Written Answers Nos. 117-131
117. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to raise awareness regarding mental health and well-being of farmers and others working in the agri-business sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6882/22]
View answerThank you Deputy for addressing this very important topic.
My Department has co-funded, with the HSE and the Department of Health, a farmers physical and mental health awareness programme called, ‘On Feirm Ground’. The programme developed a 'Train the Trainer' programme that is currently being delivered nationally to those employed as farmer advisors. It is providing training for agricultural advisors to engage with and signpost farmers to supports in relation to health and wellbeing.
To date over 128 agricultural advisors have been trained, and a further 105 are registered to attend a further seven training courses this February. Further training of agricultural advisors is planned for June of this year.
Additionally, of the eight farm safety European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) projects that were approved in July of 2021, to the value of €1.8m, four are focused around mental health of people in the farming community. My Department will continue to monitor the progress of these projects and study the outcome of the projects to determine potential future steps.
118. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of his work to establish of a beef forum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7035/22]
View answerFollowing the publication of the report of the chair of the Beef Taskforce last November by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I clearly stated my commitment to establish a new forum for strategic engagement in the beef sector.
As the Deputy may be aware, I recently announced the establishment of a Food Vision Dairy Group as it was key requirement of the Food Vision 2030 strategy. I similarly intend to establish a group for the beef and sheep sectors, to advance the specific sectoral actions identified in Food Vision 2030, and as a priority task, to produce a detailed plan to manage the sustainable environmental footprint of the beef sector.
Work is currently under way in my Department on the establishment of this group, and I intend to make an announcement on the detail of it soon.
Food Vision 2030, the new stakeholder-led strategy for the Irish agri-food sector, was launched last year. I believe Food Vision is a landmark with the potential to transform our agriculture, food, forestry and marine sectors in the period to 2030, with sustainability at its core. Its vision is that Ireland will become a world leader in ‘Sustainable Food Systems’ over the next decade. This will deliver significant benefits for the Irish agri-food sector itself, for Irish society and the environment. In demonstrating the Irish agri-food sector meets the highest standards of sustainability – economic, environmental, and social – this will also provide the basis for the future competitive advantage of the sector, through the advancement of four 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.
I was pleased to receive reports of strong engagement by stakeholders across the supply chain with the work of the Beef Taskforce and I look forward to this constructive engagement continuing in the context of the new forum.
I am clear that this new Group will engage positively on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing the beef and sheep sectors. There can be a very bright future in these sectors if we work collaboratively.
119. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department has undertaken a study on the potential impact of the European Union Mercosur Trade Agreement on Irish beef farming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6684/22]
View answerIreland was very disappointed with the inclusion of a Tariff Rate Quota of 99,000 tonnes of beef for the Mercosur countries in the EU-Mercosur political agreement.
I am concerned over the potential impact of the Mercosur trade deal especially in light of the sustainability credentials of the Mercosur countries compared with the high standards our beef farmers operate to. We had raised our very serious concerns about the potential impact of significant beef concessions on the Irish and EU beef markets right throughout the negotiating process.
We have done this through the Council of Ministers, through direct engagement with the relevant Commissioners for Agriculture and Trade, and through close collaboration with other Member States who shared those concerns. Indeed, the Tariff Rate Quota finally agreed would likely have been considerably higher in the absence of these efforts.
After the announcement of the agreement, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, in collaboration with my Department, commissioned this study, and my Department and Teagasc fed extensively into the work carried out by the consultants.
The study - which was published in July 2021 - concluded that, in a worst-case scenario, an additional 53,000 tonnes of beef would enter the EU market from Mercosur, with a negative impact on beef prices of the order of 2%.
The final text of the Agreement is yet to be presented to Member States to commence the ratification process.
The European Commission continues to engage with the Mercosur countries in relation to the inclusion of additional environmental provisions, particularly regarding deforestation. Ireland's position on the ratification process will be informed by our own impact assessment as well as the outcome of the Commission's efforts to achieve increased environmental sustainability.
120. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the steps he is taking to address the backlog of forestry licences. [7038/22]
View answerThe Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) issued 4,050 forestry licences last year, which is an increase of 56% on the number issued in 2020.
In terms of the categories of each type of licence issued, these approvals included 2,877 felling licences. Critically, the availability of this volume of timber, at nearly 8.5 million cubic metres, stabilised supply to the processing sector in 2021. This is the highest volume ever issued in a single year.
In addition, 264 kilometres of forest roads were licensed, more than double the target in the Climate Action Plan 2019. This is also the highest ever volume of forest roads issued in a single year. Forest roads enable the haulage of timber from harvested forests.
Last week, a Forestry Licensing Plan for 2022 was published which contains a target of 5,250 licences to be issued, which is a year-on-year increase of 30%.
- A higher priority will be given to afforestation licences for 2022 with a 107% increase in output up to 1,040.
- There will be a year-on-year increase of 48% of private felling, roads and afforestation files. Coillte felling licences will maintain the levels they achieved in 2021.
- The Department will also refocus on the delivery of most approvals from several schemes including Reconstitution and Underplanting Scheme (RUS) (Ash Dieback), the Reconstitution of Woodland Scheme (Frost), the Native Woodland Scheme and a proposed small-scale planting scheme for up to one hectare of native species.
This year the focus will be on increasing the number of afforestation licences issued. We will continue to keep resources under review and will implement all practical process improvements which result from the review and analysis in train under Project Woodland.
Improving afforestation licensing is a key priority for 2022. A greater concern for all of us must be that the number of afforestation applications has continued its downward decline in 2021.
Reversing this trend, I believe requires a concerted effort now, from everybody with an interest in seeing more trees planted in Ireland. 2022 will be a big year for farmers, with the arrival of a new CAP and new Forestry Programme and it is important that the benefits of afforestation are well understood by them. The Department is, as always, ready to play its part and assist in improving communications. We understand of course that licensing forestry activities has a role to play hence the importance attached to improved licensing output in 2022. However, positive messaging around the benefit of afforestation is the responsibility of all, particularly those with a direct line of communication to farmers and landowners.
As Minister in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, we remain fully committed to delivering a licensing system which will meets the needs of the sector and of society and recent licensing trends demonstrate that we are making progress towards achieving this.
121. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on plans to develop additional urban horse welfare programmes, working with local authorities, charities and community stakeholders to provide stabling facilities and educational programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7033/22]
View answerMy Department is fully committed to supporting sustainable, One Health, One Welfare initiatives in line with the Programme for Government and Working Together for Animal Welfare, Ireland's Animal Welfare Strategy 2021-2025. I have asked my officials to support urban horse welfare in the context of this Strategy.
My Department continues to support a number of urban horse projects nationwide. In line with the Strategy, the Department's focus is on supporting start up infrastructure costs as well as initiatives that bring education on all aspects relating to equine welfare to areas that are dealing with urban horse challenges. I will continue to such supports in urban areas.
My officials work with and support local authorities and NGOs in progressing urban horse projects and there are currently projects at every stage, from the initial feasibility and planning stages to the operating stage around the country.
122. Deputy Johnny Mythen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if plans are in place to address the recent increase of dog attacks on sheep. [6576/22]
View answerDog attacks cause serious injury or death to sheep and can cause serious distress and financial loss for farm families. It is of grave concern to the farming community and that attacks on sheep are happening far too often in the rural countryside.
Last month, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD and I launched a new awareness campaign ahead of lambing season, highlighting the responsibilities of dog owners and the vulnerability of sheep to dog attacks. Sheep worrying causes immense and unnecessary stress for farmers, and serious animal welfare issues for sheep and new-born lambs.
Some 2.5 million lambs will be born on farms all over Ireland this springtime. Sheep flocks are very vulnerable to dog attacks at this critical time, and especially during the night
Uncontrolled pets can decimate a flock within minutes, with reports suggesting that up to 4,000 sheep are killed or seriously injured in dog attacks every year.
Our farmers are the backbone of our community and any incident that puts their livestock at risk can have a detrimental impact on the animals and the farmer in question.
By law, every dog must be microchipped and the possession, movement, sale or supply of an unchipped dog is an offence. Additionally owners of dogs must also have a licence for their animals. I am committed to working with Minister Humphreys to ensure sheep-worrying by dogs becomes a thing of the past, and our officials are working together to improve enforcement of the laws applicable to dogs.
On a general welfare point, I would advise anyone concerned about incidents of animal neglect or cruelty that they can contact my Department's animal welfare helpline by phone or the dedicated animal welfare email address.
Call Save - 0761 064408, phone - 01 607 2379. Email address - animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie.
123. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will provide an update on the work to address equine welfare in Cork city and county. [7010/22]
View answerThe Programme for Government places a positive emphasis on animal welfare and specifically commits to the continued robust enforcement of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013.
This Act provides a modern framework for regulating and applying standards in the area of animal health and welfare and replaced a number of enactments dating back over a century. The Act was passed, after a lengthy and constructive debate in both Houses of the Oireachtas and came into operation on 6th March 2014.
My Department enforces the law in this important area, and has addressed and resolved a number of welfare issues in recent years in both Cork City and County, working closely with An Garda Síochána and authorised officers from the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and local authority officials.
In relation to the control of horses in Cork City, the Control of Horses Act 1996 provides powers to local authorities, enabling them to control stray and wandering horses in their areas. Enforcement of the Act is a matter for each Local Authority, and they have powers under the act to appoint authorised officers within their area.
Efforts to reduce the number of stray horses are paying off. 817 horses were seized nationally in 2020, down significantly from a peak of 4,923 in 2014.
Figures provided by Cork City Council for the same period show a reduction in horse seizures from 176 in 2014 to 12 in 2020.
In December, 2021 I announced record funding €3.7 million to 98 animal welfare charities countrywide, a number of which deal with equine welfare in Cork.
124. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will report on the progress achieved to date in locally-led farm safety and mental health projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6790/22]
View answerThe Farm Health, Safety and Wellbeing EIPs Open Call was published in December 2020. Following a two-stage application process and evaluation by an expert panel, eight projects were selected for full implementation in July 2021.
The eight projects cover a range of actions to improve the safety and wellbeing of farmers and their families. Actions include developing tailored safety training programmes for farm families including younger and older members, creating peer-to-peer links within the farming community, and creating support links for farming communities that have suffered trauma or loss.
Many of these projects also include a wellbeing element which looks at the health and fitness of farmers. This includes talks around wellbeing, health expo’s and providing more access to online supports.
All projects are currently in the implementation stage. They have established the administration supports required to run the projects.
They are developing the training programmes to meet the specific needs of the projects. They are meeting with farmers, communities, and other stakeholders. They are carrying out risk assessments and developing safety statements for farms.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a decision was taken in some cases to delay training until Spring 2022. However over the coming months these projects will be fully engaged with farmers and their communities.
An important part of an EIP project is the dissemination of its learnings and results and I look forward to receiving the reports from all of the groups.
125. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the engagement his Department has had with other stakeholders regarding the need to minimise the impact of Brexit in the longer term on Irish agri-businesses particularly those heavily engaged in exporting. [6793/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Brexit has, and will continue, to present challenges for the Irish agri-food sector, in particular for Irish exporters to the British market.
This is why the Government, my Department and I continue to engage extensively with Irish agri-food stakeholders on issues related to Brexit and the changing EU-UK trading environment.
Since the UK decision to leave the EU was announced, there have been 26 meetings of the Department’s Industry Stakeholder Consultative Committee.
This Committee is comprised of representatives of all stakeholders in the agri-food supply chain, and provides the sector with the opportunity to engage with me and with my Department on issues of concern, as well as to share information with Government on the challenges they are facing in meeting the new requirements for trading with the UK market.
My Department also has a wide range of public information campaigns to inform industry of Brexit related changes and issues. The current campaign is focused on ensuring Irish food exporters are prepared to meet new UK import requirements which will come into force on a phased basis during 2022.
This engagement with stakeholders includes detailed information webinars, trader notices, national media campaigns and dedicated training programmes on the new requirements.
There is also ongoing and intensive one-to-one local engagement between individual food businesses who are exporting to Britain and their Department-led veterinary supervisory teams.
This is aimed at refining the relevant business processes to meet the new UK import requirements, in particular the export certification requirements which will begin to come into force from 1st July 2022.
128. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of agri-food exports to European Union member states over the past five years; the way that this has been impacted by Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6500/22]
View answerI will share separately with the Deputy a detailed table setting out the agri-food exports to each EU Member State for the period 2016 to 2020.
On the wider point of the impact of Brexit on Irish exports to EU countries, there is no doubt that, since the UK referendum result in 2016, there has been ongoing uncertainty about how Irish-UK, Irish-EU and UK-EU supply chains will be impacted.
However, despite these uncertainties, the value of agri-food exports to the EU has proven to be resilient over the period 2016 to 2020, with exports increasing by some 21%, or €800 million. For the same period, the value of exports to the UK also increased by 5.5%, or just under €300 million. The UK market remains the largest market for Irish agri-food goods, representing, on average, 37% of total exports per annum.
Looking at data for the first 11 months of 2021, exports to the UK have again remained resilient, growing by 2.2% in value terms compared to the same period in 2020. Exports to EU Member States over the same period in 2021 have grown by 3.5%.
The full impacts of Brexit are still evolving, with new UK import requirements for food imports from EU countries, including Ireland, coming into effect in a phased manner throughout 2022. We will continue our preparations for these in close collaboration with food business operators, and I remain confident that Irish exporters will be well-placed to service UK and EU markets into the future, despite the challenges presented by Brexit.
129. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of a felling licence application by a person (details supplied) which was acknowledged on 25 June 2018. [7056/22]
View answerAn application for a tree felling licence was received from the person named in June 2018. The proposed felling site is near designated sites and therefore the possibility of impacts on those sites must be carefully considered.
To assist with this, the applicant was initially asked to provide a Natura Impact Statement (NIS). However, upon further examination, it was determined that a Harvest plan and map would be sufficient.
These were supplied in October, 2021. The applicant also decided to use a different Registered Forester, which had to be regularised with my Department to enable communications with the new forester on behalf of the applicant. This was finalised last November.
The application is currently being assessed by my Department and will then undergo a mandatory 30-day public consultation period, before the final assessment and recommendations takes place. Providing no further information is required, nor no issues are raised during the public consultation, I expect a decision to issue in two to three months.
130. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 36 of 9 December 2021, the status of the wool feasibility study; the expected timeline for the development of a robust policy roadmap for the Irish wool industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6846/22]
View answerAs the Deputy is likely to be aware, one of the initiatives in the Programme for Government was to conduct a review of the potential demand for wool-based products such as for insulation and fertilisers in domestic and international markets.
Wool is a natural substance that is sustainable, organic, renewable and which may be used in a range of products such as textiles, fertilisers, and insulation so it makes great sense for us to see where its potential lies.
I initiated a public consultation in March 2021 to identify terms of reference for the wool review.
The agreed terms of reference were:
- 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;
- identification of potential research projects applicable to supporting the identified market opportunities.
The respondents to the consultation were also asked to make recommendations in relation to prospective market opportunities for wool products on the domestic and international markets. A total of 45 submissions was received from the stakeholders.
The Request for Tenders (RFT) seeking service providers to carry out this study was published on 8th July 2021 through a competitive public procurement procedure. The deadline for submissions was 9th August 2021 and five tenders were received. In November 2021, I appointed 'The Agile Executive,' a consortium of experts from Munster Technological University and Donegal Yarns, to conduct this study.
The Agile Executive has been contracted to conduct the review in accordance with the Terms of Reference and has also been asked to review the submissions received during the public consultation process. I have been advised that this study is progressing well, and the report is due for publication in March 2022.
I am confident that the recommendations outlined in the report will assist in the formulation of a strong policy framework for the Irish wool industry and will hopefully identify new opportunities to create value-add products from Irish wool that are environmentally and economically sustainable and further contribute to the Irish Circular Bio-economy.
Wool is a tremendous, natural and sustainable product and I hope we can add value to it to help reward our committed sheep farmers.
131. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will list the carbon research that will assist farmers in reducing their carbon footprint; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6985/22]
View answer171. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the research that has been undertaken or funded by his Department for the reduction of agricultural emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6789/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 131 and 171 together.
Carbon research, specifically around the sequestration of atmospheric carbon to soil, has an important contribution to decarbonise agriculture and facilitate the objectives of my Department’s strategy, Food Vision 2030, and its contribution to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan.
Quantifying the carbon sequestered in our soils requires scientific research to feed into the strategies for farmers to reduce their carbon footprint. My Department is providing up to €1.9m in research funding for three projects investigating the sustainable management of soil and ensure it can sustainably perform its multiple functions, including soil sequestration (‘SQUARE’); how carbon sequestration on agricultural land could provide mitigation options while maintaining agricultural production (‘Agri-SOC’); and understanding Carbon stocks in agricultural landscapes (‘Farm-Carbon’) from the contribution of hedgerows and non-forest woodland.
One of the central themes of my Departments 2021 national competitive research Call was Climate, with the objective to support climate-smart research to improve, integrate and develop novel systems which support carbon sequestration. From this Call, my Department recently awarded research funding of up to €1.8m for two projects exploring new measures to enhance carbon sinks and displace fossil fuel emissions. The first of these, LAB-MACC, will quantify mitigation associated with a range of new measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance land carbon sinks, and displace fossil fuel emissions, potentially enabling farmers to receive credit for emissions reduction. The second, ‘REWET’, will investigate how developing actions to restore the water table on drained carbon-rich soils can enhance carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere.
In connection with the ongoing investment into the establishment of a National Agricultural Soil Carbon Observatory, my Department is co-funding a project with the EPA which aims to support the mapping of Irish Peatlands to refine the assessment of land-use change and greenhouse gas removals from a range of different soil and farm types. This builds on my Department’s involvement with the EU LIFE IP Peatlands and People project which has seen a co-funding commitment of €750,000 in support of research into GHGs and carbon sequestration from grassland farming in peatland.
These recent examples of my Departments commitment to climate research will build on other significant projects. The €1.25million ‘Meth-Abate’ project which has been underway now since 2019 is developing and validating novel technologies, particularly feed additives, to reduce methane emissions from pasture based Irish agricultural systems. And the €3million ‘GreenBreed’ project has been developing the scientific basis for sustainable ruminant breeding programs that lead to a lower environmental footprint.
Considering this wide range of research initiatives that are taking place, I am confident that they will provide a strong pipeline of scientific advancements which will help farmers to reduce the carbon footprint of their farms, thus contributing to the agricultural sector meeting its targets under the Climate Action Plan.
