Written Answers Nos. 199-218
199. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to reopening the Covid-19 testing centre in Athlone, County Westmeath to save persons from having to travel long distances for a Covid-19 test given the current difficulties for persons seeking a PCR test; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59381/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
200. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Health the studies that have been carried out in relation to the possible erosion of fundamental rights of assembly and protest for a wide variety of reasons and causes, including industrial disputes, funerals and other events by the introduction of the proposed The Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59388/21]
View answerThe Minister for Health is committed to ensuring safe access to termination of pregnancy services, and the area remains an ongoing priority.
Since services under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 commenced in January 2019, termination of pregnancy services have bedded in relatively smoothly to date. This is an extremely positive development, suggesting that termination of pregnancy services are becoming a normal part of the Irish healthcare system, in line with Government policy. However, the Minister is aware of reports of some protests which have caused distress to those accessing and providing services.
The Department of Health is in regular contact with the HSE and liaised with An Garda Síochána on safe access to services. The Garda National Protective Services Bureau issued a notice to all Garda stations raising awareness about the issue. It directed that any protests be monitored, and breaches of existing law dealt with. The Department has provided information on existing public order and other relevant legislation to the HSE for appropriate distribution to services that provide termination of pregnancy.
Officials in the Department of Health continue to prioritise safe access to termination of pregnancy services and to examine legislative options in this area. The Minister for Health plans to have proposals for safe access zones on the legislative programme for Spring 2022.
201. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health if funding of €5.1 million will be provided annually to Cappagh Hospital in order that it can increase surgical activity by at least 400% and relieve significant pressure on orthopaedic paediatric waiting lists [59391/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
202. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the cancellation and no-show rates for PCR tests. [59392/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.
205. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Health when payroll arrears dating back to 2016 will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry following an increase in pay grade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59418/21]
View answerI have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this matter.
206. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Health when the new 33 extra beds in St. Michael’s unit in South Tipperary Hospital will be put in place. [59483/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
207. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health the measures being considered in relation to current difficulties of those in need of homecare packages; the engagement he has had to date with the relevant stakeholders on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59484/21]
View answerGovernment has prioritised improved access to home support services.
Work is ongoing within the Department of Health to progress the development of the new statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes within the broader context of the Sláintecare reforms.
Recruitment of the 130 posts funded for the national rollout of interRAI as the standard assessment tool for care needs is scheduled to commence in this quarter. In addition, a National Home Support Office is in the process of being established. The testing of the reformed model of service delivery for home support commenced this month ?in one pilot site, with other pilot sites to be fully operational by January 2022.
A comprehensive and robust operational model for the rollout of interRAI has been developed which will facilitate effective, efficient, fair, and transparent care needs assessment and planning and appropriate service delivery. The interRAI outputs and pilot site evaluation will be critical to the development of the new home support scheme.
Last year additional funding of €150 million was secured for home support to progress the development of a reformed model of service delivery to underpin the statutory scheme for the financing and regulation of home-support services and to provide 5 million additional hours of home support. The HSE National Service Plan sets a target to provide 24 million hours of home support this year and it is estimated that at the end of September some 15 million hours had been provided to over 53,000 people. This is about 2.2 million more hours compared to the same period last year.
The funding secured in Budget 2021 to provide these additional 5 million hours has been maintained for 2022.
Significant inroads have been achieved in reducing waiting lists for funding approval for new or additional service from over 7,800 in January 2020 to just under 400 last September. This has been achieved through a combination of validation of the waiting list and availability of funding to address those waiting. However, there is a delay between the approval of funding and the delivery of home support hours and the numbers of people in this category have increased steadily this year. At the end of September 2021, there were 4,933 people assessed and waiting for a carer to become available, in January 2020 there was about 1,300 people in this category. Certain areas that are experiencing increased pressures, due to workforce availability, are particularly affected. Despite the increase, it is important to note that the total number of people waiting for home support across both categories has reduced from over 9,000 at the start of 2020 to approximately 5,300 at the end of September.
The HSE is aware that there are increasing capacity issues across both direct and indirect provision, and it continues to advertise on an ongoing basis for Health Care Assistants and recruits as many suitable candidates, where possible. The HSE conducts its recruitment through a variety of channels both locally and nationally.
Due to the nature of Healthcare Support Assistants posts, this recruitment is normally conducted at a very local level and is on-going continually across the HSE. Approved Home Support Providers also continue to recruit home support workers.
I have engaged with industry stakeholders to discuss issues surrounding recruitment and retention of workforce to meet the ongoing demands caused by the pandemic and the longer-term health care requirements of our population.
In addition to this engagement, I am committed to establishing a Cross Departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group. The role of the group will be to facilitate the views of stakeholders and examine workforce challenges in home support and nursing homes. Potential areas to be considered include recruitment, retention, training, and the career development of home support and nursing home workers into the future.
208. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Health if he will report on the implementation of the new public health model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59485/21]
View answerMy Department and the Health Service Executive (HSE) are committed to delivering on the recommendations that were made for Public Health in the Crowe Horwath report. The report recognised the very important role that public health medicine plays in the health of our population and in how our health service is managed and delivered.
An agreement was reached with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) in May of this year that will support the implementation of a fundamentally reformed public health model at a national and regional level which is aligned with international best practice. Under the new model, Consultants in Public Health Medicine (CPHM) will lead appropriately resourced multidisciplinary teams, that include surveillance scientists/epidemiologists, senior medical officers, trained contact tracers, administrative and, crucially, robust operations and management support.
The Consultant-delivered Public Health Model will be implemented by December 2023, with the establishment of 34 consultant posts in the first year and a total of 84 Consultant in Public Health Medicine posts by end December 2023. The phased nature of the implementation will facilitate the completion of a review process to ensure reform is embedded in this Public Health Model throughout the implementation process.
The first step to implementing the reformed model is to recruit the priority posts that have been identified. Recruitment of these posts has already begun and the HSE are expecting to have all 34 Phase 1 posts advertised by end of 2021.
209. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Health the status of operations at a respite facility (details supplied). [59492/21]
View answerAs this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the deputy directly, as soon as possible.
210. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports available for rewilding and wilding of land; and the current level of take-up for these supports in tabular form. [59177/21]
View answerThere are a number of definitions of rewilding. The Department of Agriculture Food & the Marine (DAFM) focus is biodiversity in agriculture and all projects/initiatives that promote this along with food production will be encouraged and supported.
This Department has played a key role in relation to restoring and conserving biodiversity rich ecosystems. Some of these objectives have been achieved through the Life programmes (co-ordinated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in conjunction with DAFM) – which provide funding for the support of Environment, Nature Conservation and Climate Action projects throughout the EU.
For example -The Life Wild Atlantic nature programme aims to protect and restore Ireland’s blanket bog natura network along the Atlantic seaboard and enhance the ecosystem services they provide including carbon storage and biodiversity.
Similarly, the European Innovation partnerships (EIPs) which are funded by this Department include locally led projects like the Hen Harrier Project and the Pearl Mussel Project which reward farmers for managing their land in a way that is sensitive to the habitat present in order to provide space for nature at the landscape scale through results based payments schemes.
Looking forward, Ireland also supports the new EU biodiversity strategy 2030 and will be developing agri-environmental climate measures to meet the increasing policy ambition for the post 2020 Common Agricultural Policy. Measures for biodiversity protection are improving all the time as we strive to meet national and international targets.
211. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the efforts he has undertaken to reinstate the European Commission derogation for Ireland in relation to weigh fish once they have been transported to the factory. [59178/21]
View answerIreland was notified of a Commission Implementing Decision revoking the approval of the Irish control plan submitted for the weighing of fishery products. The European Commission has deemed that Ireland’s obligations arising from Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 were not being met by the Irish control plan as the risk of non-compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy could not be minimised.
The monitoring and control of fishing vessels within Ireland’s Exclusive Fisheries Zone are matters for the Irish control authorities. Under the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006, all operational issues of this nature are exclusively for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) and the Naval Service. As Minister, I am precluded from getting involved in operational control matters such as this.
I understand that the SFPA submitted a Control Plan to the EU Commission for review and approval on 22nd September 2021. A new draft plan must be accepted by the Commission and formally adopted by it under legislation.
Subsequently, the SFPA has advised that it has had comprehensive engagement with DG Mare on the plan. The SFPA advised that it has updated industry representatives on the discussions with DG Mare.
During EU Commissioner Virginius Sinkevicius visit to Killybegs recently, representatives of the fishing industry set out the challenges facing the industry in the absence of a control plan that would allow weighing of fish in factories. I asked the Commissioner, during this visit, to give as much priority as possible to the Commission’s examination of Ireland’s draft control plan given the real challenges currently being faced by the industry.
I am keeping the lines of communication open with Commissioner Sinkevicius over the coming period so that he understands the challenges that would practically arise if a new Control plan is not in place for the beginning of the 2022 pelagic season.
212. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount of fish caught in Irish waters from 2016 to 2021 by species of fish and by the nationality of fishing trawlers in tabular form. [59179/21]
View answerIn June 2018 in the context of preparation for Brexit, a fact sheet was published setting out the landings from the Irish Exclusive Zone for the years 2011 to 2015.
Under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), official landing statistics are reported by Member States by ICES division, rather than by Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and most ICES divisions straddle more than one EEZ area. Landings are also reported by statistical rectangles - these are the smallest spatial unit by which catches are reported (approx. 36 x 30 nautical miles in size).
In order to estimate the landings from the Irish EEZ, the Marine Instiute has advised that the best available method is to sum the data by statistical rectangle for all of these units in the Irish EEZ. For rectangles that fall partially inside the EEZ, the landings inside the EEZ are assumed to be proportional to the spatial area of the rectangle that lies inside the EEZ.
Annual international landings data, by species and country, at the statistical rectangle level is held by Joint Research Centre (JRC) on behalf of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). The data made available to the Marine Institute for the most recent years does not currently provide catch data at country and species level by year on landings taken in the relevant ICES areas..
The Marine Institute has access to the detailed data for Irish vessels, as well as the international data from JRC. On this basis it has estimated the proportion of the total landings from the Irish EEZ taken by Irish vessels with the balance taken by vessels of other Member States and Third countries.
The attached tables, compiled by the Marine Institute, set out the weight (in tonnes) and approximate value (in thousands of Euro) of landings from the Irish EEZ by Ireland for the top 25 species for the period 2015 to 2019. The data sets for 2020 and 2021 are not available yet.
Table 1 provides a breakdown of the landings tonnage of the top 25 species by year. Overall Irish vessels take 35.5% of the landings but this figure varies greatly by species. If only the species managed under the TAC and Quota system are taken into account, the percentage of landings by Irish vessels is 31.6%.
Table 2 gives an approximate monetary value of the landings by applying the average value (price per kg at first sale) of the Irish landings to the dataset. The percentages per species are the same as the tonnage because the same mean price was applied to Irish and non-Irish landings. The overall percentage of the value of the landings taken by Irish vessels from the Irish EEZ is 38.8% for all species and 36.1% for TAC species only.
I have asked my Department to work with the Marine Institute to prepare an information paper setting out this information and make it publicly available.
213. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the value of cross-Border agriculture trade in 2020 and 2021; and the measures being considered to boost cross-Border agricultural trade both to and from the North of Ireland. [59180/21]
View answerIn 2020 agri-food exports to NI were valued at €1,049 million and imports were valued at €1,010 million. In the period to end of September 2021 exports have reached €1,139 million, while imports from NI are valued at €1,021 million.
The Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and UK provides for no additional requirements to be applied to trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland. This ensures that, despite the end of the transition period associated with the UK's exit from the EU, there are no new barriers to trade on the island of Ireland. This is not the case in respect of trade between Britain and the EU where additional customs and regulatory controls now apply.
This difference in the trading environment is, I believe, a key driver of the increased trade flows between Ireland and Northern Ireland already in 2021 compared to 2020.
The Government is therefore focused on maintaining these benefits from the Withdrawal Agreement for agriculture producers and businesses in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This will ensure certainty for these agri-food businesses and provide the conditions to allow this trade to continue to grow and flourish in the years ahead.
214. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59259/21]
View answerEU Regulations governing the administration of Direct Payment schemes require that full and comprehensive administrative checks including, in some cases, remote sensing (i.e. satellite) inspections, be completed before any payments issue. The application of the person named was selected for a 2021 remote sensing inspection.
A letter detailing the initial inspection findings issued to the person named on 8th October 2021 and comments were received on 20th October 2021.
These were considered by my officials and the final outcome letter issued on 11th November 2021. The processing of the inspection has now been finalised and any payments due will issue shortly.
215. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific actions his Department is taking to support the fishing industry and ensure that they have adequate supply to sell to maintain their incomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59268/21]
View answer216. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific actions his Department is taking to mitigate the negative impact of Brexit on the fishing industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59269/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 215 and 216 together.
I established a Seafood Sector Task Force in March 2021 to examine the impacts on our fishing sector and coastal communities of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and to make recommendations to me on initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.
I received the report of the Task Force on 11th October and it makes recommendations for a broad range of support schemes to assist the seafood sector and coastal communities to mitigate the impacts of the TCA, including temporary and permanent cessation schemes for the fishing sector, liquidity support schemes, capital investment schemes, marketing supports, marine infrastructure renewal and enhanced community led local development through the seven Fisheries Local Action Groups.
I am urgently examining the Task Force report with a view to quickly implementing a comprehensive response to the impacts of the TCA on our fishing sector and coastal communities. The measures recommended in the report are actively being examined with particular regard to available funds, eligibility of the recommended measures for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and with regard to State Aid rules and the Public Spending Code.
217. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the details of the proposed €66 million decommissioning scheme following Brexit’s shrinking of Irish fishing quotas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59270/21]
View answerI established a Seafood Sector Task Force in March 2021 to examine the impacts on our fishing sector and coastal communities of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and to make recommendations to me on initiatives that could be taken to provide supports for development and restructuring so as to ensure a profitable and sustainable fishing fleet and to identify opportunities for jobs and economic activity in coastal communities dependent on fishing.
I received the Report of the Seafood Task Force – Navigating Change on 11th October and it makes recommendations for a broad range of support schemes to assist the seafood sector and coastal communities to mitigate the impacts of the TCA.
In relation to fleet decommissioning, the Task Force recommended a voluntary permanent cessation scheme for the whitefish polyvalent and beam trawl fleet segments with the objective of removing 8,000 gross tonnes and 21,000 kilowatts of fleet capacity, equivalent to 60 vessels approximately. The Task Force estimates the cost of such as scheme at €66 million. The Task Force further recommends that special provision be made for tax treatment of the decommissioning scheme payments, similar to the decommissioning scheme that operated in 2008. The Task Force makes further complementary recommendations concerning the buy-out of off-register fleet capacity and fleet policy measures, both intended to lessen the risk of fishers re-entering the fleet with new vessels.
Furthermore, the Task Force separately recommended that a voluntary permanent Cessation Scheme targeted at inshore vessels should be developed in consultation with inshore fishing representatives. The objective of the scheme would be to bring the inshore sector back into balance with the available fishing opportunities, while ensuring the profitability of the sector going forward. The Task Force did not recommend any specific target for the inshore capacity to be removed, but recommenced that a budget of €6 million should be sought for the scheme.
I am urgently examining the Task Force recommendations in relation to both decommissioning scheme proposals, and indeed the wider recommendations of the report, with a view to quickly implementing a comprehensive response to the impacts of the TCA on our fishing sector and coastal communities. The measures recommended in the report are actively being examined with particular regard to available funds, eligibility of the recommended measures for funding under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve and with regard to State Aid rules and the Public Spending Code.
218. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the specific action his Department is taking to ensure that there is an adequate supply of fish in shops to support retail outlets and small businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59271/21]
View answerThe security of supply of fish products to the retail sector is a commercial matter between fishing vessel owners, fishers' cooperatives and other first point of sale entities and their respective retail sector customers.
