Written Answers Nos. 321-328
321. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagements he has had with plant nurseries in relation to the reuse of carbon by LPG generators; the considerations made following these engagements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51615/21]
View answerI am fully committed to and supportive of the horticulture sector meeting the objectives of a sustainable food system in all it’s facets and am aware of the use of supplementary CO2 in protected crops to optimise yield and performance, a practice in place for quite sometime. I along with my colleague Minister of State Pippa Hackett, who has overall responsibility for the sector and my officials have ongoing engagement with the sector.
The Department provides significant supports to development of the horticulture industry and plant production in Ireland through the scheme of Investment aid for the development of the commercial horticulture sector and the EU Producer Organisation Scheme. This included a commitment of €9 million in funding through the recent budget.
322. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which the Food Vision 2030 target to increase tillage production will be supported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51626/21]
View answerThe new stakeholder strategy for the Irish agri-food sector, Food Vision 2030, was launched by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD, myself and Ministerial colleagues on 3rd August.
The vision of the new Strategy is that Ireland will become a "World Leader in Sustainable Food Systems" over the next decade. Food Vision provides a framework within which more detailed plans and processes on the wide range of issues facing the sector will be progressed and developed, overseen by an implementation committee. Some 200 actions under 22 goals are proposed, guided by four high-level missions:
1. A Climate Smart, Environmentally Sustainable Agri-Food Sector
2. Viable and Resilient Primary Producers with Enhanced Well-Being
3. Food that is safe, nutritious and appealing: trusted and valued at home and abroad
4. An Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Agri-Food Sector, driven by Technology and Talent.
Food Vision states that the tillage and horticulture sectors are the most carbon efficient sectors of Irish agriculture and it is important that the area under cultivation in these sectors is at least retained, with an ambition to increase both.
Although there is no specific target to increase tillage production, Food Vision 2030 acknowledges the importance of the tillage sector as it provides high quality grain to the animal feed industry, and straw for feeding and bedding, while also making a significant contribution to the food and drinks sectors in the form of malting barley, milling wheat and oats for the breakfast cereals industry.
Action 27 in Mission 2 (Viable and Resilient Primary Producers with Enhanced Well-Being) states that Stakeholders will work to develop the sector to take advantage of potential growth in: 1) high value output (malting barley, wheat, oats and rye) to distilling and brewing; 2) high value food markets such as oats (particularly organic oats), oils and salad & chipping potatoes; 3) meeting domestic protein crop demand for livestock diets.
The Department and I will continue to work with the sector and to provide supports as appropriate. The success of Food Vision 2030 will depend on effective implementation and oversight. For this reason, a Monitoring and Implementation Framework is included in the Strategy. This highlights areas for collaboration and partnership within the sector but also with key external stakeholders.
323. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the Programme for Government commitment to review the role, structures, and strategic focus of State agencies in the food sector and to ensure that their programme of work is fully aligned with future Government and emerging EU policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51627/21]
View answerI work closely with the State Agencies under the Department's remit on an ongoing basis, and there is continuous collaboration across the wide range of our shared responsibilities.
As well as this ongoing liaison, the implementation process for our agri-food strategies provides a more formal opportunity for coordination of our work.
For some twenty years, the Irish agri-food sector has benefited from having a coherent, stakeholder-led vision and strategy to underpin the sector’s continued development. These strategies are coordinated and monitored by a High-Level Implementation Committee, which I chair, and which includes the Heads of the relevant State Agencies (Bord Bia, BIM, Enterprise Ireland and Teagasc), as well as representatives from relevant Government Departments.
On the question of a more formal review, it is anticipated that these will be undertaken as part of the periodic critical reviews of the State Agencies.
324. Deputy Mary Butler asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funding programmes within her Department which are due to reopen for applications following announcements made through Budget 2022; if she will provide details of an appropriate funding stream for organisations (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51338/21]
View answerThe increased funding allocated to the Department under Budget 2022 will allow it to continue to support communities across Ireland as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Community Enhancement Programme is the funding programme within my Department that is most relevant to the bridge club referenced by the Deputy. It provides small grants to community groups to enhance facilities in disadvantaged areas. Funding is provided to each Local Authority area, and administered by Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs). In May this year I launched the 2021 CEP with an allocation of €4.5m. The key theme was to support groups as they reopen facilities which were closed due to COVID-19. The 2021 CEP is now closed, but it will re-open in due course and further information will be available from the LCDC in each area.
The following two schemes were also specifically referenced by the Deputy.
The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme provides funding to Local Development Companies across Ireland so that they can work with marginalised individuals and the groups that represent them. This programme has secured a 10% or €4m budget increase in 2022, and the current iteration covers the period from 2018 to the end of 2023.
The Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO) provides multi-annual funding towards core costs of national community and voluntary organisations that demonstrate good governance and deliver services and supports that have a focus on one or more of the following: addressing poverty, social exclusion and promoting equality.
The current three year scheme commenced on 1st July 2019 and will cease on 30th June 2022. A total of €18.8 million has been allocated under the current scheme to a total of 74 organisations. It is expected that a new iteration of the scheme will commence in July 2022, further to an application process commencing in December 2021. Funding for the Scheme to Support National Organisations (SSNO Scheme) will increase from €5.9 million to €6.7 million in 2022.
My Department also has many other schemes, the details of which are available on my Department’s website. I would also encourage interested parties, such as the bridge club referenced by the Deputy, to stay in touch with the Local Development Company and Local Authority in their area, so that they are aware of grant schemes from across Government Departments and state agencies, as they become available.
325. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she or any official from her Department has held meetings or conducted correspondence with a company (details supplied) from 1 January 2017 to date; if her Department has engaged the services of the company for any purposes from 1 January 2017 to date; if so, the nature of such services and the costs incurred; if a tender process was conducted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51360/21]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that neither I, or my Department officials, have had contact or entered into contracts with the referenced company in the time period in question.
326. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development when a six month progress report on the implementation of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 will be available considering the commitment to providing this as set out in the strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51384/21]
View answer327. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the current status of the actions set out in the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 work programme; if her Department will complete all scheduled actions by the end of 2021 as planned; if she will provide an update on each measure listed in the work programme in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51386/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 326 and 327 together.
‘Our Rural Future' is the Government's ambitious rural development policy for 2021 to 2025, and was published on 29 March.
It contains over 150 commitments across the whole-of-Government, for both short-term recovery and longer-term economic and social development in rural areas.
The policy has a five-year timeframe, with updates on delivery provided by a series of Progress Reports. Development of annual work programmes allows for the review and revision of priorities contained in the measures for delivery over the lifetime of the policy.
The 2021 Work Programme, which was drafted in conjunction with relevant Departments, contains actions which advance the delivery of more than 80 per cent of commitments in the Policy.
My Department has begun preparations for the publication of the first Progress Report, which will be published at the end of this year in order to incorporate updates on all measures contained in the 2021 Work Programme.
Further Progress Reports will be produced every six months thereafter as per the commitment in the Policy.
While work on compiling the first Progress Report is ongoing, I am delighted with the level of activity across Government in recent months to deliver on the Policy’s ambition. This has seen investment provided for rural communities across a range of areas such as local transport and active travel, remote working facilities and digital connectivity, and huge levels of support for important projects under my Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme.
We have also seen, for example, the launch of the agri-food strategy Food Vision 2030 and the Pathways to Work 2021-2025 Strategy, the publication of the Maritime Area Planning Bill and launch of the National Marine Planning Framework, and the formal establishment of Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest at the start of this month. The revised National Development Plan, published in recent weeks, also significantly reinforces the objectives of Our Rural Future.
328. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Questions No. 36 of 14 October 2021, the expected timeframe for the finalisation of proposals to guide the future direction and work programme of the Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce; the groups the engagement has taken place with; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51613/21]
View answerThe Mobile Phone and Broadband Taskforce is expected to reconvene in the coming weeks. Engagement between officials in my Department and in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is ongoing with proposals regarding the membership, structure and specific actions of the reconstituted Taskforce at an advanced stage.
The draft proposals for the reconstituted Taskforce set out an ambitious and impactful work programme. Focussing on actions that will deliver tangible and sustainable improvements in telecoms services for the public, it is intended that the new Taskforce will leverage the excellent progress made by its predecessor. As with the previous work programme, periodic reports on the Taskforce’s activities will be disseminated online.
Since the last formal meeting of the Taskforce in late 2019, I and my officials, in addition to the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications and his officials, have continued to engage closely with all Taskforce members and interested stakeholders to ensure that the good work of the Taskforce continues and is built upon, for example via the continued operation of the Joint Utilities Local Authority User Forum which is the primary means of addressing issues between local authorities, utilities and industry and in relation to ensuring that licensing rules remain fit for purpose. The lines of communication between former Taskforce members remain open and productive and good progress has been made on a number of fronts.
The work of the reconvened Task Force will involve engagement with colleagues from across local and national government and with the telecoms sector via Ibec. These engagements will begin at the earliest opportunity with the intention of re-establishing, on a formal footing, the very productive relationships that have endured over recent years.
