategy was published in April as part of a public consultation.
That draft set a vision for Ireland to become a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the period to 2030. By pursuing this vision, the Strategy aims for Ireland to continue producing safe, nutritious, high-value food, while protecting and enhancing our environment and contributing to vibrant rural and coastal communities and the national economy.
It is clear from the draft Strategy that careful consideration has been given to the issue of meeting environmental targets, while also supporting the ongoing development and viability of the agri-food sector. The draft Strategy has established four high level Missions and these will guide the sector to achieving the triple objectives of economic, environmental and social sustainability.
Those Missions are:
- A Climate Smart, Environmentally Sustainable Agri-Food Sector.
- Viable and Resilient Primary Producers, with Enhanced Wellbeing.
- Food that is Safe, Nutritious and Appealing, Trusted and Valued at Home and Abroad; and
- An Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Sector, Driven by Technology and Talent.
It is also worth noting that the draft Strategy has set challenging environmental metrics for the sector to achieve, including the over-arching ambition to develop a climate neutral sector by 2050, with substantial verifiable progress by 2030. I note that a series of well-thought out actions are contained in the Strategy to help deliver on that ambition.
These build on the Ag Climatise Climate & Air Roadmap for the Agriculture Sector that I launched in December last. I want to re-assure the Deputy that efforts are well under way to implement the 29 actions contained in that roadmap.
Environmental Policy
Questions (39)
Michael McNamara
Question:39. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to ensure that peatlands are harvested in such a way that they are in the best possible condition for a planned and structured restoration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38653/21]
View answerWritten answers
In relation to peat extraction, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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.
In relation to planned and structured restoration of peatlands, on 7th September 2020, 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. After the publication of this report, Minister Noonan established a working group that includes 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 is addressing the key issues raised in the report itself, including the regeneration of the existing bogs for use in Paludiculture, Eco-Tourism, Carbon Farming, and Tree Farming as appropriate to optimise environmental outcomes.
Horticulture Sector
Questions (40)
Sorca Clarke
Question:40. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he will take to address the imminent crisis in the horticulture and mushroom sectors. [38522/21]
View answerWritten answers
In relation to peat extraction, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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.
Following the publication of the review of the use of Peat Moss in the Horticultural Industry report, Minister of State Malcolm 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 are addressing the key issues raised in the report itself, including future use of peat by the horticulture sector. The independent working group sent an interim report to Minister Noonan at the end of May for his consideration. Minister Noonan and his officials are currently examining the report.
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.
The Department also provides a support to the horticulture industry through the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Horticulture Sector. Financial support is available to assist growers and businesses through grant aid for capital investments in specialised plant and equipment including renewable energy, as well as technology adoption specific to commercial horticulture production. A 50% budget increase to €9 million has been secured for 2021 reflecting the importance of the sector. This Scheme is 100% funded by the Irish Government.
In addition, the Department administers the EU Producer Organisation Scheme for Fruit and Vegetables which allows growers jointly market their production in order to strengthen the position of producers in the marketplace.
Forestry Sector
Questions (41)
Seán Canney
Question:41. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he has addressed the shortcomings in terms of resources in his Department to deal with ecologist’s reports for tree felling licences in which there is a two year backlog in the application process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37228/21]
View answerWritten answers
The situation with forestry licensing is a key priority for the Department, Minister McConalogue and for me. I fully understand the seriousness of the situation with many landowners in terms of the delays encountered and the various issues with the wider sector.
I can assure the Deputy that ecology resources have been put in place and we will continue to invest in ecology resources. We now have approximately 24 full time equivalent ecologists working on forestry files. While crucial, resources are not the only solution to this licensing issues.
As part of Project Woodland, we are examining all options. This includes an end-to-end review of our systems and processes to be carried out by an external systems analyst that has already started work on this review. In addition, there will be a review of our legal and regulatory processes. This review, to be carried out by an independent expert, will include an examination of experiences in other Member States in licensing forestry activities and how they comply with EU legislation without experiencing the same issues that we have experienced in Ireland.
It is of course essential that any regulatory changes fully comply with EU law.
While these initiatives are being developed, the Department continues to pursue continual improvement. We have recently reviewed the systems for the preparation of Appropriate Assessment Screening Determinations, Appropriate Assessment Reports and Appropriate Assessment Determinations. Improvements have been made to the system to optimise the time of the ecologists to concentrate on the ecology aspects of each application.
Currently, these improvements are only applied to private tree felling licence (TFL) applications, which has already yielded results with increased licences issued. The ecologists have been working mostly on these felling applications in advance of the system being developed further for other licensed activities. In the coming days the system will be rolled out for processing road files and the development of the system improvement to assist with processing afforestation files will commence over the next few weeks.
To date this year (9th July), 1,836 forestry licences have issued – 1,164 tree felling; 308 afforestation and 364 forest road works licences. This represents 40% of the target of 4,500 licences to issue in 2021. The afforestation licences cover 2,695ha of potential new forestry. This is an increase of 21% on the area licensed to the same date in 2020 and a 5% increase in the number of afforestation licences issued.
Forest road works licence covering 151km of forest roads have issued to date. This far exceeds the Climate Action Plan target for 2021 of 125km of forest roads licensed.
A total volume of 3.594 million cubic metres has been licensed, which is 71% of the total volume licensed in 2020.
In relation to the private sector supply, we have increased substantially the number of felling licences in recent months due to several system improvements and continued investment in ecology resources. June was the highest month for private felling licences in over five years.
I would also like to remind the Deputy that Minister McConalogue and I and previous Ministers have brought in significant legislation in order to assist with the ongoing situation in the forestry sector. This includes SI 31 of 2020 that, amongst other things, allowed the Department to carry out Appropriate Assessments without the requirement of a Natura Impact Statement from the applicant. Also as you are aware I signed SI 417 of 2020 and SI 418 of 2020 and commenced the Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020 to bring in a range of measures largely to allow for a more efficient running of the Forestry Appeals Committee and to bring our systems in line with the planning process.
Research Funding
Questions (42)
David Stanton
Question:42. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the ongoing research projects being funded by his Department to address the challenges of climate change in the agricultural sector; the further assistance his Department plans to provide in progressing this research; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38548/21]
View answerWritten answers
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine provides significant funding for public good research through a range of both national and trans-national competitive mechanisms that is directed at building the evidence-base and providing solutions aimed at the adaptation and mitigation of climate change across the agriculture sector.
Since 2019, over €8 million has been committed to support nine ongoing national and four trans-national research projects to develop the necessary tools, technologies and practices to reduce and mitigate methane emissions from ruminant livestock and facilitate Irish agriculture’s move to increased carbon removal and efficiency.
The Department will continue to provide financial support to these projects, pending successful periodic monitoring by my officials, for compliance with the provisions of the grant award contracts agreed with the various institutions that are undertaking the research. Among those provisions is a requirement to widely disseminate the findings of the research to all relevant stakeholders through a variety scientific and popular media outlets.
Looking forward, the Department will provide further assistance and grant awards through the national competitive research call launched in December 2020. A central theme of this Call was Climate with the objective to support climate-smart research to improve, integrate and develop novel agriculture systems which support national greenhouse gas (GHG) / ammonia adaptation and mitigation goals, including the production of food, bio-based fuels, products and services, healthy soil systems, water and air quality, ecology and biodiversity.
The results of this competitive call will be known later this year and it is likely that I will then be in a position to announce additional funding for new climate-related projects that will further build scientific capacity and capability for climate-science in agriculture. Of course, this competitively allocated funding is additional to the grant-in-aid allocations to Teagasc of €147m in 2021, much of which goes towards research and advisory activities related to climate sustainability.
It is crucial to continually stay abreast and ahead of the research in order to best secure our sector.
Horticulture Sector
Questions (43)
Michael McNamara
Question:43. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will introduce a fair and workable licensing system to allow for the phasing out of horticultural peat harvesting over a transition period to 2030 but ensuring that there is a secure supply of growing media during that period in order that the sustainable horticultural sector is not jeopardised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38652/21]
View answerWritten answers
In relation to peat extraction, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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.
Following the publication of the review of the use of Peat Moss in the Horticultural Industry report, I am aware that Minister of State Malcolm 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 are addressing the key issues raised in the report itself, including future use of peat by the horticulture sector. The independent working group sent an interim report to Minister Noonan at the end of May for his consideration. Minister Noonan and his officials are currently examining the report.
In addition to these developments, the 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.
The Department also provides a support to the horticulture industry through the Scheme of Investment Aid for the Development of the Horticulture Sector. Financial support is available to assist growers and businesses through grant aid for capital investments in specialised plant and equipment including renewable energy, as well as technology adoption specific to commercial horticulture production. A 50% budget increase to €9 million has been secured for 2021 reflecting the importance of the sector. This Scheme is 100% funded by the Irish Government.
In addition, the Department administers the EU Producer Organisation Scheme for Fruit and Vegetables which allows growers jointly market their production in order to strengthen the position of producers in the marketplace.
Animal Welfare
Questions (44)
Cathal Crowe
Question:44. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he plans to introduce stricter legislation to ensure high levels of horse welfare. [38183/21]
View answerWritten answers
The Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 provides a modern framework for applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare and replaced a number of enactments dating back over a century. The Department has primary policy responsibility for the welfare of all animals, including equines.
The Act places clear obligations on owners to look after animals under their care. Neglect of, or causing unnecessary suffering to, animals is not acceptable and the Department continues to enforce the law in this important area.
Prosecutions under the Act have been pursued following investigations by authorised officers of the Department, An Garda Síochána and authorised officers of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. These officers investigate matters relating to animal cruelty and neglect and, where the evidence supports such action, a file prepared and the matter pursued through the Courts.
The Department works closely with these bodies and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved for their work in the field of animal welfare.
In summary, the current modern legislative framework provided by the Act is considered fit for purpose - in respect of horses as well as other animals Similarly, enforcement of the existing legislation has been working satisfactorily, and is kept under review with a view to ongoing improvements as needed.
The Programme for Government specifically commits to the continued robust enforcement of the Act, and officials are committed to engaging positively with stakeholders including owners, keepers and community groups to educate, encourage and empower those responsible for animals to ensure their welfare, addressing issues before enforcement action is needed.
The Programme for Government also contains an undertaking to provide additional funding to support animal welfare in the coming years to which I am fully committed. In this regard, in December 2020, I announced record funding of €3.2 million to 101 animal welfare organisations throughout the country including those engaged in equine welfare.
Agriculture Schemes
Questions (45)
David Stanton
Question:45. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the incentives in place to encourage young persons to take up farming as a career; the enrolment trends for the respective agricultural colleges for the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38549/21]
View answerWritten answers
The challenge of generational renewal is widely recognised both at national and EU level. I personally support young farmers and see the need for generational renewal. This is critical to ensure a bright future for the agri-food sector. The new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has cited generational renewal as one of the nine key objectives reflecting the need to ensure a vibrant agricultural sector equipped with skilled and innovative young farmers to respond to societal demands for quality food and environmental public goods.
There are a number of supports currently available under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and these are complemented by a suite of national measures.
Under the current CAP, the National Reserve and the Young Farmers Scheme (YFS) provide financial support to young farmers during the crucial early years when setting up a farm enterprise, with payments of €110m benefitting over 8,000 farmers each year under the YFS. A further €35 million has been allocated since 2015 to young farmers under the National Reserve. Additionally, under the TAMS II Young Farmer Capital Investment Scheme, young farmers can avail of a 60% grant rate as compared to the standard rate of 40% with over €133m paid to over 5,000 farmers under the scheme.
At national level, there is a suite of taxation measures, both to facilitate succession and to support establishment, worth some €200 million per annum. The Future Growth Loan Scheme has also provided a source of finance for young farmers.
Teagasc's education activities continue to focus on equipping young farmers with the necessary knowledge to build successful careers. Teagasc data shows that a cumulative 16,700 students have enrolled in their Agricultural Colleges from 2016-2020, with an average of just over 3,300 each year. For the current year, there has been a strong flow of applications, but the final enrolment position will not be clear until after the CAO offers are made in late August and early September
Supporting young farmers continues to be a priority and I will continue to actively engage on this issue.
Research Funding
Questions (46)
Alan Dillon
Question:46. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way his Department can assist with funding opportunities to support research initiatives in the area of climate change and agriculture; if this will include initiatives in forestry and streamlining the felling licence process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38566/21]
View answerWritten answers
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through its competitive research calls provides significant funding for a wide range of projects in the area of climate change. Climate change will have the potential for significant impacts on agriculture and forests. It is important that we continue to support research that improves resilience and explores pathways to climate neutrality. A changing climate will have impacts on trees species and crops as temperature rises and moisture deficits increase.
For example, my Department is currently funding a project called FITFORESTs which will examine the role of species selection in the establishment of new forests. This research will focus on key species in Irish forestry and will provide up to date information on the best provenances and seed origins adapted for future Irish climatic conditions. This project is being lead by Teagasc and my Department is providing funding of approximately €640,000. My Department also provides funding jointly with the Environmental Protection Agency on other research projects and one of particular relevance is the SEQUESTER project. This project is examining pathways towards carbon neutrality in 2050 across the land use sector, including forestry.
In relation to the other important question the Deputy raises on initiatives to help streamline the felling licensing system this is an area being closely examined by Project Woodland. Project Woodland, which was launched in February this year, has been set up with the objective of reviewing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the forestry licensing system. A business analyst has commenced work on an end-to-end process review. Project Woodland has also recommended that a regulatory review of the licensing system be carried out.
I have agreed to this proposal and have asked the Project Board to advise on how best to do this as quickly as possible. This review, to be carried out by an independent expert, will include an examination of experiences in other Member States in licensing forestry activities and how they comply with EU legislation and from this what lessons we can bring to our licensing systems.
Common Agricultural Policy
Questions (47)
Kathleen Funchion
Question:47. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he plans to include in the CAP Strategic Plan in order to redistribute funding to smaller and poorer family farms. [38175/21]
View answerWritten answers
The aim of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is to all support farmers across the community to continue to produce safe, sustainable and healthy food. The redistributive mechanisms currently in place under CAP Pillar I seek to create a more even payment landscape and target funds where they are needed most. These redistributive mechanisms are a core EU policy and are set to continue into the new CAP from 2023. The development of Ireland's CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) involves a number of stages, including SWOT analysis, needs assessment, intervention design, financial allocations, target setting and governance systems. The draft CSP will also be subject to an ex-ante evaluation, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment including a public consultation on the draft CSP and draft Environmental Report.
I have continued to engage extensively with stakeholders on the future of CAP. Consultations on the development of the CSP will continue via the CAP Consultative Committee, which comprises representatives of the main stakeholders including farm bodies, NGOs, industry representatives and academia. This Committee has met on 18 occasions and further meetings are planned.
The Presidency Compromise package include a suite of measures which will enable us to ensure the fair implementation of redistribution measures such as capping, convergence and Complementary Redistribution of Income Support for Sustainability (CRISS). I believe the agreement strikes the right balance between ensuring a fair distribution of payments between farmers and achieving a higher level of environmental and climate ambition. It also provides Member States with the flexibility required to implement the CAP in a way that best suits their national circumstances. This flexibility was one of my key objectives from the outset.
While agreement has been reached, further work remains on certain technical details of the proposed reforms. I expect to shortly bring a memo to government and launch a public consultation on the draft interventions proposed for the CAP Strategic Plan. I will also continue to engage with stakeholders as we develop our CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027.
Covid-19 Pandemic
Questions (48)
Pa Daly
Question:48. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures his Department has taken to mitigate Covid-19 related delays to the services it provides to the public. [38315/21]
View answerWritten answers
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been able to maintain its services with very few exceptions. This was possible for several reasons, the most important of which is that the Department supports the Agri-Food sector which, itself, is an essential service and had to continue as part of the country’s food supply chain.
Business continuity has been always been important to the Department and all its Divisions are required to have an up to date Business Continuity Plan. The Department’s staff are aware of the critical role they play in the sector and, in the context of the public health restrictions, showed great flexibility in adapting to new working environments. Approximately half of our staff were required to work from their usual locations, such as laboratories, ports, harbours, farms and meat plants as well as some offices which provided access to specialised resources. Appropriate public health measures were put in place for these staff.
As a countrywide organisation, the Department already operated an extensive remote IT infrastructure and this was extended and enhanced to accommodate the move to remote working for the staff who could carry out their duties away from the office. The Department will be reviewing its experience in responding to the pandemic and will use this information to adapt and improve its business continuity planning.
While the work of the sector and the Department was largely able to continue, albeit sometimes in a restricted manner, without the huge impacts felt in other areas, we are aware that no one was unaffected. We acknowledge that our customers and staff are also people who experienced stress and loss and were affected by the health restrictions that were necessary throughout the pandemic. We must recognise also that staff in meat plants continued to work through significant COVID-19 outbreaks and participated in serial testing and Rapid Antigen Testing programmes, due to the very particular circumstances in which Covid-19 affected these environments and that they demonstrated great resilience and dedication in doing so.
Thus, there are no substantial COVID-19-related backlogs in DAFM’s work, however there were a few very limited exceptions. These exceptions included the Food Dudes programme which had to be scaled back to include DEIS schools only, but which was adapted to provide packs of fruit and vegetables to DEIS school children in their homes while schools were closed. Food Dudes and Moo Crew returned to the classrooms after Easter 2021, with the resumption of the opening of schools. Food industry usage of the Prepared Consumer Food Centre, established and funded by my Department, was hampered due to Covid-19 restrictions in 2020. However, the PCF Centre did provide virtual advice sessions for the sector.
However, it is possible that the public health restrictions have resulted in indirect delays. For instance, restrictions in the construction industry may have affected farmers’ structural improvement plans and consequently, delayed their application under the TAMS schemes. As a supportive measure, initially our on-farm inspections were deferred for a brief period. They quickly resumed in line with public health Guidelines, as the Department implemented a suite of new protocols to protect both Farmers and Departmental staff.
The Department was fortunate, as almost all schemes had developed online application systems. However, with Public Offices closed, we were unable to run our Nationwide clinics during the BPS application period, so we developed a new system of telephone/email supports to provide assistance to farmers that had utilised the clinics in previous years. These new measures ensured that applicants were able to lodge their applications on time.
The Department also availed of processing and administrative flexibilities provided by the EU due to COVID-19. This allowed the Department to make all Scheme payments on time and in line with previous years. From September to December 2020, the Department issued in excess of €1.7 billion to farmers which mirrors the performance of previous years.
In addition, the Department provided additional supports to the sector through a number of financial schemes, co-delivered with the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and some sector-specific schemes including the Aid for Private Storage (APS) measure and the €50 million exchequer funded Beef Finisher payment provided in 2020.
The Department continues to monitor all areas and sectors under its remit to identify and address any difficulties that may have arisen due to the pandemic. However, the Department’s main contribution to the country’s recovery will be in ensuring that we continue to deliver our existing services, uninterrupted and to a high standard while, at the same time, planning for a successful future of the agri-food sector. The effects of Brexit will require attention for some time yet, agreement has been reached on a new CAP which will involve implementing many practical changes. The Agri-Food Strategy to 2030 will be the roadmap to Ireland becoming a world leader in Sustainable Food Systems over the next decade.
These are all significant challenges but will form the basis for maintaining the recovery from the pandemic and providing our sectors with sustainable growth.
Common Agricultural Policy
Questions (49)
Seán Sherlock
Question:49. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will outline the climate mitigation measures agreed under the recent CAP agreement. [38490/21]
View answerWritten answers
The new CAP will have an increased focus on environmental matters. The agreement sets out a number of measures aimed at encouraging farmers to adopt climate and environment-friendly farming practices, including:
- Ring-fencing of 25% of Member States’ direct payments envelopes for new eco-schemes under Pillar I. There are some flexibilities in place for Member States including a two-year learning period in 2023 and 2024 to minimise the risk of loss of unspent funds, and a ‘Rebate’ system which recognises Member States expenditure on climate, environmental and animal welfare objectives under Pillar II of the CAP.
- A new enhanced system of conditionality (cross compliance) will apply to all farmers in receipt of CAP payments. This system introduces a new standard for Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAEC II) for wetland and peatland protection. Conditionality will also incorporate most of the current “greening” requirements.
- 35% of Pillar II payments must be targeted at environmental actions.
The agreement also provides Member States with the flexibilities required to implement the CAP in a way that best suits their national circumstances. Achieving this flexibility was one of my key objectives. It can be used as effectively and as fairly as possible to ensure that our CAP Strategic Plan is designed in such a way that it secures a sustainable future for Irish agriculture on all levels - economic, environmental and social.
While political agreement has been reached, further work remains on certain technical details of the proposed reform. Legal texts will be prepared by the European Commission and are expected to be presented to the Council and the European Parliament in due course for formal agreement.
Animal Welfare
Questions (50)
Thomas Gould
Question:50. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to improve equine welfare standards. [38616/21]
View answerWritten answers
Responding to the Programme for Government as well as public and stakeholder consultations, I launched Ireland’s first dedicated Animal Welfare Strategy earlier this year. Taking a ‘One Health, One Welfare’ approach, the strategy acknowledges and values the interconnections and interdependences between human, animal and environmental health, and equine welfare is central to the strategy. A dedicated Animal Welfare Division has been established to drive the initiatives outlined.
The Department takes a preventive approach to equine welfare challenges by developing facilities for urban horse populations and by supporting initiatives educating young people in the care and welfare of horses. This work is carried out in close collaboration with the Local Authorities across the country.
For example, the Department supports the DSPCA's equine castration and ID clinics and education programmes, and animal welfare organisations are helped provide summer projects for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who care for horses.
I am also committed to providing additional funding in support of animal welfare in the coming years. Last December, I awarded a record €3.2 million to 101 animal welfare organisations countrywide, many of which are engaged in equine welfare activities. The 2021 application process is underway, and eligible registered animal welfare charities are invited to apply before 23 July.
My Department has primary policy responsibility for the welfare of all animals, including equines underpinned by the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 which provides a framework for applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare. The Act puts clear obligations on owners to look after animals under their care.
The Department continues to enforce the law in this important area, as do An Garda Síochána and authorised officers of the ISPCA and DSPCA.
Trade Promotion
Questions (51)
Brendan Griffin
Question:51. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the measures he will take and his plans to develop new markets for Irish wool; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38324/21]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy is aware, one of the actions under the Programme for Government is to undertake a review of the potential demand in domestic and international markets for wool based products such as insulation and fertilisers. Following the allocation of €100,000 in Budget 2021 for this review, I initiated a public consultation process in early March 2021 to determine the terms of reference for such a review which included
- the identification of market opportunities domestically and internationally for wool based products;
- carrying out economic feasibility and cost benefit analysis on proposed market opportunities;
- determining mechanisms that could be used to support industry initiatives; and
- identification of potential research projects applicable to supporting the identified market opportunities.
I am pleased to be able to advise the Deputy that through the competitive public procurement procedure, the Request for Tenders (RFT) seeking service providers to carry out this major study was published on 8th July 2021. The closing date for submission of tenders is 9th August 2021. The successful service provider will be contracted to carry out a feasibility study in accordance with the Terms of Reference detailed above and will be also required to examine and evaluate the proposals received during the public consultation and report on their findings.
The time frame for the completion of the review including the tendering process, consultation with the stakeholder group which I am currently establishing and publication of the final report is end of November 2021.
The recommendations from this review will help focus the development of a robust policy roadmap for the Irish wool industry.